The Reserve Bank of India has issued the Reserve Bank of India (Trade Relief Measures) Directions, 2025, through a notification dated November 14, 2025. These measures are designed to ease day-to-day challenges in cross-border trade and simplify foreign exchange (FX) processes for exporters, importers, merchanting traders, and Authorized Dealer (AD) banks. They also build on RBI’s broader 2025 effort to streamline and modernize India’s export–import framework.
Why These Measures Matter
Throughout 2025, RBI worked on overhauling trade-related rules under FEMA—aiming to consolidate scattered instructions, simplify procedures, and give banks more operational clarity. The latest Directions translate that policy intent into practical relaxations and extended timelines, helping trade participants manage transactions more smoothly while keeping necessary risk controls in place.
Key Relief Measures at a Glance
1. Longer Timelines for Merchanting Trade
– The permissible “outlay period”—the gap between outward and inward remittances—has been extended to six months.
– This helps traders dealing with logistics issues, shipping delays, or slow counterparties complete transactions without unwarranted pressure.
2. Simplified Rules for AD Banks
– RBI has consolidated multiple fragmented guidelines into a single, clearer set of instructions.
– This covers exports, imports, set-offs, advances, and EDPMS/IDPMS closure processes, making compliance smoother for banks and customers alike.
3. More Operational Flexibility
– The framework adopts a liberal approach for genuine trade-related adjustments while still maintaining due diligence standards.
– The focus is on removing routine procedural bottlenecks.
Impact on Exporters and Importers
Better Cash Flow Planning
The extended merchanting timeline reduces forced cancellations and improves the synchronisation of receivables and payables across supply chains.
Fewer Documentation Hurdles
With consolidated guidance and clearer expectations, exporters and importers can coordinate more efficiently with their AD banks, helping close or update open entries faster.
What AD Banks Need to Do
1. Update Internal SOPs
Internal manuals must be aligned with the new consolidated norms, especially regarding set-offs, advances, extensions, and write-offs.
2. Monitor Merchanting Timelines
Banks must enhance system checks to track the new six-month outlay period and document exceptions properly.
3. Improve EDPMS/IDPMS Hygiene
The simplified instructions should be used to clean up legacy entries and strengthen ongoing monitoring.
Connected to RBI’s 2025 Rationalisation Drive
These Directions fit directly into RBI’s larger mission of consolidating export–import rules and providing practical flexibility to AD banks. The updated processes reflect feedback from banks and businesses seeking clearer guidance for ongoing and legacy transactions.
What You Should Do Now
For Exporters/Importers
– Review your contracts and merchanting chains to take advantage of the six-month outlay period.
– Engage early with your AD bank to avoid documentation delays.
For AD Banks
– Issue branch-level instructions quickly.
– Update system validations, customer advisories, and checklists to reflect the new norms.
Bottom Line
RBI’s 2025 Trade Relief Measures offer meaningful, time-bound flexibility for India’s trade ecosystem. Businesses benefit from smoother timelines and fewer procedural hurdles, while banks get clearer operational guidance—supporting faster, cleaner export/import processing across the system.
