FAQ Page 1 - ஆர்பிஐ

RbiAnnouncementWeb

FAQ DetailPage Breadcrumb

Search Bar

முடிவுகளை தேடுக

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and Trade Credits

D. RECOGNISED LENDERS/ INVESTORS

8. A foreign equity holder holding minimum 25% direct equity holding in the borrowing entity or minimum indirect equity holding of 51% in the borrowing entity is a recognised lender. Can the foreign equity holder dispose-off the holding once ECB is contracted? +

No, all ECB guidelines including those related to minimum equity holding, are to be fulfilled during the whole tenure of the ECB and not only at the time of contracting of ECB.

Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey – India

Details for survey launch

Q8. What if the reporting entity does not receive the soft copy of the survey schedule by email? +

Ans: In case the reporting entity does not receive the soft-form of the survey schedule, they may download the same from RBI website (www.rbi.org.in) under the head ‘Regulatory Reporting’-→ ‘List of Returns’-→ ‘CPIS – Survey Schedule’[ or under the head ‘Forms’ (available under ‘More Links’ at the bottom of the home page) and sub-head ‘Survey’] or send a request to the email .

All you wanted to know about NBFCs

A. Definitions

8. What are systemically important NBFCs? +

NBFCs whose asset size is of ₹ 500 cr or more as per last audited balance sheet are considered as systemically important NBFCs. The rationale for such classification is that the activities of such NBFCs will have a bearing on the financial stability of the overall economy.B. Entities Regulated by RBI and applicable regulations

FAQs on Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending Guidelines

H. Weaker Sections

Query 24: In case of Partnership Firms/ Pvt. Limited, can the loan granted be tagged as SMF and Weaker Section, if any of the Partner/ Director is holding Agriculture land upto 2 hectares / 5 acres. +

Clarification: As per extant guidelines, SMF includes individuals, SHGs, JLGs, Farmers’ Producer Companies (FPC) and Co-operatives of farmers with the accompanying criteria of membership by number and land-holding. Therefore, loans to partnership firms/ co-borrowers or any director of a Company holding Agriculture land upto 2 hectares / 5 acres are not eligible to be classified under the Small and Marginal farmers category of PSL

Query 25: In case of a Partnership firm, if majority of the partners belong to one or the other of the specified minority communities, whether advances granted to such partnership firms can be treated as advances granted to minority communities. Further, in case of Private / Public Ltd. Company, if any of the borrowers belong to Minority Community, can the loan be classified under weaker section category ? +

Clarification: As per extant guidelines, priority sector loans are eligible for classification as loans to minority communities as per the list notified by the GoI from time to time. The same may be read with Master Circular- Credit Facilities to Minority Communities which under para 2.2 states “In the case of a partnership firm, if the majority of the partners belong to one or the other of the specified minority communities, advances granted to such partnership firms may be treated as advances granted to minority communities. Further, if the majority beneficial ownership in a partnership firm belongs to the minority community, then such lending can be classified as advances to the specified communities. A company has a separate legal entity and hence advances granted to it cannot be classified as advances to the specified minority communities.”

Query 26: Can banks rely on customer’s declaration for Minority / SC / ST category to be included under Weaker section ? +

Clarification: Our guidelines do not mandate banks to obtain documentary evidence for classifying credit facilities to Minorities and SCs/STs under weaker section. Therefore, declaration by the customer in the application form would suffice. However, it needs to be ensured that for classification under weaker sections, the loans should first be eligible for classification under priority sector lending as per underlying activity.I. Investment by Banks in securitized assets / Transfer of Assets through Direct Assignment/ Outright Purchase

Domestic Deposits

I. Domestic Deposits

9. How and when banks are required to pay interest on the deposits maturing on holiday/ non-business working day/ Sunday? +

Banks should pay interest at the originally contracted rate on the deposit amount for the holiday/ Sunday/ non-business working day intervening between the date of expiry of the specified term of the deposit and the date of payment of the proceeds of the deposits on the succeeding working day.

Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) under FEMA 1999

Eligible entities and requirements to submit the FLA return

Q9. If an entity did not receive FDI or made overseas investment in any of the previous year(s) including the current year, do we need to submit the FLA return? +

Ans: If the Indian entity does not have any outstanding investment in respect of inward and outward FDI as on end-March of reporting year, they need not submit the FLA return.

Core Investment Companies

Core Investment Companies (CICs)

9. What items are included in the 10% of Net assets which CIC’s/CIC’s-ND-SI can hold outside the group? +

Ans: These would include real estate or other fixed assets which are required for effective functioning of a company, but should not include other financial investments/loans in non group companies.

Remittances (Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) and Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA))

Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS)

9. Who is an Overseas Principal ? +

The Overseas Principal should be a registered entity, licenced by the Central Bank / Government or financial regulatory authority of the country concerned for carrying on Money Transfer Activities. The country of registration of the Overseas Principal should be AML compliant. The Overseas Principal should obtain necessary authorisation from the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems, Reserve Bank of India under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (PSS Act), 2007 to commence/ operate a payment system.

Biennial survey on Foreign Collaboration in Indian Industry (FCS)

Details of survey launch

Q9. Which entities can participate in the FCS survey? +

Ans.: Companies, who have inward FDI along with foreign technical collaboration (FTC) agreements can participate in this survey.

Foreign Investment in India

Q.9: For an FPI investment, once the investment is classified as FDI (basis total holding), if the FDI holding comes back to <10%, will the holdings be classified as FPI again ? +

Answer: Once an FDI always an FDI.

FAQs on Non-Banking Financial Companies

Definition of public deposits

9. The deposits from a foreign citizen are not to be treated as public deposit. What is the status of the deposits from an NRI ? +

An NRI can be an Indian national or a foreign national of Indian origin. If the depositor is an NRI holding a foreign passport, he is to be treated as foreign national despite the fact he is of Indian origin. It is for the depositor to disclose to the company that he is a foreign citizen and for the company to keep on its record an evidence that it had received deposit from a foreign citizen to claim the exemption from the Non-Banking Financial Companies (Reserve Bank) Directions, 1998 on Acceptance of Public Deposits.

Indian Currency

B) Banknotes

1. What is the meaning of "I promise to pay" clause on the banknotes? +

As per Section 26 of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Bank is liable to pay the value of banknote. This is payable on demand by RBI, being the issuer.

The promissory clause printed on the banknotes i.e., "I promise to pay the bearer the sum of Rupees …” denotes the obligation on the part of the Bank towards the holder of the bank note.

Housing Loans

9. What is pre-EMI interest? +

Sometimes loan is disbursed in installments, depending on the stages of completion of the housing project. Pending final disbursement, you may be required to pay interest only on the portion of the loan disbursed. This interest called pre-EMI interest. Pre-EMI interest is payable every month from the date of each disbursement up to the date of commencement of EMI.

However, many banks offer a special facility whereby customers can choose the installments they wish to pay for under construction properties till the time the property is ready for possession. Anything paid over and above the interest by the customer goes towards Principal repayment. The customer benefits by starting EMI payment earlier and hence repays the loan faster. Please check with your banker whether this facility is available before availing of the loan.

Retail Direct Scheme

Account opening related queries

9. What documents do I need for opening a Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account? +

The following documents are mandatory to open the RDG account

PAN
Mobile number
E-mail address
Scanned copy of your signature
Bank account details (by uploading a cancelled cheque or manually entering the details on the portal)
Aadhaar number with mobile number linked to it

In addition, you may be required to provide an address proof to complete your Know Your Customer (KYC) process. The following documents are accepted as an address proof - Passport, Driving License, Voter ID, Aadhaar, NREGA job card duly signed by the State Government, Letter issued by the National Population Register containing your name and address.

Government Securities Market in India – A Primer

9. Who are the major players in the G-Secs market? +

Major players in the G-Secs market include commercial banks and PDs besides institutional investors like insurance companies. PDs play an important role as market makers in G-Secs market. A market maker provides firm two way quotes in the market i.e. both buy and sell executable quotes for the concerned securities. Other participants include co-operative banks, regional rural banks, mutual funds, provident and pension funds. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) are allowed to participate in the G-Secs market within the quantitative limits prescribed from time to time. Corporates also buy/ sell the G-Secs to manage their overall portfolio.

Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTROs)

Q9: Whether sale from HTM on account of buy-back by the issuers in respect of specified securities acquired under TLTRO scheme will be reckoned for computation of the regulatory limit applicable for disclosure? +

Ans: Sale from HTM on account of buy-back by the issuers pertaining to specified securities acquired under TLTRO scheme is exempt from the disclosure threshold stipulated in para 2 of RBI Master Circular DBR.No.BP.BC.6/21.04.141/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015.

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and Trade Credits

D. RECOGNISED LENDERS/ INVESTORS

9. Can Indian banks participate in the process of issuance of Rupee denominated bonds overseas in any other manner? +

Indian banks cannot subscribe to RDBs issued overseas in primary market but can be arrangers/ underwriters/ market makers/ traders subject to compliance with prudential norms.

Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey – India

Important points to remember while participating in CPIS

Q9. What are the points the reporting entities should remember while filling the survey schedule? +

Ans: The reporting entities should follow the below-mentioned points for filling and submitting the survey schedule:

i. The company must use the latest survey schedule, which is in .xls format, without incorporating any macros.

ii. The company is required to save the survey schedule in Excel 97-2003 workbook, i.e., in .xls format by following the below-mentioned steps:

Go to Office Button / File → Save As → Save As type
Select “Excel 97-2003 Workbook” and Save the survey schedule in .xls format.

iii. The company is requested not to incorporate any macro in the survey schedule while submitting the same.

iv. Survey schedule submitted in any other format (other than .xls format) will be rejected by the system.

v. Ensure that all information furnished in the survey schedule are complete and no information is missed out.

vi. After filling required details, the responding entities have to fill the declaration present in the survey schedule, which helps in validating that the information entered by the entity are reconfirmed before submission to RBI. This helps to avoid data entry errors, missed data and other errors.

All you wanted to know about NBFCs

B. Entities Regulated by RBI and applicable regulations

9. Does the Reserve Bank regulate all financial companies? +

No. Housing Finance Companies, Merchant Banking Companies, Stock Exchanges, Companies engaged in the business of stock-broking/sub-broking, Venture Capital Fund Companies, Nidhi Companies, Insurance companies and Chit Fund Companies are NBFCs but they have been exempted from the requirement of registration under Section 45-IA of the RBI Act, 1934 subject to certain conditions.

Housing Finance Companies are regulated by National Housing Bank, Merchant Banker/Venture Capital Fund Company/stock-exchanges/stock brokers/sub-brokers are regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India, and Insurance companies are regulated by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. Similarly, Chit Fund Companies are regulated by the respective State Governments and Nidhi Companies are regulated by Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. Companies that do financial business but are regulated by other regulators are given specific exemption by the Reserve Bank from its regulatory requirements for avoiding duality of regulation.

It may also be mentioned that Mortgage Guarantee Companies have been notified as Non-Banking Financial Companies under Section 45 I(f)(iii) of the RBI Act, 1934. Core Investment Companies with asset size of less than ₹ 100 crore, and those with asset size of ₹ 100 crore and above but not accessing public funds are exempted from registration with the RBI.

FAQs on Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending Guidelines

I. Investment by Banks in securitized assets / Transfer of Assets through Direct Assignment/ Outright Purchase

Query 27: How should banks ensure due diligence to ascertain priority sector status of PTC portfolio ? +

Clarification: The bank may rely on a CA certificate by the originating entity certifying the PSL composition of the pool. Additionally, bank may conduct a sample check of say 10% of the pool for PSL eligibility. The additional check may be conducted by the bank through its own staff or by engaging a CA for this purpose.J. PSLCs

Domestic Deposits

I. Domestic Deposits

10. Whether banks can pay additional interest admissible to bank’s staff on the deposit placed in the name of minor child/ children of the deceased member of staff? +

No. Children (including minor) are not eligible for additional interest admissible to bank’s staff member/ retired staff member.

Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) under FEMA 1999

Eligible entities and requirements to submit the FLA return

Q10. If an entity has only share application money, then is that entity supposed to submit the FLA return? +

Ans: If an entity has received only share application money and does not have any foreign direct investment or overseas direct investment outstanding as on end-March of the latest FY, it is not required to fill the FLA return.

Government Securities Market in India – A Primer

10. What are the Do's and Don’ts prescribed by RBI for the Co-operative banks dealing in G-Secs? +

While undertaking transactions in securities, UCBs should adhere to the instructions issued by the RBI. The guidelines on transactions in G-Secs by the UCBs have been codified in the master circular DCBR. BPD (PCB).MC.No. 4/16.20.000/2015-16 dated July 1, 2015 which is updated from time to time. This circular can also be accessed from the RBI website under the Notifications – Master circulars section. The important guidelines to be kept in view by the UCBs relate to formulation of an investment policy duly approved by their Board of Directors, defining objectives of the policy, authorities and procedures to put through deals, dealings through brokers, preparing panel of brokers and review thereof at annual intervals, and adherence to the prudential ceilings fixed for transacting through each of the brokers, etc.

The important Do’s & Don’ts are summarized in the Box I below.

BOX I

Do’s & Don’ts for Dealing in G-Secs

Do’s

Segregate dealing and back-office functions. Officials deciding about purchase and sale transactions should be separate from those responsible for settlement and accounting.
Monitor all transactions to see that delivery takes place on settlement day. The funds account and investment account should be reconciled on the same day before close of business.
Keep a proper record of the SGL forms received/issued to facilitate counter-checking by their internal control systems/RBI inspectors/other auditors.
Seek a Scheduled Commercial Bank (SCB), a PD or a Financial Institution (FI) as counterparty for transactions.
Give preference for direct deals with counter parties.
Insist on Delivery versus Payment for all transactions.
Take advantage of the NCB facility for acquiring G-Secs in the primary auctions conducted by the RBI.
Restrict the role of the broker only to that of bringing the two parties to the deal together, if a deal is put through with the help of broker.
Have a list of approved brokers. Utilize only brokers registered with NSE or BSE or OTCEI for acting as intermediary.
Place a limit of 5% of total transactions (both purchases and sales) entered into by a bank during a year as the aggregate upper contract limit for each of the approved brokers. A disproportionate part of the business should not be transacted with or through one or a few brokers.
Maintain and transact in G-Secs only in dematerialized form in SGL Account or Gilt Account maintained with the CSGL Account holder.
Open and maintain Gilt account or dematerialized account
Open a funds account for securities transactions with the same Scheduled Commercial bank or the State Cooperative bank with whom the Gilt Account is maintained.
Ensure availability of clear funds in the designated funds accounts for purchases and sufficient securities in the Gilt Account for sales before putting through the transactions.
Observe prudential limits and abide by restrictions for investment in permitted non-SLR securities (Prudential limit : shall not exceed 10% of the total deposits of bank as on March 31 of the preceding financial year) ( Instruments : (i) “A” or equivalent and higher rated CPs, debentures and bonds, (ii) units of debt mutual funds and money market mutual funds, (iii) shares of market infrastructure companies eg. CCIL, NPCI, SWIFT).
The Board of Directors to peruse all investment transactions at least once a month

Don’ts

Do not undertake any purchase/sale transactions with broking firms or other intermediaries on principal to principal basis.
Do not use brokers in the settlement process at all, i.e., both funds settlement and delivery of securities should be done with the counter-parties directly.
Do not give power of attorney or any other authorisation under any circumstances to brokers/intermediaries to deal on your behalf in the money and securities markets.
Do not undertake G-Secs transaction in the physical form with any broker.
Do not routinely make investments in non-SLR securities (e.g., corporate bonds, etc) issued by companies or bodies.

Remittances (Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) and Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA))

Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS)

10. Who is an Indian Agent ? +

To become an Indian Agent, the applicant should be an Authorised Dealer Category-I bank or an Authorised Dealer Category-II or a Full Fledged Money Changer (FFMC) or the Department of Posts. Further, the Indian agents can also appoint sub-agents which can be retail outlets, commercial entities having a place of business, and whose bonafides are acceptable to the Indian Agent.

Retail Direct Scheme

Account opening related queries

10. Can I change the email id or phone number linked with my Retail Direct Gilt (RDG) account later? +

Yes, you can change your registered mobile number and e-mail id on the Retail Direct portal.

Core Investment Companies

Core Investment Companies (CICs)

10. Is there an enabling provision for use of statutory accounts based on some date other than 31st March, such as December 31st? +

Ans: While such accounts could be taken into account in view of the fact that developments after balance sheet date are also taken into account, all NBFCs including CICs-ND-SI would mandatorily have to finalise their accounts as on March 31 of the year, and submit annual auditors certificate based on this figure.

Foreign Investment in India

Q.10: Whether any approval is required for an entity which has received foreign investment under automatic route and subsequently the sector was brought under approval route +

Answer: As long as the foreign shareholding in the entity remains the same and there is no corporate action pursuant to the sector being brought under approval route, approval is not required.

Biennial survey on Foreign Collaboration in Indian Industry (FCS)

Details of survey launch

Q10. If the company does not have FTC during the survey reference period, do they need to participate in the survey? +

Ans.: In case the company does not have any FTC during the survey reference period, then they have to submit the survey schedule of FCS survey by filling Part I and II of the form.

FAQs on Non-Banking Financial Companies

Definition of public deposits

10. Whether External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) are exempted borrowings i.e. outside the purview of public deposit ? +

Subject to the Exchange Control Regulations, the NBFCs can receive external commercial borrowings from foreign Overseas Corporate Bodies, individuals, FIIs, and other trusts or persons. The moneys received from all these sources are excluded from the definition of public deposit as per the provisions of NBFC Directions. However, Indian companies are required to obtain prior approval of the Exchange Control Department for acceptance of deposits from non-residents.

Indian Currency

B) Banknotes

2. Which denomination banknotes are currently in circulation? +

Banknotes in India are currently being issued in the denomination of ₹10, ₹20, ₹50, ₹100 ₹200, ₹500, and ₹2000. These notes are called banknotes as they are issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The printing of notes in the denominations of ₹2 and ₹5 has been discontinued and these denominations have been coinised as the cost of printing and servicing these banknotes was not commensurate with their life. However, such banknotes issued earlier can still be found in circulation and these banknotes continue to be legal tender. ₹1 notes are issued by the Government of India from time to time and such notes including those issued in the past also continue to be legal tender for transactions.

Housing Loans

10. What security will you have to provide? +

The security for a housing loan is typically a first mortgage of the property, normally by way of deposit of title deeds. Banks also sometimes ask for other collateral security as may be necessary. Some banks insist on margin / down payment (borrowers contribution to the creation of an asset) to be maintained / made also.

Collateral security assigned to your bank could be life insurance policies, the surrender value of which is set at a certain percentage to the loan amount, guarantees from solvent guarantors, pledge of shares/ securities and investments like KVP/ NSC etc. that are acceptable to your banker. Banks would also require you to ensure that the title to the property is free from any encumbrance. (i.e., there should not be any existing mortgage, loan or litigation, which is likely to affect the title to the property adversely).

Targeted Long Term Repo Operations (TLTROs)

FAQs pertaining to TLTRO 2.0

Q10: What happens if a bank fails to deploy the funds availed under the TLTRO 2.0 scheme in specified securities within the stipulated timeframe? +

Ans: Based on the feedback received from banks and taking into account the disruptions caused by COVID-19, it has been decided to extend the time available for deployment of funds under the TLTRO 2.0 scheme from 30 working days to 45 working days from the date of the operation. Funds that are not deployed within this extended time frame will be charged interest at the prevailing policy repo rate plus 200 bps for the number of days such funds remain un-deployed. The incremental interest liability will have to be paid along with regular interest at the time of maturity.

External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) and Trade Credits

D. RECOGNISED LENDERS/ INVESTORS

10. Can persons resident in India subscribe to bonds (foreign currency/INR) issued by eligible ECB borrowers in overseas centres or IFSCs as permitted in the ECB framework? +

No. AD banks should ensure that persons resident in India do not have any exposure to borrowings by eligible entities under this framework either directly or indirectly except foreign branches/ subsidiaries of Indian banks abroad or any other permitted entities. Further, establishing borrowing structures/modalities which contravene the guidelines shall render themselves liable for penal action as prescribed under FEMA.

Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey – India

What to report under CPIS?

Q10. Should we report data for a particular branch of the reporting entity or the consolidated data of the entity? +

Ans: A consolidated data at the entity level, covering all the branches/offices in India, should be furnished.

All you wanted to know about NBFCs

B. Entities Regulated by RBI and applicable regulations

10. What are the different types/categories of NBFCs registered with RBI? +

NBFCs are categorized a) in terms of the type of liabilities into Deposit and Non-Deposit accepting NBFCs, b) non deposit taking NBFCs by their size into systemically important and other non-deposit holding companies (NBFC-NDSI and NBFC-ND) and c) by the kind of activity they conduct. Within this broad categorization the different types of NBFCs are as follows:

I. Asset Finance Company (AFC) : An AFC is a company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business the financing of physical assets supporting productive/economic activity, such as automobiles, tractors, lathe machines, generator sets, earth moving and material handling equipments, moving on own power and general purpose industrial machines. Principal business for this purpose is defined as aggregate of financing real/physical assets supporting economic activity and income arising therefrom is not less than 60% of its total assets and total income respectively.

II. Investment Company (IC) : IC means any company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business the acquisition of securities,

III. Loan Company (LC): LC means any company which is a financial institution carrying on as its principal business the providing of finance whether by making loans or advances or otherwise for any activity other than its own but does not include an Asset Finance Company.

IV. Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC): IFC is a non-banking finance company a) which deploys at least 75 per cent of its total assets in infrastructure loans, b) has a minimum Net Owned Funds of ₹ 300 crore, c) has a minimum credit rating of ‘A ‘or equivalent d) and a CRAR of 15%.

V. Systemically Important Core Investment Company (CIC-ND-SI): CIC-ND-SI is an NBFC carrying on the business of acquisition of shares and securities which satisfies the following conditions:-

(a) it holds not less than 90% of its Total Assets in the form of investment in equity shares, preference shares, debt or loans in group companies;

(b) its investments in the equity shares (including instruments compulsorily convertible into equity shares within a period not exceeding 10 years from the date of issue) in group companies constitutes not less than 60% of its Total Assets;

(c) it does not trade in its investments in shares, debt or loans in group companies except through block sale for the purpose of dilution or disinvestment;

(d) it does not carry on any other financial activity referred to in Section 45I(c) and 45I(f) of the RBI act, 1934 except investment in bank deposits, money market instruments, government securities, loans to and investments in debt issuances of group companies or guarantees issued on behalf of group companies.

(e) Its asset size is ₹ 100 crore or above and

(f) It accepts public funds

VI. Infrastructure Debt Fund: Non- Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) : IDF-NBFC is a company registered as NBFC to facilitate the flow of long term debt into infrastructure projects. IDF-NBFC raise resources through issue of Rupee or Dollar denominated bonds of minimum 5 year maturity. Only Infrastructure Finance Companies (IFC) can sponsor IDF-NBFCs.

VII. Non-Banking Financial Company - Micro Finance Institution (NBFC-MFI): NBFC-MFI is a non-deposit taking NBFC having not less than 85% of its assets in the nature of qualifying assets which satisfy the following criteria:

a. loan disbursed by an NBFC-MFI to a borrower with a rural household annual income not exceeding ₹ 1,00,000 or urban and semi-urban household income not exceeding ₹ 1,60,000;

b. loan amount does not exceed ₹ 50,000 in the first cycle and ₹ 1,00,000 in subsequent cycles;

c. total indebtedness of the borrower does not exceed ₹ 1,00,000;

d. tenure of the loan not to be less than 24 months for loan amount in excess of ₹ 15,000 with prepayment without penalty;

e. loan to be extended without collateral;

f. aggregate amount of loans, given for income generation, is not less than 50 per cent of the total loans given by the MFIs;

g. loan is repayable on weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments at the choice of the borrower

VIII. Non-Banking Financial Company – Factors (NBFC-Factors): NBFC-Factor is a non-deposit taking NBFC engaged in the principal business of factoring. The financial assets in the factoring business should constitute at least 50 percent of its total assets and its income derived from factoring business should not be less than 50 percent of its gross income.

IX. Mortgage Guarantee Companies (MGC) - MGC are financial institutions for which at least 90% of the business turnover is mortgage guarantee business or at least 90% of the gross income is from mortgage guarantee business and net owned fund is ₹ 100 crore.

X. NBFC- Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) is financial institution through which promoter / promoter groups will be permitted to set up a new bank .It’s a wholly-owned Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) which will hold the bank as well as all other financial services companies regulated by RBI or other financial sector regulators, to the extent permissible under the applicable regulatory prescriptions.

FAQs on Master Directions on Priority Sector Lending Guidelines

J. PSLCs

Query 28: How can banks register for PSLC trading ? +

Clarification: The banks are required to submit a request to FIDD, CO (fiddplan@rbi.org.in) to obtain registration for PSLC trading by submitting a) DEA Fund Code b) Customer identification number and c) RBI Current account number.

Query 37: What happens if the RBI inspection team, at a later date, de-classifies a particular PSLC (which has been already traded by the bank as PSLC) ineligible ? +

Clarification: The misclassifications, if any, will have to be reduced from the achievement of PSLC seller bank only. There will be no counterparty risk for the PSLC buyer, even if, the underlying asset of the traded PSLC gets misclassified.

Query 38: The buyer would pay a fee to the seller of the PSLC which will be market determined. Is there any standard/ minimum fee prescribed by the RBI, for purchase of any PSLC ? +

Clarification: The premium will be completely market determined. No floor/ ceiling has been prescribed by RBI in this regard.

Query 39: How the charges/commission shall be paid through E-Kuber portal or separate RTGS is required to be made ? +

Clarification: There will be real time settlement of the matched premium and accordingly respective current accounts of the participating banks with RBI will be debited/ credited to the extent of matched premium

Query 40: Will there be automatic matching of trades or can the buyer/seller select the counterparty? Will partial matching also happen? +

Clarification: The order matching will be done on anonymous basis through the portal and the buyer/ seller cannot select the counterparty. Partial matching will happen depending on the matching of premium and availability of category wise PSLC lots for sale and purchase.

Query 41: What are the timings of PSLC market in eKuber portal ? +

Clarification: The normal trading hours shall be from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. The PSLC market operates on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, holidays declared under The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 by the Government of Maharashtra. and such holidays as RBI may declare from time to time.

Query 42: Can a bank know the counterparty details in PSLC trades or settle deals on bilateral basis and report the same on e-kuber portal subsequently ? +

Clarification: The nature of PSLC trading has been kept anonymous to maintain most efficient price discovery. There is no provision for settling deals on bilateral basis and reporting on the portal subsequently. RBI has the discretion to cancel any deals which is settled at substantially higher/ lower premiums as compared to the prevailing rates on the portal.

Query 29: What is the expiry date of PSLC ? +

Clarification: All PSLCs will be valid till end of FY i.e. March 31st and will expire on next day i.e. April 1st.

Query 30: Whether PSLCs can be issued for a limited period i.e., for one reporting quarter and multiples thereof ? +

Clarification: The duration of the PSLCs will depend on the date of issue with all PSLCs being valid till end of FY i.e. March 31st and expiring on next day i.e. April 1st.

Query 31: Whether service tax/ stamp duty/ transaction tax will be applicable while paying fee for PSLC ? +

Clarification: PSLCs may be construed in the nature of 'goods' in the course of inter-state trade or commerce, dealing in which has been notified as a permissible activity under section 6(1)(o) of BR Act vide Government of India Notification dated May 4, 2016. GST on PSLCs for the period July 01, 2017 to May 28, 2018 has to be paid by the seller bank on forward charge basis at the rate of 12%. With effect from May 28, 2018, GST has to be paid by the buyer bank under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) at the rate of 18%. Further, IGST is payable on the supply of PSLC traded over e-kuber portal. If a bank which was liable to pay GST had already paid CGST/SGST or CGST/UGST, the bank is not required to pay IGST towards such supply. Further, as per the extant guidelines, no transaction charge/ fees is applicable on the participating banks payable to RBI for usage of the PSLC module on e-Kuber portal.

(The clarification given above is not a legal advice or opinion in the matter and it may not necessarily reflect the most current legal developments. The market participants should seek the advice of the tax experts/consultants/specialists before acting upon any of the information provided above).

Query 32: Whether PSL – Weaker Sections or PSL – Export Credit can be traded as PSLCs ? +

Clarification: There are only four eligible categories of PSLCs i.e. PSLC General, PSLC Small and Marginal Farmer, PSLC Agriculture & PSLC Micro Enterprises.

Query 33: Whether Export Credit may form a part of PSLC 'General' and whether banks’ surplus in Export Credit can be sold as PSLC 'General’ ? +

Clarification: 'Export Credit' can form a part of underlying assets against the PSLC - General. However, any bank issuing PSLC-General against 'Export Credit' shall ensure that the underlying 'Export Credit' portfolio is also eligible for priority sector classification by domestic banks.

Query 34: Are Foreign Banks with less than 20 branches permitted to buy PSLC-General for achieving the target of 8% of lending to ‘other than exports’ ? +

Clarification: Foreign banks with less than 20 branches are not allowed to buy PSLC General for achieving their 8% target of lending to sectors other than exports. However, such banks are allowed to buy PSLC Agriculture, PSLC Micro Enterprises and PSLC Small and Marginal Farmer for the same.