**Executive Summary**
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the "Reserve Bank of India (Trade Relief Measures) Directions, 2025" on November 14, 2025, to mitigate debt servicing burdens caused by global trade disruptions and ensure the continuity of viable businesses. These directions, effective immediately, allow Regulated Entities (REs) to provide relief measures to eligible borrowers engaged in specific export sectors. The directions include moratoriums, deferments, extended credit periods, and specific provisioning requirements, with reporting due on the 15th and end of each month.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Applicability and Eligibility:**
* The directions apply to Commercial Banks, Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks, Central Co-operative Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies, All-India Financial Institutions, and Credit Information Companies.
* REs must create a policy for providing relief and disclose it publicly.
* Borrowers must be engaged in exports relating to the sectors specified in the Annex, have an outstanding export credit facility from a RE as of August 31, 2025, and their accounts must be classified as 'Standard' as of the same date.
* **Relief Measures (Moratorium/Deferment):**
* REs may grant a moratorium on term loan installments (principal and/or interest) falling due between September 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
* REs may defer the recovery of interest on working capital facilities during the same period.
* Interest continues to accrue during the moratorium/deferment period on a simple interest basis.
* The accumulated accrued interest may be converted into a funded interest term loan repayable after March 31, 2026, but no later than September 30, 2026.
* REs may recalculate 'drawing power' or reassess working capital limits.
* **Extension of Tenor for Export Credit:**
* REs may permit an enhanced credit period of up to 450 days for pre-shipment and post-shipment export credit disbursed till March 31, 2026.
* For packing credit facilities availed by August 31, 2025, REs may allow liquidation from alternate sources or substitution of contracts.
* **Asset Classification and Provisioning:**
* The moratorium/deferment period is excluded when calculating days past due for asset classification.
* Granting moratorium/deferment and recalculating 'drawing power' is not considered restructuring and does not result in asset classification downgrade.
* After the moratorium/deferment period, asset classification will follow extant IRACP norms.
* REs must report to Credit Information Companies (CICs), and CICs must ensure these actions do not negatively impact borrowers' credit history.
* REs must make a general provision of not less than 5% on standard accounts where relief measures have been extended by December 31, 2025.
* **Disclosure Requirements:**
* REs must develop an MIS on the reliefs provided and submit a fortnightly report (as on the 15th and end of each month) to the Reserve Bank on its DAKSH platform.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder:** Regulated Entities (REs)
**Impact:** REs must implement policies and procedures to provide relief measures, ensure eligibility criteria are met, and adhere to the asset classification and provisioning norms.
**Action Required:** REs need to formulate a policy, adjust internal systems, and comply with reporting requirements to the RBI on the DAKSH platform.
**Stakeholder:** Borrowers (Exporters)
**Impact:** Eligible borrowers can benefit from moratoriums, deferments, and extended credit periods to alleviate financial pressure due to trade disruptions.
**Action Required:** Borrowers need to engage with their REs to determine eligibility and apply for the available relief measures.
**Stakeholder:** Credit Information Companies (CICs)
**Impact:** CICs are responsible for ensuring that the relief measures provided by REs do not negatively impact the credit history of borrowers.
**Action Required:** CICs must adjust their systems to accommodate the RBI's directions and accurately reflect borrowers' creditworthiness.
Key Entities Referenced
Reserve Bank of India: The issuing central bank
Reserve Bank of India (Trade Relief Measures) Directions, 2025: The policy document outlining trade relief measures issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
Banking Regulation Act, 1949: Act that empowers Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934: Act that empowers Reserve Bank of India
Regulated Entity (RE): Entities, such as commercial banks, co-operative banks, and financial institutions, to which the Trade Relief Measures Directions apply.
भारतीय �रज़वर् बैंक
________________________RESERVE BANK OF INDIA________________________
www.rbi.org.in
RBI/2025-26/96
DOR.STR.REC.60/21.04.048/2025-26 November 14, 2025
Reserve Bank of India (Trade Relief Measures) Directions, 2025
Chapter I: Preliminary
Preamble
1. Reserve Bank is statutorily mandated to operate the credit system of the country
to its advantage. In this endeavour, and with a view to mitigating the burden of debt
servicing brought about by trade disruptions caused by global headwinds and to
ensure the continuity of viable businesses, Reserve Bank being satisfied that it is
necessary and expedient in the public interest to do so, issues these Directions
hereinafter specified.
2. These Directions are being issued in exercise of powers conferred by sections 21,
35A and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, sections 45JA, 45L and 45M of
the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, section 6 of the Factoring Regulation Act,
2011, sections 30A, 32 and 33 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987 and section
11 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005.
Short Title and Commencement
3. These Directions shall be called the Reserve Bank of India (Trade Relief Measures)
Directions, 2025.
4. These Directions shall come into force immediately.
Applicability
5. These Directions shall be applicable to the following entities, hereinafter referred
to as a Regulated Entity (RE) and collectively as Regulated Entities (REs), as the
context may require:
i. Commercial Banks,
ii. Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks, State Co-operative Banks and Central
Co-operative Banks,
1iii. Non-Banking Financial Companies (including Housing Finance Companies),
iv. All-India Financial Institutions, and
v. Credit Information Companies (only with reference to paragraph 16 of these
Directions).
Chapter II: Eligibility Criteria
6. REs shall frame a policy for providing the relief measures specified hereinafter in
these Directions, inter-alia, including the objective criteria for considering the reliefs
and the same shall be disclosed in public domain. A RE shall satisfy itself that the
borrower’s business is impacted by trade disruptions caused by global headwinds.
7. For the purpose of considering relief under these Directions, a borrower shall be
deemed to be eligible upon fulfilment of all of the following conditions:
i. The borrower is engaged in exports relating to any of the sectors specified
at Annex.
ii. The borrower had an outstanding export credit facility from a RE as of
August 31, 2025.
iii. The account(s) of the borrower with all REs was/were classified as
‘Standard’ as on August 31, 2025.
8. REs other than those which have sanctioned the export credit facility to the
borrower may satisfy themselves that the borrower qualifies under the criteria
stipulated at paragraph 7(ii) above, basis a certification to be obtained from the
RE(s) which has/have extended export credit to the borrower.
Chapter III: Relief Measures
A. Moratorium/Deferment
9. For eligible borrowers, the following relief measures may be extended by a RE:
i. In respect of all term loans, a RE may grant a moratorium on payment of all
instalments [principal and/or interest] falling due between September 1,
2025 and December 31, 2025 (“Effective Period”).
ii. In respect of working capital facilities sanctioned in the form of cash credit/
overdraft (“CC/ OD”), a RE may defer the recovery of interest applied in
respect of all such facilities during the effective period.
2iii. During the moratorium/ deferment period, interest shall continue to accrue.
However, interest application shall be on simple interest basis, without
compounding effect, i.e., there shall be no interest on interest.
iv. The accumulated accrued interest during moratorium/ deferment period
may be converted into a funded interest term loan which shall be repayable
in one or more instalments after March 31, 2026, but not later than
September 30, 2026.
v. In respect of working capital facilities, a RE may, at its discretion, recalculate
‘drawing power’ by reducing the margins and/ or reassess the working
capital limits, during the effective period. Any such review, after the expiry of
the effective period shall be based on regular assessments.
B. Extension of tenor for Export Credit
10. A RE eligible to undertake export financing business may permit an enhanced
credit period of up to 450 days for pre-shipment and post-shipment export credit
disbursed till March 31, 2026.
11. In respect of packing credit facilities already availed by exporters on or before
August 31, 2025, where dispatch of goods could not take place, a RE may allow
liquidation of such facilities from any legitimate alternate sources, including
domestic sale proceeds of such goods or substitution of contract with proceeds of
another export order.
Chapter IV: Asset Classification and Provisioning
A. Asset Classification
12. The moratorium period/ deferment, wherever granted, shall be excluded by the RE
while calculating the number of days past-due for the purpose of asset
classification under the extant IRACP norms applicable to the RE.
13. Grant of moratorium/ deferment of instalments and recalculation of the ‘drawing
power’ in accordance with these Directions shall not be treated as an event of
restructuring in terms of extant regulations. Consequently, such a measure, by
itself, shall not result in asset classification downgrade.
14. After the expiry of the moratorium/deferment period, the asset classification shall
be as per the extant IRACP norms applicable to the respective RE.
315. REs shall report to the Credit Information Companies (CICs) as per the extant
instructions, duly taking into account the above provisions.
16. CICs shall ensure that the actions taken by REs pursuant to these Directions do
not adversely impact the credit history of the borrowers.
B. Provisioning
17. In respect of eligible borrower accounts which were in default but classified as
‘standard’ as on August 31, 2025, and where relief measures have been extended
pursuant to these Directions, a RE shall make a general provision of not less than
5 per cent of the total outstanding in such accounts, by December 31, 2025.
18. The above general provision may be adjusted against the actual specific
provisioning requirements for slippages from these borrower accounts. Any
residual general provisions at the end of the financial year 2025-26 shall be either
written back or adjusted against the provisions required for all other borrower
accounts by June 30, 2026.
19. The above general provisions shall not be reckoned for arriving at net NPAs till they
are adjusted against the actual provisioning requirements as under paragraph 18
above. Further, till such adjustments, these provisions shall not be netted from
gross advances but shown separately in the balance sheet as appropriate.
Chapter V: Disclosure Requirements
20. A RE shall develop an MIS on the reliefs provided to its borrowers which shall
include inter alia borrower-wise and credit-facility wise information regarding the
nature and amount of relief granted. RE shall submit a fortnightly report (as on 15th
and at the end of each month), in a format to be hosted by Reserve Bank on its
DAKSH platform.
4Annex
List of Eligible Sectors
2-Digit
Description
HS Code
03 Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates.
29 Organic chemicals
38 Miscellaneous chemical products.
39 Plastic and articles thereof.
40 Rubber and articles thereof.
Articles of leather, saddlery and harness; travel goods, handbags and
42
similar containers, articles of animal gut (other than silk-worm) gut.
57 Carpets and other textile floor coverings.
61 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted.
62 Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, not knitted or crocheted.
Other made-up textile articles; sets; worn clothing and worn textile articles;
63
rags
64 Footwear, gaiters and the like; parts of such articles.
68 Articles of stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials.
Natural or cultured pearls, precious or semiprecious stones, precious
71 metals, clad with precious metal and articles thereof; imitation jewellery;
coin.
73 Articles of iron or steel
76 Aluminium and articles thereof.
Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts
84
thereof.
Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders
85 and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers,
and parts.
Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling stock, and parts and
87
accessories thereof.
Optical, photographic cinematographic measuring, checking precision,
90
medical or surgical inst. And apparatus parts and accessories thereof;
Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar
94 stuffed furnishing; lamps and lighting fittings not elsewhere specified or
included
5