Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of a Branch or a Liaison Office or a Project Office or any Other Place of Business) Regulations, 2016

RBI has, by way of a recent notification issued the Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of a Branch or a Liaison Office or a Project Office or any Other Place of Business) Regulations, 2016 (‘New Regulations’) which replace the erstwhile regulations of 2000. The key changes in the New Regulations, inter alia, include: (i) the term ‘branch office’ has been defined to mean any establishment described as such by the concerned company; (ii) cancellation of approval if no office is opened within six months of receiving the approval letter, subject to an extension of six months by the Authorised Dealer Category-I bank (‘AD Bank’) on account of reasons beyond control; (iii) citizens of certain specified countries are required to obtain registration with the relevant State police authorities in addition to the RBI approval for establishing a branch office or liaison office or project office or any other place of business; and (iv) AD Bank may permit intermittent remittances by branch office/ project offices pending winding up/ completion of the project subject to submission of specified documents.