**Executive Summary**
This circular, issued by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on November 11, 2025, provides additional directions for the fortnightly reporting of the Banking Asset Liability (BAL) statement by IFSC Banking Units (IBUs). It supplements previous instructions regarding reporting through the Foreign Exchange Transactions Electronic Reporting System (FETERS). The key change is the requirement for IBUs to report balances in foreign currency accounts of overseas banks held under Vostro accounts, effective from the second fortnight of November 2025.
**Key Points / Main Content**
*Reporting Requirements:*
* **Mandatory Reporting:** IBUs must report balances in foreign currency accounts of overseas banks held/maintained with the IBU under Vostro accounts in the BAL statement.
* **BoP Portal:** Reporting must be done on the BoP portal (https://bop.rbi.org.in/) on a fortnightly basis, starting from the second fortnight of November 2025.
* **Revised Format:** The circular includes a revised reporting format as Annexure.
*Vostro Account Reporting Instructions:*
* **Single Subcomponent:** Vostro accounts have only one subcomponent: Current account.
* **Net Balance Reporting:** IBUs must report either the net credit balance (Ct) or the net debit balance (Dt) without using a negative sign. Simultaneous entries for Credit and Debit are prohibited.
* **Book Value:** IBUs must report the book value of balances held by overseas banks/branches and correspondents in the respective currency.
* **Country and Currency Fields:** The "Country" field represents the country of the overseas bank holding the account, and "Currency" represents the currency in which the account is maintained.
*General Instructions:*
* These instructions supplement existing IFSCA and RBI instructions for such reporting.
* Failure to furnish the required information accurately and on time will be viewed seriously by IFSCA.
* The directions are issued under the powers conferred by section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and section 13(1) of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: IFSC Banking Units (IBUs)**
*Impact:*
IBUs are required to modify their reporting practices to include balances in foreign currency accounts of overseas banks held under Vostro accounts. This requires a change in their reporting processes and understanding the specific instructions for reporting Vostro account balances.
*Action Required:*
1. Update reporting processes to capture and report the required data.
2. Familiarize themselves with the revised BAL statement format.
3. Ensure accurate and timely submission of the updated BAL statement on the BoP portal starting from the second fortnight of November 2025.
Key Entities Referenced
Banking Asset Liability (BAL) Statement: A statement of assets and liabilities required to be reported.
IFSCA: International Financial Services Centres Authority, a financial regulatory body in India.
IFSC Banking Units (IBUs): Banking units operating within International Financial Services Centres.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI): The central bank of India.
Banking Regulation Act, 1949: An Act of Parliament in India that regulates the Indian banking system.
CIRCULAR
e.File No. IFSCA-FMPP0BR/13/2023-Banking November 11, 2025
To,
All IFSC Banking Units
Madam / Sir,
Sub: Reporting of Transactions for India’s External Account Statistics – Additional
directions
1. This is with reference to the fortnightly reporting of Banking Asset Liability (BAL)
statement by IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) through Foreign Exchange Transactions
Electronic Reporting System (FETERS) as per the International Financial
Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) circular no. F. No. 722/IFSCA/Banking/2022-
23/1, dated September 19, 2022 (hereinafter referred to as “Circular”).
2. As instructed therein, all IBUs are required to provide details of their holdings of
foreign currencies to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on a fortnightly basis
through the BAL statement.
3. Currently, IBUs are reporting only the foreign currency balances in their Nostro
accounts maintained abroad and other investments (fixed deposits, loans,
investments in securities, and treasury bills) in the BAL statement.
4. Since IBUs have also started maintaining foreign currency accounts of overseas
banks, which are not being currently captured in the fortnightly reporting of BAL
statement, the following directions are being issued –
a. IBUs shall report the balances in the foreign currency accounts of overseas
banks, held/maintained with the IBU under Vostro accounts in the BAL
Page 1 of 3statement on the BoP portal (https://bop.rbi.org.in/) on fortnightly basis from
the second fortnight of November 2025.
b. The revised reporting format is attached as Annexure to this circular.
c. IBUs may follow the instructions indicated below for reporting under Vostro
account in the BAL Statement:
i. Vostro account has only one subcomponent, i.e., Current account, under
which IBUs need to report either the net credit balance position under
Credit (Ct) or the net debit balance position under Debit (Dt) (without
negative sign). There should not be any simultaneous entry for Credit and
Debit.
ii. IBUs need to report the book value of the balances held by overseas
banks/branches and correspondents in the respective currency.
iii. The field “Country” represents the country of the overseas bank which
holds the account with the IBU, and “Currency” represents the currency in
which the account is maintained.
5. These instructions are in addition to the instructions specified by the IFSCA for
such reporting in the Circular and operational instructions issued by the RBI for
such reporting.
6. Failure on the part of the IBUs to furnish the mandated information accurately and
in a timely manner will be viewed seriously by IFSCA.
7. The directions contained in this circular have been issued by the IFSCA in
exercise of powers conferred on it by under section 35A of the Banking Regulation
Act,1949 and section 13(1) of International Financial Services Centres Authority
Act, 2019.
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
Supriyo Bhattacharjee
(Chief General Manager)
Page 2 of 3Annexure
Revised Format of BAL Statement Reporting by IBUs
Banking Asset Liability (BAL) Statement
Foreign Currency held abroad by IBUs and balances held in Non-Resident Rupee/ACU Dollar accounts of
overseas branches and correspondents as at the end of
Bank Code Bank Name
Report Date Org/Rev
Foreign Currency Balances Held Abroad
Fixed Treasury
Country Currency Current Account* Securities Loans Total
Deposits Bills
Ct (1) Dt (2) 3 4 5 6 (1-6)
Balances held by overseas branches and correspondents in non-resident accounts**
Country Currency Current Account**
Ct (7) Dt (8)
*Net balance should be reported in column 1 or 2 as appropriate
**Net balance should be reported in column 7 or 8 as appropriate
Page 3 of 3