Introduction

With a view to promoting the ease of reporting of transactions under foreign direct investment, the Reserve Bank of India, under the aegis of the e-Biz project of the Government of India had enabled the filing of Form FC-GPR and ARF (Advance Remittance Form) with RBI online from 19^th February, 2015. Now, 24^th August, 2015, Form FC-TRS can be filed online as well. This article will give you a brief on the process of filing the RBI Forms using the e-Biz platform.

Forms that can currently be filed on e-Biz Platform

1. Reserve Bank of India
   • Reporting of Foreign Inward Remittance – Advance Remittance Form (ARF)
   • Reporting of Foreign Collaboration under General Permission Route (Form FC-GPR)
   • Reporting of Foreign Collaboration under Transfer of Shares (Form FC-TRS)
2. Directorate General of Foreign Trade
   • Importer- Exporter code
3. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
   • Issue of Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum
   • Issue of Industrial License
4. Ministry of Corporate Affairs
   • Issue of Director Identification Number
   • Name Availability Letter
   • Certificate of Incorporation
   • Certificate of Commencement of Business
5. Central Board Of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
   • Issue of PAN-NSDL/Issue of PAN-UTIITSL
   • Issue of TAN
   • Filing of Income Tax Returns by Companies
6. Employees Provident Fund Organization-Central
   • Employer Registration with Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)
7. Employee State Insurance Corporation
   • Employer Registration under Employees’ State Insurance Act
8. Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization
   • License for Possession and Sale or Possession and Use of Explosives Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization, DIPP

Timeline for reporting

1. Form FC-GPR
   • Inward Remittance Reporting is to be done within 30 days from receipt of foreign funds.
   • Shares are to be allocated within 180 days from receipt of foreign funds.
   • Reporting in Form Fc-GPR is to be done within 30 days of allocation of shares.
2. Form FC-TRS: Reporting in Form FC-TRS is to be done within 60 days from receipt of funds.

3. Advance Remittance Form: Inward Remittance Reporting is to be done within 30 days from receipt of foreign funds.

Pre-requisites for filing forms on e-Biz platform

1. Digital Signature: Digital signature is required for the authenticity of the filled application. The user who wants to apply for any service for RBI through eBiz portal must have a valid digital signature. An application will be considered invalid if it will not be digitally signed.

2. Payment details: There are no payments to be made to RBI for submission of FCTRS. Applicant is required to pay a nominal eBiz transaction fee (INR 30) while submitting the application form online through eBiz portal.

3. In case of online payment:  The user needs to have an Account with Central Bank of India for the payment of service fee.

4. In case of offline payment: The user has to go to the nearest branch of Central Bank of India along with the print out of the Challan/Receipt which he gets while filling the online application and deposit the required amount in the bank.
5. For Form FC-GPR
   • UIN from RBI
   • KYC Report for the beneficiary if the beneficiary and remitter are different entities.
   • CS certificate
   • Certificate from SEBI registered Merchant Banker / CA indicating the manner of arriving at the Fair Market Value (“FMV”) of the shares issued to the persons resident outside India
   • Disclaimer Certificate
   • Statutory Auditor Certificate
   • Board resolution
   • LRN(Loan Registration Number) allotted
   • Copy of FIPB approval (if required)
   • Details of Transfer of shares, if any
   • NOC from the remitter for the shares being allotted to the third party mentioning their relationship
   • Letter from the foreign investor explaining the reason for making subscription to shares by the remitter on his behalf
   • Copy of agreement/Board resolution from the investee company for issue and allotment of shares to the foreign investor, other than the remitter
   • Reason for delay in submission (if required)
6. For Form FC-TRS
   • Certificate indicating FMV of shares from a CA / SEBI registered Category I Merchant Banker.
   • Copy of Broker’s note if sale/ purchase is made on Stock Exchange.
   • Declaration from the NR buyer to the effect that he is eligible to acquire shares / compulsorily and mandatorily convertible preference shares / debentures/others under FDI policy and the existing sectoral limits and conditionality (such as minimum capitalization norms, etc) and Pricing Guidelines have been complied with
   • Declaration from the FII/sub account to the effect that the individual FII / Sub account ceiling as prescribed has not been breached
   • Extracts of Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) containing:
   • If the sellers are NRIs/ erstwhile OCBs, the copies of RBI approvals, if applicable, evidencing the shares held by them on repatriation/non-repatriation basis
   • NOC/Tax Clearance Certificate from Income Tax Authority/ CA
   • Approval letter from RBI / FIPB
   • Power of attorney (if signatory is agent)
7. For Advance Remittance Form
   • FIRC from bank evidencing receipt of remittance
   • KYC report on non-resident investor from overseas bank remitting the amount

Overview of the process for filing returns online

1. Register on e-Biz portal
2. Obtain Digital Signature
3. Download the reporting form
4. Fill the form on the computer
5. Upload and submit form after affixing digital signature
6. Make online/offline payment
7. Processing of Form/ application by AD Bank
8. Has the submission been made within the timeline and are all required documents submitted?
   • If No,
     • Forward to RBI
     • Raise objection memo
     • Reject the application
   • If Yes, issue the approval certificate

Processing Steps

Application, once submitted will flow through following status before request is completed. Applicant can use this information to track status of his application.

1. For FC-GPR
   • Submitted
   • Resubmission Required*
   • Resubmission complete*
   • Registration number generated
2. For FC-TRS:
   • Submitted
   • Re-submission Required*
   • Application Approved
   • Application Rejected*
   • Clarification Required*
3. Advance Remittance Form
   • Submitted
   • Re-submission Required*
   • UIN generated
   • Refund request processed*
   • Re-submission of refund letter*
   • Compounding Memo Received*
   • Complete

Note: Items marked with * are states in certain exception flows. Your application may not necessarily pass through these states during processing.

Continuation of Offline reporting for next 3 months

Online reporting facility on e-Biz portal of the Ministry will be available in parallel with the physical filing of returns. Physical filing of returns will be discontinued in next three months.

User Manuals

Please click the following links for user manual of these services:

1. For filing Advance Remittance Form and Form FC-GPR – User Manual
2. For filing of Form FC-TRS – User Manual