The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued the Trade Relief Measures Directions, 2025 to mitigate stress faced by exporters due to global trade disruptions and ensure the continuity of viable businesses. Exercising its powers under various banking and financial sector legislations, the RBI mandates these Directions for immediate implementation. They apply to a broad range of regulated entities (REs), including commercial banks, co-operative banks, NBFCs (including HFCs), All-India Financial Institutions, and Credit Information Companies (for credit reporting–related provisions).
REs must establish a board-approved policy outlining objective criteria for extending relief. Borrowers are eligible if their business operations are affected by global trade headwinds and if they meet three conditions: engagement in export activities within sectors listed in the Annex, existence of outstanding export credit as of August 31, 2025, and classification of all credit facilities as “Standard” as on that date. REs that have not sanctioned export credit may rely on certifications from lending REs for eligibility verification.
The Directions introduce several relief measures. REs may grant a moratorium on term-loan instalments (principal and/or interest) due between September 1 and December 31, 2025. For working-capital facilities like cash credit and overdrafts, interest applied during this period may be deferred. Interest continues to accrue but only on a simple-interest basis without compounding. Accrued interest may be converted into a funded interest term loan (FITL) repayable between April and September 2026. REs may also revise drawing power by reducing margins or reassessing limits during the effective period.
To support export credit flows, REs may extend pre-shipment and post-shipment credit tenors up to 450 days for facilities disbursed until March 31, 2026. For packing credit availed on or before August 31, 2025, where goods could not be dispatched, liquidation from legitimate alternate sources—including domestic sale proceeds or substitution of export orders—is permitted.
In asset-classification terms, the moratorium or deferment period is excluded when computing days past due. Such relief measures are not treated as restructuring and therefore do not trigger classification downgrade. After the relief period ends, asset classification follows standard IRACP norms. CICs must ensure that these relief actions do not adversely affect borrowers’ credit histories.
For provisioning, REs must create a general provision of at least 5% on eligible standard accounts by December 31, 2025. These provisions may later be adjusted against specific provisioning requirements and must be disclosed separately until adjustment. REs must maintain a detailed MIS and submit fortnightly reports to RBI through the DAKSH platform.
