On 14-11-2025, the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’) notified the RBI (Trade Relief Measures) Directions, 2025 to cushion exporters against global headwinds and disruptions in international trade. This set of measures aims to ease debt burdens, extend repayment timelines, and provide greater flexibility in export operations, thereby ensuring the continuity of viable businesses in India’s export sector.
These Directions will came into effect from 14-11-2025.
Key Highlights on Trade Relief Measures:
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Trade Relief Measures are applicable to:
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Commercial Banks,
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Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks and Central Co-operative Banks,
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Non-Banking Financial Companies (including Housing Finance Companies),
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All-India Financial Institutions, and
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Credit Information Companies (‘CICs’) (only for credit history safeguard requirement).
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Under the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2025, the RBI introduced relaxations to support exporters:
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Extended Realisation Period: Exporters now have 15 months (instead of 9 months) to realise and repatriate the full value of goods, software, or services exported from India.
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Extended Shipment Period: Exporters receiving advance payments can ship goods within 3 years (up from 1 year), or as per contractual agreement, whichever is later.
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These changes provide exporters with more time to manage payments and logistics amid global uncertainties.
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Debt Repayment Relief:
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Exporters have been granted a moratorium on term loan instalments and interest on working capital loans due between 1-9-2025 and 31-12-2025.
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Lenders are allowed to reassess working capital limits or reduce margins during this period to ease liquidity pressure.
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Interest accrues on a simple basis (no compounding), with accrued interest converted into a funded interest term loan repayable by 30-9-2026.
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Export Credit Relaxations:
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The maximum repayment period for pre shipment and post shipment export credit has been extended to 450 days for credit disbursed up to 31-3-2026.
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Exporters who availed packing credit before 31-8-2025 but could not dispatch goods may liquidate such facilities through other legitimate sources, including domestic sales or substitution with proceeds from another export order.
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Relief measures will not be treated as restructuring events, preventing automatic downgrades of borrower accounts.
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Moratorium/deferment periods are excluded from past due calculations under IRACP norms.
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Regulated Entities (‘REs’) are required to make a general provision of at least 5% of outstanding amounts in eligible accounts by 31-12-2025, with adjustments allowed against specific provisioning requirements later.
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CICs will ensure borrower credit histories are not adversely impacted.
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REs need to maintain a Management Information System (MIS) detailing borrower wise and facility wise reliefs. Reports will be submitted via RBI’s DAKSH1 platform every 15th day, ensuring transparency.