Once an Indian company has invested in a subsidiary in the UAE, Singapore or elsewhere, FEMA reporting continues for as long as the investment exists. Every year there is an Annual Performance Report on each foreign entity, due by 31 December, and an Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets. Each further event also needs its own report through the bank: additional investment, a loan, a guarantee, a restructuring or a disinvestment. Within six months of investing, evidence of the investment is also due. Each of these has its own deadline, set out below.
The rules that apply
Overseas investment is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022 and the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Regulations, 2022, notified in August 2022 (the regulations as Notification No. FEMA 400/2022-RB). RBI's operational instructions are in its Master Direction on Overseas Investment, and the reporting formats in its Master Direction on reporting under FEMA. All reporting goes through the Indian investor's designated authorised dealer bank, in the formats RBI prescribes, under Regulation 10(1).
Filings when you invest
- Financial commitment. Each financial commitment must be reported at the time of the outward remittance or the commitment, whichever is earlier, under Regulation 10(2)(a). That includes equity, a loan to the subsidiary or a guarantee on its behalf. RBI's Master Direction requires Form FC to be submitted on or before the initial investment, which is also when the bank obtains a unique identification number for the investment.
- Evidence of investment. Under Regulation 9(1), as RBI's Master Direction sets out, an Indian investor acquiring equity capital reckoned as overseas direct investment must submit evidence of the investment to the authorised dealer bank within six months.
Diarise the six-month date at the time of remittance.
The annual filings
Annual Performance Report (APR)
Under Regulation 10(4), a person resident in India who has made an overseas direct investment must submit an APR for each foreign entity every year by 31 December. Where the foreign entity's accounting year ends on 31 December, the APR is due by 31 December of the following year.
Which accounts. The APR is based on the foreign entity's audited financial statements. Unaudited statements, certified by the Indian entity's statutory auditor, are allowed only where the Indian investor does not have control and the host country does not require an audit.
This matters for wholly owned subsidiaries. An Indian parent controls its subsidiary, so the APR must be based on audited financial statements, even if the subsidiary is exempt from audit in its own country. Plan the audit with the 31 December deadline in mind.
Exemptions. No APR is needed where the Indian investor holds less than 10% of the equity without control and has no financial commitment other than equity, or where the foreign entity is under liquidation.
What it reports. The APR also reports changes in the group below the subsidiary: step-down subsidiaries acquired, set up, wound up or transferred during the year, and changes in the shareholding pattern.
Who files where several Indian residents invested: the one with the highest stake. If stakes are equal, they can file jointly.
Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA)
Under Regulation 10(5), an Indian entity that has made an overseas direct investment must file the FLA return with RBI's Department of Statistics and Information Management, by the date RBI specifies. RBI's FAQs on the return set the due date as 15 July each year, with provisional figures allowed where accounts are not yet audited, followed by a revised return. The FLA return covers foreign assets as well as foreign liabilities, so a company with an overseas subsidiary must file it even if it has no foreign investors.
Event-based filings
Each of these must be reported through the bank as it happens:
- Further investment, loans or guarantees: as a financial commitment, at the time of the remittance or commitment, under Regulation 10(2)(a).
- Disinvestment: within 30 days of receipt of the disinvestment proceeds, under Regulation 10(2)(b).
- Restructuring of the foreign entity: within 30 days of the restructuring, under Regulation 10(2)(c).
If a filing has been missed
Regulation 11 allows a delayed filing to be made with a late submission fee, at rates RBI specifies, within three years of the due date. RBI's Master Direction sets out the fee:
- A flat ₹7,500 for the APR, the FLA return and evidence of investment, among others.
- ₹7,500 plus an amount that grows with the sum involved and the length of the delay for flow reports such as financial commitments and disinvestments. This is capped at the amount involved.
Until a delay is regularised, the authorised dealer bank will not facilitate any outward remittance or further financial commitment towards the foreign entity. If you find a gap, collect the missing information and approach the bank promptly.
An annual ODI calendar
- Within six months of each remittance: evidence of investment obtained and submitted.
- By 15 July: FLA return filed, provisional if necessary.
- During the year: each financial commitment, disinvestment or restructuring reported as it happens.
- By 31 December: APR for each foreign entity filed, based on audited accounts where the investor has control.
- Throughout: a record of every remittance to and receipt from the foreign entity, reconciled to the investment and loan balances in the books.
Where this fits
FEMA reporting runs alongside the Indian tax position on the subsidiary. See Indian parent, UAE subsidiary: the India-side tax risks. Where the subsidiary and the parent trade with each other, the GST and export rules also apply. See FIRC and e-BRC: the paper trail your service exports need.
Wissen Solutions supports Indian companies with overseas subsidiaries on FEMA reporting, alongside tax and GST compliance, through our GST, income tax and TDS return filing services.
Sources (checked 26 October 2026)
- RBI: A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 12 dated 22 August 2022: notification of the OI Rules and the OI Regulations (FEMA 400/2022-RB, 22 August 2022), with links to both; Regulations 9, 10 and 11
- RBI: Note on the Annual Performance Report: due date, financial statements, exemptions
- RBI: Master Direction – Overseas Investment (FED Master Direction No. 15/2024-25, updated as on 1 April 2026): Form FC and UIN, evidence of investment, late submission fee, restriction until delays are regularised, reporting formats
- RBI: FAQs on the Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (updated as on 1 July 2026): 15 July due date, provisional and revised returns