Foreign Inward Remittance

Any foreign-currency payment arriving in India through the banking system. Every FBA settlement credit is a foreign inward remittance.

Definition

A foreign inward remittance is any foreign-currency payment arriving in India through the banking system, sent by a party outside India to a beneficiary inside India. Every Amazon settlement wire, every export payment from a foreign buyer, every foreign investment transfer is a foreign inward remittance.

Key characteristics

• Routed through SWIFT at the messaging layer
• Settled through correspondent-bank Nostro accounts at the money-movement layer
• Reported to RBI by the receiving AD Bank
• Attributable to a purpose code — RBI requires classifying every inward remittance by its purpose (e.g. P0102 = merchandise export proceeds, P1004 = software services)
• Subject to FEMA valuation and realization norms

The FIRC / FIRA

For services exports (and increasingly for goods exports too), your AD Bank issues a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) or Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA) confirming the details. It's a supporting document for:

• Claiming GST refund on export of services
• Filing form 15CB with your CA
• Regulatory reporting to RBI or SEZ authorities

For Indian FBA exporters

Amazon settlements are foreign inward remittances against merchandise export (purpose code P0102). If you receive in INR, Amazon has converted before wiring; if you receive in foreign currency, your AD Bank converts (or credits your EEFC account). Either way, the remittance flows into EDPMS as realized proceeds.

For the full reconciliation approach, see how to reconcile Amazon settlement reports with your Indian bank credits.

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