The new Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, have changed how freelancers, content creators, consultants, or any professionals earning from foreign clients have to report their earnings to the bank. The changes took effect on October 1, 2026.
As per the new framework, the export of services to overseas clients has to be declared through the Export Declaration Form (EDF) with the authorised dealer (AD) bank.
All invoices received for services exported in a month would be covered by a single EDF, which has to be submitted within 30 days from the end of the month in which the bills were issued. This means one EDF form covers the total value of services exported in a month, and a different EDF has to be submitted to the concerned bank for each month.
There were concerns and speculations among people earning income through freelance services, content creation, and other sources regarding an additional compliance process for which individual taxpayers may not be properly equipped.
The first aspect that exporters must understand is that this is not a new tax introduced on foreign earnings. It is merely a process of reporting the income earned through foreign clients in a month and ensuring the due repatriation of foreign exchange.
Regarding the compliance process, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), during a press conference, provided clarifications that brought significant relief to many such individuals, including those whose earnings are capped at a certain amount.
RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain clarified that reporting requirements do not include export and import contracts of a personal nature. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra further added that reporting transactions under contracts that include subscriptions to TV channels, apps, journals, or newspapers, or the provision of services such as tutoring or small software services, would not be required, irrespective of the amount.
Rohit asserted that the requirement is meant to liberalise the handling of trade matters and promote ease of doing business. The intent behind introducing the declaration-related requirements is to reduce the burden on authorised dealers as well as exporters and importers.
Since there are prevalent misunderstandings regarding the matter, the RBI will soon release FAQs to clarify people’s doubts.
Another significant point to note from the press conference is that, for transactions of up to Rs 10 lakh per bill, a self-declaration would be sufficient. The limit of Rs 10 lakh does not apply annually, and it is not an exemption but rather an alternative for small exporters.
Lastly, individual exporters and importers do not have to worry about reporting information on the IEDPMS (Import/Export Data Processing and Monitoring System) portal themselves. They need to update the intermediaries, including banks and ADs, which would then undertake the reporting.
