RBI Notifies New Foreign Exchange Management (Authorised Persons) Regulations, 2026: Effective April 2026
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Foreign Exchange Department, has issued a Notification No. FEMA 401/2026-RB, dated April 30, 2026, notifying new regulations named the Foreign Exchange Management (Authorised Persons) Regulations, 2026. These regulations came into force on April 30, 2026.
Through the present notification, the RBI has defined certain key terms used in these regulations. The following are some of those definitions:
- In the said regulation, the meaning of the term “Act” is the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999);
- The term “Annual Forex Turnover” means the aggregate of foreign exchange purchased and sold by an authorised person or a Forex Correspondent from/to the public directly and through its agents/franchisees/Forex Correspondents during a financial year, excluding the value of inward remittances processed;
- The word “Authorised Dealer (AD)” means a person authorised as an authorised dealer under sub-section (1) of section 10 of the Act;
- The term “Company” means a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);
- The term “Control” has the same meaning as given to it under sub-section (27) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);
- The word “Director” has the same meaning as given to it under sub-section (34) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);
Under these regulations, no person or entity is allowed to act as the authorised person in foreign exchange without obtaining approval from the RBI. The application seeking approval for the same can be furnished online at the PRAVAAH portal (https://pravaah.rbi.org.in).
The RBI grants fresh authorisation under three categories, i.e., AD Category-I, AD Category-II, and AD Category-III, each with different eligibility criteria and permitted activities. For instance, banks can qualify as AD Category-I, while NBFCs and experienced forex businesses may apply for Category-II, subject to minimum net worth requirements such as Rs 10 crore for Category-II and Rs 2 crore for Category-III.
Refer to the official notification for complete information.
