15 Dec 2011

Compounding Of Contraventions Under FEMA, 1999

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a press release numbered RBI/2011-12/298,  A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.57 pertaining to compounding of contraventions under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

RBI has declared that as a measure of customer service and in order to facilitate the operational convenience, it has been decided to delegate the powers to the Regional Offices of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mentioned below to compound the contraventions of FEMA involving

(i) delay in reporting of inward remittance,

(ii) delay in filing of form FC-GPR after allotment of shares and  

(iii) delay in issue of shares beyond 180 days (viz. paragraphs 9(1)(A), 9(1)(B) and 8, respectively, of the Schedule I to the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000, notified vide Notification No. FEMA 20/2000-RB dated 3rd May 2000 and as amended from time to time:

(a) Paragraphs 9 (1) (A) and 9 (1) (B) of Schedule I to FEMA 20/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 -

Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kochi, Patna and Panaji for amount of contravention below Rupees One hundred lakh only (Rs. 1,00,00,000 /-).

(b) Paragraphs 9 (1) (A), 9 (1) (B) and 8 of Schedule I to FEMA 20/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 -

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi for amount of contravention without any limit.

The Compounding Authorities attached to these Regional Offices of the Foreign Exchange Department have been authorised to compound such cases at their level(s) within the financial powers as per the Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000. Accordingly, all applications for compounding whether received on the advice of the Regional Office concerned or suo-moto, relating to the contraventions mentioned at (a) and (b) above and up to the amount of contravention stated therein, may be submitted by the companies falling under the jurisdiction of the aforesaid Regional Offices directly to the Regional Office concerned, together with the prescribed fee and other relevant documents. All other applications may be submitted to the Compounding Authority, Cell for Effective implementation of FEMA (CEFA), Foreign Exchange Department, 5th floor, Amar Building, Sir P.M.Road, Fort, Mumbai-400001, as hitherto. The prescribed fee of Rs. 5000/- (Rupees Five thousand only) may be paid by way of a demand draft drawn in favour of "Reserve Bank of India" and payable at the Regional Office where the application is being submitted and at Mumbai if the application is submitted at CEFA, Mumbai.

In terms of sub-rule (1) to Rule 8 of Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000, the Compounding Authority may call for any information, record or any other documents relevant to the compounding proceedings. It has been observed that there is no uniformity in submitting the required details with supporting documents along with the compounding application. This results in avoidable correspondence between Reserve Bank and the applicant. It has, therefore been decided that along with the application in the prescribed format, the applicant may also furnish the details as per the enclosed Annexes relating to Foreign Direct Investment, External Commercial Borrowings, Overseas Direct Investment and Branch Office / Liaison Office, as applicable, along with an undertaking that they are not under investigation of any agency such as DOE, CBI, etc., a copy of the Memorandum of Association and latest audited balance sheet while applying for compounding of contraventions under FEMA, 1999.

Authorised Dealers may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10 (4) and 11 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999).