Mint Explainer: What RBI’s unified foreign exchange rules mean for India’s service exporters

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s foreign exchange rules governing trade have long evolved through a patchwork of regulations, circulars and banking practices, especially as services exports expanded rapidly alongside goods trade. That structure has now been reset.

By notifying a unified Foreign Exchange Management framework covering both exports and imports of goods and services, the Reserve Bank of India has attempted to simplify compliance, improve transparency and tighten monitoring of foreign exchange flows, particularly in services trade, while shifting more responsibility to banks. The change matters because services now account for a growing share of India’s exports, yet remain underrepresented in the formal reporting architecture under Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema). The new rules aim to close that gap without reintroducing centralised controls.

Services exports during April–December 2025 totalled $303.97 billion, while imports totalled $152.23 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $151.74 billion. In the corresponding period of FY25, services exports stood at $285.53 billion and imports at $150.01 billion, leading to a services trade surplus of $135.52 billion. In contrast, trade in goods continued to remain in deficit.

During April–December 2025, merchandise exports stood at $330.29 billion, while imports rose to $578.61 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $248.32 billion. Mint unpacks RBI's move and what it means for the services exporters. The RBI has notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, replacing the existing export regulations of 2015.