Direct answer: A resident participating in an overseas exhibition or trade fair may use the specific foreign-currency bank-account permission for sale proceeds of goods displayed there. The balance must be repatriated to India through normal banking channels within one month of the exhibition or fair closing. The closing date of the event, rather than the latest receipt or the bank account’s closure date, starts that particular clock.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against FEMA 10(R)/2015–RB, regulation 5(E)(5) and Part I paragraph 4.4 of RBI’s Deposits and Accounts Master Direction, updated 2 September 2026. This article concerns the temporary account and receipt/repatriation controls. Separate export, customs, tax, reporting and unsold-goods requirements must be checked under the rules applicable to the actual transaction; the account permission is not a substitute for those requirements.
Tie the account to the exhibitor and displayed goods
Keep the resident participant, event, host country, bank and account purpose linked in one file. Match receipts to goods actually displayed and sold. An account opened for a trade fair is not automatically a continuing collection account for unrelated service invoices, investment income or later exhibitions. A different permission may support another account or use, but it must be identified separately rather than inferred from the temporary exhibition arrangement.
The regulation authorises the described account for sale proceeds. It does not by itself prove that every possible debit, refund, vendor payment or transfer out is permissible. For an actual debit, retain its independent legal and banking basis. The illustrations that include charges assume they are separately permitted and evidenced; they do not create a new expense permission.
Build two reconciliations: goods and money
The goods schedule should show units taken to the fair, units sold, unsold units and their documented disposition. A price list helps reconcile sale proceeds, but unsold stock is not foreign currency already received. The money schedule should show gross sales, amounts collected, bank credits, independently permitted deductions, repatriations and the closing balance. A transfer of part of the receipts to India is not evidence that the entire balance was repatriated.
Do not net disputed receivables, unapproved local expenses or a planned future marketing budget against an actual foreign bank balance to make the repatriation amount appear smaller. When a sale has not been collected, maintain it as an outstanding item and separately check the export-realisation framework. A zero temporary account does not prove every sale was collected or every export obligation was met.
Control one calendar month from event closure
Read the one-month period as a calendar-month control, consistently with the month definition in General Clauses Act section 3(35), and schedule remittance early enough to avoid bank-processing uncertainty. The examples use ordinary corresponding dates with no month-end ambiguity. Keep the official event end date and any evidence that it changed. A late bank credit does not itself reopen the event or automatically grant a fresh month. If the remaining balance cannot be repatriated in time, raise the issue promptly with the authorised dealer and establish the applicable remedy rather than inventing an extension.
Record both the remittance instruction and evidence of completed repatriation through normal banking channels. An internal instruction, a screenshot of a queued payment or cash carried home is not the same evidence as a completed bank-channel transfer. Set earlier internal targets; do not assume the rule grants an extra working day because the last date is inconvenient.
Closure evidence should explain the whole chain
Prepare the event-closure statement, bank reconciliation, inward-remittance evidence and outstanding-goods/receivables schedule together. Obtain bank confirmation of any residual amount and decide the further status of the account under the applicable permission. Regulation 5(E)(5)’s express condition is repatriation of the balance within the stated period; do not substitute the overseas-office rule’s different account-closure mechanics or an individual LRS ceiling for this event-based permission.
Worked illustrations
These illustrations use fictional facts and expressly stated assumptions. Amounts are Indian rupees unless a different currency or unit is specified. They are independent examples, not findings about any actual client.
Illustrative example 1: Reconcile sales credits and permitted charges
At closure, the event account shows USD 25,000 of supported goods-sale credits and a separately permitted, evidenced USD 50 bank charge, with no other movement. The balance to reconcile for repatriation is USD 24,950. The charge must remain visible; it is not a USD 50 reduction in the gross sales ledger.
Illustrative example 2: A mid-month closure date
The fair closes on 12 October 2026. The corresponding one-calendar-month date is 12 November 2026, a 31-day interval. An internal target of 5 November leaves seven calendar days before that outer date. The legal period is not automatically a fixed 30 days.
Illustrative example 3: A shorter calendar interval
The event closes on 10 February 2027. One calendar month takes the control date to 10 March 2027, a 28-day interval. A fixed 30-day setting would point to 12 March, two days later, and should not replace the calendar-month control.
Illustrative example 4: Partial repatriation leaves an actual balance
Supported net credits total USD 40,000. USD 30,000 is repatriated through normal banking channels before the applicable deadline; there are no other debits. USD 10,000 remains to be repatriated. Reporting 75% completed does not establish compliance for the residual 25%.
Illustrative example 5: A late receipt does not reset the event clock
A fair closes on 18 October 2026, giving a corresponding control date of 18 November. A supported USD 3,000 sale credit arrives on 10 November; an earlier USD 7,000 balance remains. Total unresolved balance is USD 10,000, with eight days until the event-linked date. The later credit does not automatically move the deadline to 10 December.
Illustrative example 6: Unsold units are not receipts
An exhibitor takes 120 identical goods, sells 75 for USD 80 each and has 45 unsold. Gross sales are USD 6,000. If all sales are bank-credited and there are no other movements, USD 6,000 is the account balance. The unsold units have a price-list value of USD 3,600, but that is not additional bank money; their lawful disposition needs its own evidence.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Verification | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm resident participation and the specific account permission | Participant identity, event registration and regulation 5(E)(5) memo |
| 2 | Identify the displayed goods covered | Goods list, invoices and event inventory |
| 3 | Confirm the actual event-closing date | Organiser’s event schedule or closure evidence |
| 4 | Calculate the one-month control date | Calendar-month computation and earlier internal target |
| 5 | Reconcile gross sales to receipts | Sale-by-sale receivable and bank-credit schedule |
| 6 | Document each debit’s independent permissibility | Bank charges and any other allowed-payment support |
| 7 | Track partial repatriations and residual balances | Foreign statement and inward bank-transfer references |
| 8 | Keep unsold goods and unpaid sales separate | Quantity/disposition and outstanding-receivable schedules |
| 9 | Complete repatriation through normal banking channels | Completed transfer and Indian receipt evidence |
| 10 | Resolve remaining account and compliance items | AD-bank correspondence and separate export/customs review |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. What is the relevant specific permission?
Regulation 5(E)(5) of FEMA 10(R) covers the resident participant’s overseas foreign-currency account for sale proceeds of goods displayed at an exhibition or trade fair.
2. Does the clock start when the bank account closes?
No. The specified repatriation period runs from closure of the exhibition or trade fair.
3. Is one month always 30 days?
No. Use the calendar-month period. The ordinary-date examples demonstrate both 31-day and 28-day intervals.
4. Can a late customer receipt start a new month?
The receipt itself does not automatically reset the event-linked clock. Identify the balance promptly and address any difficulty with the AD bank.
5. Can the balance simply be kept for the next exhibition?
Do not assume that. The permission carries a repatriation condition linked to the completed event; another use needs its own valid basis.
6. Does the regulation automatically allow every local expense?
No. Document the independent permission and banking basis for debits rather than treating an account-opening permission as unrestricted spending authority.
7. Should bank charges reduce the sales ledger?
Keep gross sales and separately supported bank charges visible. Reconcile both to the bank balance and repatriation amount.
8. Does a partial transfer establish full compliance?
No. Track the residual balance and its completed repatriation against the relevant deadline.
9. Are unsold goods part of the cash balance?
No. They require quantity and disposition records, but their price-list value is not money received in the bank.
10. Does a zero account prove all exports were realised?
No. Sales receivables and other export obligations may remain outstanding even when the temporary account has no balance.
11. Can unrelated consulting fees be credited under this permission?
The specified account purpose is sale proceeds of displayed goods. Establish a separate valid permission before relying on it for unrelated receipts.
12. Can cash brought back substitute for the required bank route?
The condition specifies normal banking channels. Retain evidence of a completed bank-channel repatriation rather than treating cash carriage as the same action.
13. Is a submitted remittance instruction enough?
Retain completion and Indian receipt evidence. A queued or rejected transfer does not establish completed repatriation.
14. Does this article decide current export reporting deadlines?
No. It addresses the account and event-linked repatriation condition. Apply the separate current export and reporting framework to the actual shipment and receivable.
15. Is there an automatic extension for bank delays?
Do not presume one. Plan earlier and establish the applicable remedy with the AD bank if the condition cannot be met.
16. Which record best supports final reconciliation?
A combined file linking event closure, goods movements, sales, receipts, permitted debits, repatriations and unresolved items gives a reproducible explanation of the balance.
Working-paper organisation
Keep the source documents, calculation and final conclusion together for the same entity and period. If using assurePractice or other assureOffice tools, use only confirmed available functions and retain this evidence with the output.
Conclusion
Anchor the reconciliation to the event’s actual closing date. Repatriate the supported residual balance through the required bank route while keeping goods, receivables and other legal obligations separately traceable.