What is Remittance Advice?
A remittance advice is the payer's explanation of a payment. When a client pays several invoices in one transfer, or pays less than the invoice because of a discount, tax withholding or a dispute, its accounts team often emails a remittance advice listing the invoice numbers, amounts, deductions and payment reference. Large companies generate these automatically from their payables systems.
It is a courtesy document from the client, not a bank record. Your bank's own records of the money it received, such as the SWIFT message, FIRA, FIRC or bank advice, are separate.
Why it matters for exporters
Matching is the heart of export compliance. Your EDF lists each invoice in Part 2B, and your bank later has to tie each inward remittance to those invoices in EDPMS. When a single payment covers three invoices, or arrives short, the client's remittance advice is often the only document that tells you how to split it. For invoices above ₹10 lakh, you give the bank the invoice, payment evidence and matching instructions; the remittance advice helps you prepare those instructions accurately.
Ask regular clients to send a remittance advice with every payment, or to quote invoice numbers in the payment reference. File it with the FIRA and the EDF so that months later you can still explain any difference between the invoice amount and the amount realised.
Example
Ivory Tower Research Pvt Ltd receives a single wire of GBP 11,350 from a London client. The client's remittance advice shows it covers invoice ITR/201 (GBP 6,000) and ITR/207 (GBP 5,500), less GBP 150 deducted for a late-delivery credit agreed in writing. Ivory Tower uses the advice to instruct its bank to apply the payment to both invoices and attaches the credit note. It records both invoices in its EDF register.
Common confusion
A remittance advice is not a FIRA, which your bank issues. It is also different from the MT103, the bank-to-bank SWIFT message. See how to read a FIRA.