MONEY CHANGING

Money Changing Activities

(Last updated on 06th May 2026)

SECTION-I

1. Introduction

Money changing business can only be undertaken by entities authorised by the Reserve Bank under Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and any person found undertaking money changing business without a valid licence is liable to be penalised under the Act ibid.

This document contains the various instructions relating to the subject of money changing activities including functioning of Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs), non-bank Authorised Dealers Category-II as well as the conduct of foreign exchange transactions with their customers/constituents.

2. [Omitted]

3. [Omitted]

SECTION II

[Omitted]

SECTION III

Guidelines for appointment of Agents / Franchisees by Authorised Dealers Category – I Banks, Authorised Dealers Category – II and FFMCs

1. Under the Scheme, the Reserve Bank had permitted ADs Category – I, ADs Category – II and FFMCs to enter into agency or franchisee agreements at their option for the purpose of carrying restricted money changing business i.e. conversion of foreign currency notes, coins or travellers’ cheques into Indian Rupees. However, franchisees of AD Category – I / AD Category – II / FFMCs functioning within 10 kms from the borders of Pakistan and Bangladesh may also sell the currency of the bordering country, with the prior approval of the Regional Office concerned of the Reserve Bank. Other franchisees of AD Category – I / AD Category – II / FFMCs cannot sell foreign currency. Notwithstanding anything contained in these directions, an authorised person shall not enter into any fresh franchisee arrangements henceforth, and the existing franchisee arrangements shall be discontinued gradually, in any case within two years from May 6, 2026.7

2. Franchisee

A franchisee can be any entity which has a place of business and a minimum Net Owned Funds of Rs.10 lakh. Franchisees can undertake only restricted money changing business.

3. Franchisee Agreement

An AD Category-I Bank / AD Category-II / FFMC, as the franchiser, is free to decide on the tenor of the arrangement as also the commission or fee through mutual agreement with the franchisee.

The Agency / Franchisee agreement to be entered into should include the following salient features:

(a) The franchisees should display the names of their franchisers, exchange rates and that they are authoried only to purchase foreign currency, prominently in their offices. Exchange Rate for conversion of foreign currency into Rupees should be the same or close to the daily exchange rate charged by the AD Category – I Banks / ADs Category – II / FFMC at its branches.

(b) The foreign currency purchased by the franchisee should be surrendered only to its franchiser within 7 working days from the date of purchase.

(c) The maintenance of proper record of transactions by the franchisee.

(d) The on-site inspection of the franchisee by the franchiser should be conducted at least once a year.

4. [Omitted]

5. Due Diligence of Franchisees

A franchiser, i.e. AD Category–I Bank/ AD Category–II / FFMC should undertake the following minimum checks while conducting due diligence of its franchisees:

i. existing business activities of the franchisee/ its position in the area.

ii. minimum Net Owned Funds of the franchisee.

iii. Shops & Establishments / other applicable municipal certification in favour of the franchisee.

iv. verification of physical existence of location of the franchisee, where restricted money changing activities will be conducted.

v. conduct certificate of the franchisee from the local police authorities (certified copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association and Certificate of Incorporation in respect of incorporated entities).

Note: Obtaining of Conduct Certificate of the franchisee from the local police authorities is optional for the franchisers. However, the franchisers may take due care to avoid appointing individuals/ entities as franchisees who have cases / proceedings initiated / pending against them by any law enforcing agencies.

vi. declaration regarding past criminal case, if any, cases initiated / pending against the franchisee or its directors / partners by any law enforcing agency, if any.

vii. PAN Card of the franchisee and its directors / partners.

viii. photographs of the directors / partners and the key persons of franchisee.

The above checks should be done on a regular basis, at least once in a year. The franchiser should obtain from the franchisees proper documentary evidence confirming the location of the franchisees in addition to personal visits to the site. The franchiser should also obtain a Chartered Accountant’s certificate confirming the maintenance of minimum Net Owned Funds of the franchisee, i.e., Rs.10 lakh on an ongoing basis.

6. Selection of Centres

(i) The franchiser, i.e. AD Category–I Bank / AD Category–II / FFMC may appoint franchisees within a distance of 100 kms. from their controlling branches concerned.

(ii) However, this distance criterion is relaxed in case of a recognised group/ chain of hotels appointed as franchisees, provided the headquarters of the group/ chain of hotels falls within a distance of 100 kms. of the controlling branch of the franchiser concerned.

(iii) Further, in case of areas declared as hilly areas (as defined by the respective State Governments/ Union Territories) and the North-Eastern States, the distance restriction given in point (i) above is not applicable.

7. Training

Franchisers are to impart training to the franchisees as regards operations and maintenance of records.

8. Reporting, Audit and Inspection

The franchisers, i.e. ADs Category–I Banks / ADs Category–II / FFMCs are expected to put in place adequate arrangements for reporting of transactions by the franchisees to the franchisers on a regular basis (at least monthly). Regular spot audits of all locations of franchisees, at least once in six months, should be conducted by the franchiser. Such audits should involve a dedicated team and incognito visits should also be used to test the compliance level of the franchisees. A system of annual inspection of the books of the franchisees should also be put in place. The purpose of such inspection is to ensure that the money changing business is being carried out by the franchisees in conformity with the terms of the agreement and prevailing Reserve Bank guidelines and that necessary records are being maintained by the franchisees.

9. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) / Know Your Customer (KYC) / Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Guidelines

Franchisees are required to strictly adhere to the AML / KYC/ CFT guidelines, as applicable to ADs Category–I Banks / ADs Category – II / FFMCs.

SECTION IV

[Omitted]

SECTION V

Operational Instructions

1. Bringing in and taking out of Foreign Exchange

(i) Foreign exchange in any form can be brought into India freely without limit provided it is declared on the Currency Declaration Form (CDF) on arrival to the Custom Authorities. When foreign exchange brought in the form of currency notes or travellers’ cheques does not exceed USD 10,000 or its equivalent and / or the value of foreign currency notes does not exceed USD 5,000 or its equivalent, declaration thereof on CDF is not required.11

(ii) Taking out foreign exchange in any form, other than foreign exchange obtained from an authorised dealer or a money changer is prohibited unless it is covered by a general or special permission of the Reserve Bank. Non-residents, however, have general permission to take out an amount not exceeding the amount originally brought in by them, subject to compliance with the provisions of sub-para (i) above.

2. Purchases of Foreign Currency from Public

(i) Authorised Persons and their franchisees may freely purchase foreign currency notes, coins and travellers cheques from residents as well as non-residents. The tenderer shall produce the CDF to the Authorised Persons and their franchisees, if the currency being tendered for exchange has been declared by him in CDF.12

(ii) Requests for payment in cash in Indian Rupees to resident customers towards purchase of foreign currency notes and/ or Travellers’ Cheques from them may be acceded to the extent of only USD 1,000 or its equivalent per transaction.

(iii) Requests for payment in cash by foreign visitors / Non-Resident Indians may be acceded to the extent of only USD 3,000 or its equivalent per transaction.

(iv) Authorised Persons may sell Indian Rupees to foreign tourists / visitors against International Credit Cards / International Debit Cards and take prompt steps to obtain reimbursement through normal banking channels.

While making payments in Indian Rupees to resident customers towards purchase of foreign currency notes and/ or traveller’s cheques, payment can be made in cash / by way of account payee cheque / demand draft/ loading in INR debit cards/electronic funds transfer through banking channel, as per prescribed limits.

3. Encashment Certificate

(i) Authorised Persons may issue certificate of encashment when asked for in cases of purchases of foreign currency notes, coins and travellers cheques from residents as well as non-residents. These certificates bearing authorised signatures should be issued on the letter head of the money changer and proper record should be maintained.

(ii) In cases where encashment certificate is not issued, attention of the customers should be drawn to the fact that unspent local currency held by non-residents will be allowed to be converted into foreign currency only against production of a valid encashment certificate.

4. Purchases from other FFMCs and Authorised Dealers (ADs)

An FFMC/ non-bank AD Category II may purchase from other FFMCs and Authorised Dealers (ADs) any foreign currency notes, coins and encashed traveller’s cheques tendered in the normal course of business. Rupee equivalent of the amount of foreign exchange purchased should be paid only by way of crossed account payee cheque/demand draft/banker’s cheque / pay order/electronic funds transfer through banking channel.

5. Sale of foreign exchange

(I) Private Visits

Authorised Persons may sell foreign exchange up to the prescribed ceiling specified in Schedule III to the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transaction) Rules, 2000 during a financial year to persons resident in India for undertaking one or more private visits to any country abroad (except Nepal and Bhutan). Exchange for such private visits will be available on a self-declaration basis to the traveller regarding the amount of foreign exchange availed during a financial year. Foreign nationals permanently resident in India are also eligible to avail of this quota for private visits provided the applicant is not availing of facilities for remittance of his salary, savings, etc., abroad in terms of extant regulations.

(II) Business visits

Authorised Persons may sell foreign exchange to persons resident in India for undertaking business travel or for attending a conference or specialised training or for maintenance expenses of a patient going abroad for medical treatment or check -up abroad or for accompanying as attendant to a patient going abroad for medical treatment / check-up up to the limits specified in Schedule III to FEMA (Current Account Transactions) Rules, 2000.

(III) Forex Pre-paid Cards

Authorised Dealers Category-II may issue forex pre-paid cards to residents travelling on private/business visit abroad, subject to KYC/AML/CFT requirements. However, the settlement in respect of forex pre-paid cards shall be effected through AD Category-I banks only.13

In this regard, it is clarified that prepaid foreign currency cards are a form of foreign currency, similar to foreign currency notes or travellers cheques. As such, the authorised dealers (ADs)/FFMCs selling pre-paid foreign currency cards for travel purposes are required to comply with the same rigorous standards of due diligence and KYC as they would in case they were selling foreign currency notes/ travellers cheques to their customers.

Conditions

i. The Reserve Bank will not generally, prescribe the documents which should be verified by the Authorised Persons while releasing foreign exchange. In this connection, attention is drawn to sub-section (5) of Section 10 of FEMA, 1999.

ii. In case of issue of travellers’ cheques, the traveler should sign the cheques in the presence of an authorised official and the purchaser’s acknowledgement for receipt of the travellers’ cheques should be held on record.

iii. Authorised Persons may release foreign exchange for travel purposes on the basis of a declaration given by the traveler regarding the amount of foreign exchange availed of during the financial year.

iv. Authorised Persons may accept payment in cash below Rs.50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand only) against sale of foreign exchange for travel abroad (for private visit or for any other purpose). Wherever the sale of foreign exchange is for the amount equivalent to Rs.50,000/- and above whether it involves a single drawal or multiple drawals for a single journey, the payment must be received only by a crossed cheque drawn on the applicant’s bank account or crossed cheque drawn on the bank account of the firm sponsoring the visit of the applicant or electronic funds transfer through banking channel by applicant or sponsoring company or banker’s cheque / pay order / demand draft. In addition to the payment by Rupees/ through crossed cheque/ banker’s cheque/ pay order/ demand draft/electronic funds transfer through banking channel, Authorised Persons may also accept the payments made by the traveller through debit cards/ credit cards/ prepaid cards for travel abroad (for private visit or for any other purpose) provided- (i) KYC/ AML / CFT guidelines are complied with, (ii) sale of foreign currency/ issue of foreign currency traveller’s cheques is within the limits (credit/ prepaid cards) prescribed by the bank, (iii) the purchaser of foreign currency/ foreign currency travellers’ cheque and the credit/ debit/ prepaid card holder is one and the same person.

v. The sale of foreign currency notes and coins within the overall entitlement of foreign exchange should be restricted to the limits prescribed by the Reserve Bank from time to time for the country of visit of the traveller.

Note: Instructions in the Master Direction – Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) dated January 1, 2016 (updated from time to time), as applicable, shall apply.

6. Sales against Reconversion of Indian Currency

Authorised Persons may convert into foreign currency, unspent Indian currency held by non-residents at the time of their departure from India, provided a valid Encashment Certificate is produced.

Note (1): Authorised Persons may convert at their discretion, unspent Indian currency up to Rs.10,000 in the possession of non-residents if, for bonafide reasons, the person is unable to produce an Encashment Certificate after ensuring that the departure is scheduled to take place within the following seven days.

Note (2): ADs Category – I, ADs Category – II and FFMCs may provide facility for reconversion of Indian Rupees to the extent of Rs.50,000/- to foreign tourists (not NRIs) against ATM Receipts based on the following documents.

  • Valid Passport and VISA
  • Ticket confirmed for departure within 7 days.
  • Original ATM slip (to be verified with the original debit/ credit card).

7. Cash Memo

Authorised Persons shall issue a cash memo, if asked for, on official letterhead to travellers to whom foreign currency is sold by them. The cash memo may be required for production to emigration authorities while leaving the country.

8. Rates of Exchange

Authorised Persons may put through transactions relating to foreign exchange at market determined exchange rates.14

9. Display of Exchange Rate Chart

Authorised Persons should display at a prominent place in or near the public counter, a chart indicating the rates for purchase/sale of foreign currency notes and travellers’ cheques for all the major currencies and the card rates for any day, should be updated, latest by 10:30 a.m.

10. Display of Money Changing Licence

An FFMC/ non-bank AD Category II should at each of its business place, display at a prominent place in or near the public counter, a copy of the money changing licence issued by Reserve Bank of India.

11. Foreign Currency Balances

(i) An FFMC/non-bank AD Category-II should keep balances in foreign currencies at reasonable levels and avoid buildup of idle balances with a view to speculating on currency movements.

(ii) Franchisees should surrender foreign currency notes, coins and travellers’ cheques purchased only to their franchisers within seven working days.

(iii) The transactions between authorised dealers and FFMCs should be settled by way of account payee crossed cheques / demand drafts/electronic funds transfer through banking channel. Under no circumstances should settlement be made in cash.

12. Replenishment of Foreign currency Balances

(i) FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II may obtain their normal business requirements of foreign currency notes from other FFMCs and Authorised Dealers (ADs) in India, against payment in rupees made by way of account payee crossed cheque / demand draft/electronic funds transfer through banking channel. 15From July 1, 2024, value of foreign currency notes sold by FFMCs / non-bank ADs Category-II to the public for permitted purposes should not be less than 75% of the value of foreign currency notes purchased from other FFMCs/ ADs, on a quarterly basis. Data of such sale and purchase should be maintained and made available for audit / inspection. FFMCs/ADs selling foreign currency may also ascertain the ‘sale to public’ requirement of the buying FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II, by seeking relevant data from such entities.

(ii) Where FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II are unable to replenish their stock in this manner, they may make an application to the Regional Office concerned of the Reserve Bank through an AD Category-I for permission to import foreign currency into India. The import should take place through the designated AD Category-I through whom the application is made.

13. Export / Disposal of surplus Foreign Currency Notes / Travellers’ Cheques

FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II may export surplus foreign currency notes / encashed travellers’ cheques to an overseas bank through designated Authorised Dealer Category – I in foreign exchange for realisation of their value through the latter. FFMCs may also export surplus foreign currency to private money changers abroad subject to the condition that either the realisable value is credited in advance to the AD Category – I bank’s nostro account or a guarantee is issued by an international bank of repute covering the full value of the foreign currency notes / coins to be exported.

14. Write-off of foreign currency notes

In the event of foreign currency notes purchased being found fake/forged subsequently, FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II may write- off up to USD 2000 per financial year after approval of their Top Management after exhausting all available options for recovery of the amount. Any write-off in excess of the above amount, for any reason including but not limited to foreign currency notes being found to be fake or forged would require the approval of the Regional Office concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank. 16The request should be submitted through the APConnect application.

15. Registers and Books of Accounts of Money-changing Business

(i) FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II shall maintain the following Registers in respect of their money-changing transactions :

  1. Daily Summary and Balance Book (Foreign currency notes / coins) in form FLM 1.
  2. Daily Summary and Balance Book(Travellers’ cheques) in form FLM 2.
  3. Register of purchases of foreign currencies from the public in form FLM 3.
  4. Register of purchases of foreign currency notes / coins from Authorised Dealers and FFMCs in form FLM 4.
  5. Register of sales of foreign currency notes / coins and foreign currency travellers’ cheques to the public in form FLM 5.
  6. Register of sales of foreign currency notes /coins to Authorised Dealers / FFMCs / overseas banks in form FLM 6.
  7. Register of travellers’ cheques surrendered to Authorised Dealers / FFMCs / exported in form FLM 7.

(ii) All registers and books should be kept up-to-date, cross-checked and balances verified daily.

(iii) Transactions not pertaining to money changing business of the FFMC/ non-bank AD Category II should not be mixed up with money changing transactions. In other words, the registers and books of account should show clearly the trail of transactions pertaining to money changing business.

(iv) Separate registers should be maintained for each establishment, if the FFMC/ non-bank AD Category II maintains more than one place of business.

Note: Inter-branch transfer of foreign currencies should be accounted as stock transfer and not as sales.

16. Submission of Statements to the Reserve Bank

(i) FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II should submit 17through the APConnect application to the office of the Reserve Bank which has issued the licence, a monthly consolidated statement for all its offices in respect of sale and purchase of foreign currency notes in form FLM 8 so as to reach not later than the 10th of the succeeding month.

(ii)[***]

(iii) FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II FFMCs should submit a quarterly statement regarding Foreign Currency Account/s maintained in India in their names with AD Category-I Banks to the Regional Office concerned of the Foreign Exchange Department, Reserve Bank as per the prescribed format.

(iv) An Annual Statement should be submitted by all the FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II to the respective Regional Offices of the Foreign Exchange Department, Reserve Bank which have issued the licenses within one month of the financial year-end, giving the details of the amount written off during the financial year, as per the prescribed format.

(v) FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II should report to the respective Regional Office of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Reserve Bank under whose jurisdiction the registered office of the applicant falls, regarding any action initiated by Directorate of Enforcement (DoE) / Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) or any other law enforcing authorities against the FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II or its directors within one month of such action

17. Inspection of Transactions

Section 12(1) of Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999, empowers any officer of Reserve Bank specially authorised in this behalf to inspect the books and accounts and other documents of Authorised Persons under FEMA. The Authorised Persons should provide all assistance and co-operation to Inspecting Officers in carrying out their inspection. Failure to produce any books of account or other document or to furnish any statement or information or to answer any question relating to the money changing transactions to the Inspecting Officers, shall be deemed to be a contravention of the provisions of the Act ibid.

18. Concurrent Audit

(i) FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II should put in place a system of Concurrent Audit of the transactions undertaken by them.

(ii) All single branch FFMCs having a turnover of more than USD 100,000 or equivalent per month should institute a system of monthly audit. Single branch FFMCs having turnover equal to or less than USD 100,000 or equivalent per month may institute a system of quarterly audit. FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II having multiple branches, may put in place a system of Concurrent Audit which will cover 80 per cent of the transactions value-wise under a system of monthly audit and rest 20 per cent of the transactions value-wise under quarterly audit.

(iii) Appointment/selection of concurrent auditors is left to the discretion of the FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II. The concurrent auditors should check all the transactions of the FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II and ensure that the same are undertaken as per the instructions issued by the Reserve Bank from time to time and all necessary requirements are complied with. The scope of concurrent audit should, inter alia, include:

  • KYC/AML/CFT related areas,
  • timely submission of statements,
  • verification that prescribed registers are being maintained,
  • verification that all money changing transactions have been recorded in the respective books and registers,
  • verification that cash is accepted within the limit of INR 50000, including cases of structuring of transactions into a series of cash transactions below INR 50000,
  • verification that payments received in non-cash mode from customers are reflected in the bank account statements of the FFMC/non-bank AD Category II

(iv) The Statutory Auditors are required to certify that the Concurrent Audit and the internal control systems are working satisfactorily.

19. [Omitted]

20. Opening of Foreign Currency Accounts

FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II, with the approval of the respective Regional Offices of the Foreign Exchange Department, may be allowed to open Foreign Currency Accounts in India, subject to the following conditions:-

(i) Only one account per currency may be permitted at a particular centre.

(ii) Only the value of foreign currency notes/ encashed TCs exported through the specific bank and realised can be credited to the account.

(iii) Balances in the accounts shall be utilised only for settlement of liabilities on account of-

  1. TCs sold by the FFMCs/non-bank ADs Category II and
  2. Foreign currency notes acquired by the FFMCs/ non-bank ADs Category II from ADs Category-I.

(iv) No idle balance shall be maintained in the said account Application for opening of foreign currency accounts should be submitted through the APConnect application.

21. Opening of Nostro Account by Authorised Dealers Category-II

Authorised Dealers Category-II may open Nostro Accounts after getting one time approval from the concerned Regional Office of the Reserve Bank, subject to following terms and conditions.

i) Only one Nostro account for each currency may be opened;

ii) Balances in the account should be utilised only for the settlement of remittances sent for permissible purposes and not for the settlement in respect of forex prepaid cards;

iii) No idle balance shall be maintained in the said account; and

iv) They will be subject to reporting requirements as prescribed from time to time.

Non-bank AD Category-II should submit application for opening of nostro accounts through the APConnect application.

22. Submission of Balance Sheet and certificate for maintenance of Net Worth and Forex Turnover

An FFMC/non-bank AD Category II shall submit to the Regional Office concerned of the Reserve Bank, a copy of annual audited balance sheet along with a certificate from the statutory auditors regarding the net worth as on the date of the balance sheet by 31st October every year, and a certificate from the statutory auditors regarding annual forex turnover during the financial year, by 30th April every year.

23. Participation in the Currency Futures and Exchange traded Currency Options Markets

FFMCs and ADs Category-II [which are not Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Local Area Banks (LABs), Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)], having a minimum net worth of Rs.5 crore, may participate in the designated currency futures and currency options on exchanges recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as clients only for the purpose of hedging their underlying foreign exchange exposures. FFMCs and ADs Category–II which are RRBs, LABs, UCBs and NBFCs, may be guided by the instructions issued by the respective regulatory Departments of the Reserve Bank in this regard.

24. For opening Foreign Exchange Counters/branches at the international airports in India, AD Category-I banks/ ADs Category – II/ FFMCs should adhere to following conditions.

  1. Foreign Exchange Counters/branches in the arrival halls in international airports in India shall ideally be established after the Customs Desk (Green Channel/Red Channel). However, Foreign Exchange Counters may also be established between the Immigration Desk and the Customs Desk in international airports in India subject to the condition that these counters shall only purchase foreign currency and sell Indian Rupees (INR) and “Encashment Certificates” shall invariably be issued by the money changers to the customers.
  2. Foreign Exchange Counters/branches in the departure halls in international airports in India shall be established before the Customs Desk or the immigration desk, whichever comes first. 24However, the Foreign Exchange Counters established in the Duty-Free Area or Security Hold Area beyond the Immigration or Customs desk shall allow residents (along with non-residents) to exchange Indian Rupee notes. The limits of carrying Indian Rupees by residents and non-residents shall be as per the para given below at (c) and (d).
  3. Resident Indians as well as those Non-residents who are – (i) not citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh and (ii) not going to Pakistan or Bangladesh, are allowed to take Indian notes up to an amount not exceeding Rs.25,000/- while leaving the country through an airport.
  4. Citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh exiting the country by air are allowed to carry up to a maximum of Rs.10,000/- up to the boarding point in international airports, but not beyond.

SECTION VI

KYC/ AML/ CFT Guidelines

(i) Authorised Persons, which are regulated by the Department of Regulation, Reserve Bank of India, shall be governed by the respective ‘Know Your Customer’ directions as applicable to them.

(ii) Authorised Persons, which are not regulated by the Department of Regulation, Reserve Bank of India, shall be governed by ‘Reserve Bank of India (Non-Banking Financial Companies – Know Your Customer) Directions, 2025’.

(iii) Authorised Persons shall ensure compliance of directions, as applicable to them, by their agents/ sub-agents/franchisees.

SECTION VII

[Omitted]

SECTION VIII

[Omitted]

Annex

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for non-bank money changers during elections

The movement of foreign exchange can take place between Authorised Dealer Category I (AD Cat. I), Authorised Dealer Category II (AD Cat. II), Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMC), their offices/branches, their customers and their franchisees.

On a request received from the Election Commission of India the following Standard Operating Practice (SOP) for movement of cash (foreign exchange), during elections is being notified:

A. Physical Movement-

  1. All movement of Indian currency or foreign exchange should be effected by the person(s) authorised, who should carry the supporting documents while moving the cash. The movement should be on the basis of requisition made by the receiver and to the address of the destination.
  2. If the cash is being moved from the office/branch of the Authorised Person (AP), it should leave the place only after it has been recorded in the books of accounts of the AP.
  3. Similarly, if the destination point of movement of the currency is the office/branch of the AP, it should be recorded in the books of accounts of the AP, on the same day or on the date of receipt.
  4. Transfer of foreign currency between branches of the same AP should be accounted as stock transfer and not as sale so that double counting is avoided.

B. In the case of doorstep forex service by FFMCs / Authorised Dealers Category II to their regular customers, inter-alia, the processing and accounting of the transaction should take place in the office of the AP and the transaction should be supported by necessary documents for value received. The delivery of the forex should be done by authorised officials of the AP only.

C. As far as possible movement of Indian Currency should be made through banking channels (viz. cheque, demand draft, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS etc.) only. The transactions between authorised dealers and FFMCs should be settled by way of account payee crossed cheques / demand drafts/electronic funds transfer through banking channel and in no circumstances the settlement of Indian Currency should be made in cash. The cash (INR) collected by the AP or its franchisee should be deposited to a bank branch on the same day or next day.

D. The cancellation of any move for transportation of cash should be properly documented.

E. The movement of cash should be in sync with the documents.

F. The upper limit for movement of cash in INR would be Rs.10,00,000/- and in Foreign Currency equivalent of USD1,00,000 except the transactions where the imported foreign currency is being transported to the offices/ branch of the AP.