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RBI drops annual forex card usage reporting for banks

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2010-11/323 · issued 22 Dec 2010 · ~2 min read
Quick answerRBI has discontinued the requirement for banks to submit an annual statement on international debit card forex usage exceeding USD 100,000 per cardholder per calendar year, effective from the calendar year 2010 onwards. This reduces reporting burden on AD banks.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

As a forex & trade-finance officer in Indore, Rohan no longer needs to prepare and submit the annual statement on international debit card forex usage exceeding USD 100,000 per cardholder. He can now focus on monitoring transactions for adherence to forex rules and ensuring compliance with other requirements under A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 46 dated June 14, 2005.

What changed

Earlier, under A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 46 dated June 14, 2005, banks had to submit a statement as on December 31 each year if aggregate forex utilization by International Debit Card holders exceeded USD 100,000 in a calendar year. Now, RBI has discontinued this submission requirement from the calendar year 2010 onwards. All other instructions from the 2005 circular remain unchanged.

What it means for you

Banks no longer need to track and report high-value forex card usage by resident Indians traveling abroad, saving compliance time and resources. However, the underlying FEMA limits and other obligations under the 2005 circular still apply, so banks must continue to monitor transactions for adherence to forex rules. This is a procedural simplification, not a relaxation of forex controls.

What you must do

Who it affects

All Authorised Dealer (AD) banks handling foreign exchange, Compliance and forex operations teams in banks

❓ Common questions

Does this mean there is no limit on forex usage via international cards?

No. The circular only discontinues the reporting requirement. The underlying FEMA limits and other instructions from the 2005 circular remain in force. Banks must still ensure cardholders comply with forex rules.

From when is this reporting discontinued?

The submission of the annual statement is discontinued from the calendar year 2010 onwards. Banks should not submit the statement for 2010 or any subsequent year.

Do we need to keep records of high-value forex card usage?

The circular does not explicitly remove record-keeping obligations. Since other instructions of the 2005 circular remain, banks should continue to maintain records as per standard FEMA compliance practices.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2010-11/323 A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 29 December 22, 2010 To        All Banks authorised to deal in Foreign Exchange Madam / Sir, Use of International Debit Cards/ Store Value Cards/Charge Cards/Smart Cards by resident Indians while on a visit outside India Attention of all the banks authorised to deal in foreign exchange is invited to paragraph 4 of the A.P.(DIR Series) Circular No. 46 dated June 14, 2005 in terms of which they are required to submit a statement as on December 31, each year in case the aggregate forex utilization by the International Debit Card holders exceeds USD 100,000 in a calendar year. 2. It has been decided to discontinue the submission of the statement mentioned above to the Reserve Bank. Accordingly, all the banks authorised to deal in foreign exchange are advised to discontinue the submission of the afore-mentioned statement from the calendar year 2010 onwards. 3. All other instructions of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 46 dated June 14, 2005 shall continue to remain the same. 4. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions / approvals, if any, required under any other law. Yours faithfully, (Salim Gangadharan) Chief General Manager-in-Charge
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2010-11/323 · issued 22 Dec 2010. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Who does what — compliance checklist
🏦 Branch Manager
  • Inform relevant branches and forex dealing teams about the change to avoid unnecessary data collection.
💻 IT / Systems
  • Update internal compliance checklists and reporting systems to reflect this discontinued submission.
📜 Compliance
  • Stop preparing and submitting the annual statement on international card forex usage exceeding USD 100,000 per cardholder from calendar year 2010 onwards.
  • Retain all other compliance requirements under A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 46 dated June 14, 2005, including monitoring of forex usage limits.
Grouped from the action items above — a single circular may involve more than one team.
Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (All Authorised Dealer (AD) banks handling foreign exchange, Compliance and forex operations teams in banks), your first concrete step on “RBI drops annual forex card usage reporting for banks” is: “Stop preparing and submitting the annual statement on international card forex usage exceeding USD 100,000 per cardholder from calendar year 2010 onwards.” (RBI issued this 22 Dec 2010).

  1. Circular: RBI/2010-11/323 -- RBI drops annual forex card usage reporting for banks
  2. Issued: 22 Dec 2010
  3. Action required: Stop preparing and submitting the annual statement on international card forex usage exceeding USD 100,000 per cardholder from calendar year 2010 onwards.
  4. Action required: Retain all other compliance requirements under A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 46 dated June 14, 2005, including monitoring of forex usage limits.
  5. Action required: Update internal compliance checklists and reporting systems to reflect this discontinued submission.
  6. Action required: Inform relevant branches and forex dealing teams about the change to avoid unnecessary data collection.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=6160&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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