Frequently Asked Questions
Late filing before enforcement action attracts a flat Late Submission Fee of ₹7,500 per return under A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 16 dated 30 September 2022.
Non-filing or false filing exposes the entity to penalties under Section 13 of FEMA 1999 — up to 3× the contravention amount, or ₹2,00,000 where the amount isn't quantifiable, plus ₹5,000 per day for continuing defaults. The LSF option is only available up to three years from the original due date; after that, the matter can only be resolved through compounding.
The bigger practical issue is usually the effect on future fundraises: RBI cross-checks FLA compliance before approving FC-GPR filings for new investments.
Yes. Prior-year returns can be filed but require RBI approval first, through the FLAIR portal's Multiple Year CIN Enable Screen. An LSF applies, and the option to use LSF is available only up to three years from the original due date.
We handle the approval request, the LSF coordination with the jurisdictional RBI Regional Office, and the actual prior-year filing, along with this year's filing in parallel so the delay doesn't compound.
Yes. They're different filings on different portals, triggered by different events, monitored by different RBI departments.
FC-GPR is event-based, filed on FIRMS within 30 days of each share allotment to a non-resident. FLA is position-based, filed on FLAIR annually by July 15, reporting the outstanding foreign investment position as on 31 March. Filing one doesn't satisfy the other. If you've made overseas investment, you'll also have a Form FC due by 31 December. We can scope that in as well.
For a standard filing with complete data and audited financials, under a week. For first-time filers we add time for FLAIR registration (which requires Authority Letter and Verification Letter in RBI's format). Prior-year cleanups take longer because RBI approval is on their timeline, not ours.
The variable is always data readiness, not form preparation. That's why the applicability call happens first.
Yes. An EquityList subscription is required for FLA filing. We file directly from your cap table on the platform, so your ownership structure needs to live in EquityList before we begin.
If you're not on EquityList yet, migration is handled by us and doesn't add to the engagement timeline. The same data then feeds every other FEMA filing through the year.
Everything in the scope block above: no per-section add-ons, no surprises.
Out of scope: LSF itself (paid to RBI), penalty payments under Section 13, and audit fees if your auditor isn't ready by July 15 and we need to coordinate on provisional-to-audited reconciliation.
Yes, if foreign investment is outstanding on your books as on 31 March.FLA is a position-based return, not an event-based one. An entity that received FDI two years ago and still has foreign shareholders on the cap table files every year, until the investment is fully divested and the 31 March position reflects no outstanding FDI or ODI.
Compulsorily Convertible Debentures and Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares are treated as equity FDI from day one and need to be reported. Convertible Notes under the DPIIT framework have their own treatment. The specifics depend on the instrument, conversion terms, and the 31 March position.
It depends on the 31 March position. If the exit was before 1 April of the previous financial year and no outstanding FDI or ODI remains on either reference date, filing isn't required. If the exit happened during this financial year, you still file, and report the disinvestment in Section III of the return.
File on time with provisional figures, then revise by 30 September. RBI explicitly permits this path. Not filing because accounts are pending is treated as a FEMA violation — which carries the same LSF as any other late filing, plus the risk of penal action under Section 13.

