HSBC India EDF Form

HSBC India guide · updated 12 Oct 2026

EDF for HSBC India: how to fill and submit it

If your export receipts are credited to an HSBC India account, HSBC is your AD bank for the EDF. You fill the same Annex EDF as every other exporter, then submit it through whichever channel HSBC India publishes and your relationship manager confirms for your account. Because many HSBC customers are subsidiaries and capability centres billing a foreign group company, the trickiest part is often not the bank process at all but describing intra-group invoices cleanly.

Key takeaways

• The EDF form does not change by bank. HSBC decides the channel and the supporting documents.
• Get the AD code for the HSBC branch or unit handling your export transactions, in writing.
• Ask your RM for HSBC's published EDF acceptance process: branch, a bank-provided email, or an online trade facility.
• Intra-group invoices go in Part 2B like any other, with the group company as recipient. Add the intercompany agreement reference.
• Watch realisation: group payments can drift. The 9-month window from the invoice date still applies.

Who typically files with HSBC

HSBC India's customer base for export services often includes Indian subsidiaries of foreign groups, global capability centres, and mid-sized IT and consulting firms with international clients. That mix shapes the EDF work: fewer invoices, larger amounts, more cross-charges and service agreements.

None of that changes the rules. One EDF per month, due within 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoices were raised, filed with the AD bank where the money lands. If you are a unit inside an SEZ, the EDF goes to the SEZ Development Commissioner instead, even if your account is with HSBC.

Information to collect from HSBC

Before your first filing, send your relationship manager a short email covering these points. Keep the reply.

We will not guess at HSBC's internal portals or email addresses. Each bank publishes its own policy under Regulation 19, and HSBC's applies to you. If you want the AD code request on paper, use our AD code request letter.

Filling the EDF for intra-group billing

Take a fictional GCC, Ridgefield Technology Services India Pvt Ltd in Hyderabad, which provides engineering and analytics to its US parent and a European sister company on a cost-plus basis. In February 2027 it raises two invoices:

Key points for this kind of EDF:

• Recipient: the group company named on the invoice, with its registered address.
• Contract no. and date: the intercompany service agreement and its date. If the agreement has been amended, use the version in force.
• NRV: the invoice amount, unless the agreement allows a known deduction.
• 1.15 and 1.16 (third party and relationship): fill only if someone other than the recipient pays. If the US parent pays the Dutch company's invoice, that is a third-party payment and should be shown and explained.
• 1.22: the rupee total, which for amounts like these runs into crores. Use the amount in words converter to get the Indian numbering right.

The February 2027 EDF is due by 30 March 2027.

Supporting documents worth preparing

Larger, related-party invoices draw more questions, so keep a ready pack even if HSBC does not ask for it every month:

• The signed EDF and a covering letter (our EDF cover letter works).
• Invoices for the month.
• The intercompany service agreement, at least for the first filing and after any amendment.
• FIRAs or bank advices for amounts already received.
• A board resolution or authority naming who can sign export documents, if your bank has not already got one on file.

FIRA, purpose codes and EDPMS

For each inward remittance, ask HSBC for a FIRA or payment advice. Check the purpose code against the nature of the service: a software engineering receipt and an analytics support receipt may warrant different codes, such as P0802 or P0807 for software work, and something else for research or consulting. Confirm the right code with the bank rather than accepting a default.

HSBC must enter your EDF into EDPMS within 5 working days. Realisation must happen within 9 months from each invoice date (12 months for rupee invoices). Intra-group payments are where this slips most often: a parent's treasury batches payments quarterly, or holds them for a transfer-pricing true-up. If you can see a delay coming, ask for an extension before the deadline, with reasons, rather than after. Our guide on EDF for global capability centres covers the GCC-specific issues in more depth.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. HSBC India's published process takes precedence over any general guidance.

Frequently asked questions

How do I submit an EDF to HSBC India?

Through the channel HSBC publishes in its EDF acceptance policy and your relationship manager confirms. This could be a branch, a bank-provided email or an online trade facility. Ask your RM for the current route for your account.

Is there an HSBC-specific EDF form?

No. HSBC uses the standard EDF in the Annex to the FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026. The bank may ask for a covering letter or attachments, but the form is the same for every AD bank.

How should a subsidiary show invoices to its foreign parent on the EDF?

List each invoice in Part 2B with the parent or group company as recipient, its country, invoice details, currency, amount, NRV, description, SAC code and the intercompany agreement reference. Fill the third-party fields only if someone else pays.

What if our parent company pays late?

The 9-month realisation period from the invoice date still applies. Ask HSBC for an extension on a reasoned request before the deadline, explaining the payment cycle. Keep the parent's payment schedule and correspondence on file.

Does an SEZ unit with an HSBC account file the EDF with HSBC?

No. Units in an SEZ file the EDF with the SEZ Development Commissioner. HSBC remains the bank receiving the money and issuing FIRAs, so keep it informed.

Bottom line

For HSBC customers, the EDF itself is routine; the care goes into confirming the channel and documenting group invoices well. Prepare this month's declaration with the free HSBC EDF form and keep your intercompany agreement reference ready for Part 2B.

Key dates

*Nine months from each invoice date; twelve if invoiced in rupees. Full 12-month calendar · Due date calculator

"Strike out whichever is not applicable"

Part 4 offers pairs of alternatives — I/We, buyer/third party, will be received/has been received, foreign exchange/Indian Rupees. Your answers in step 5 decide which words stay; we draw the line through the rest, exactly as you would with a pen.

The layout follows the structure of RBI's Annex (Parts 1–5, fields 1.1–1.22). If your bank hands you its own printed version, use theirs. This tool is a document generator, not legal or tax advice — you remain the declarant.