Does invoicing in rupees give me twelve months to get paid?

A longer realisation period is one of the practical differences between a rupee invoice and a dollar, pound or euro invoice. Under the FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (the 2026 Regulations), the gap is three months.¹²

What are the two periods?

Regulation 5 requires the full export value of services to be realised and repatriated within nine months from the invoice date.¹² Its proviso gives twelve months where the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees.¹²

The table applies regulation 5 as amended on 22 September 2026.¹² The first text of the 2026 Regulations said fifteen and eighteen months; the amendment cut these to nine and twelve before 1 October 2026, so older articles quoting eighteen months are out of date.²

Does the twelve-month period apply to any rupee payment?

It applies to exports invoiced or settled in rupees, and the money must still come through an Authorised Dealer bank in a manner RBI permits.¹ A client abroad usually pays rupees through a rupee account its bank holds in India, such as a Special Rupee Vostro Account. See special rupee vostro account and export invoicing in INR.

A rupee transfer from someone inside India is a different matter: the export conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act need the recipient outside India and payment in convertible foreign exchange or in rupees where RBI permits.³

Should you invoice in rupees just to get more time?

Weigh it against the rest of the arrangement. A rupee invoice fixes your rupee income and moves currency risk to the client, which some clients will not accept, and many foreign banks cannot pay rupees directly. A consultant with a long-standing Singapore client whose bank has a rupee account may find it workable; a freelance writer paid through a payment platform usually will not.

What if even twelve months is not enough?

Ask your bank for an extension under regulation 5, citing the reasons for the delay.¹ The process is in the extension guide. Confirm with your bank or a chartered accountant how it will treat a mixed invoice, such as one priced in rupees but paid in dollars.