Who puts P0016 on a remittance?

Your AD bank does, not you. When a foreign payment reaches the account the bank reports it to the RBI with a purpose code, and that report is the Inward Remittance Message, the IRM. The code arrives already attached, which is why a code that looks wrong is corrected through the bank rather than through DGFT, before the remittance is mapped to an eBRC.

What is the difference between P0016 and P0001 or P0002?

They describe different payments. P0016 means: Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.. P0001 means: Repatriation of Indian Portfolio investment abroad in equity capital (shares). P0002 means: Repatriation of Indian Portfolio investment abroad in debt instruments.. For an eBRC under DGFT's guidelines: P0016: Not an export receipt; P0001: Not an export receipt; P0002: Not an export receipt. The AD bank picks the code that describes the payment, from the 26 codes in group 00 and the rest of RBI's list.

P0016 Purpose Code: Purchase of one foreign currency against another

Q: What is purpose code P0016?

P0016 is an RBI purpose code for an inward remittance, and it classifies the payment as: Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.. It sits in group 00, Capital and Financial Account, of the receipt purposes Authorised Dealer banks report to the RBI.

Q: How does RBI describe P0016 in FETERS reporting?

In RBI's FETERS receipt purpose list, Annex I to A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 dated 29 February 2012, P0016 sits in group 00, Capital and Financial Account, and reads: Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.. FETERS is the Foreign Exchange Transactions Electronic Reporting System, under which Authorised Dealer banks report their foreign exchange transactions to the RBI.

P0016 is the RBI purpose code for: Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.. It sits in group 00, Capital and Financial Account, of the receipt purposes RBI uses to classify foreign exchange coming into India.

P0016Group 00 · Capital and Financial AccounteBRC: Not an export receipt

P0016 at a glance

Code	P0016
RBI wording	Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.
RBI group	00, Capital Account; Financial Account, Banking Capital
Status	In RBI's receipt purpose list
eBRC on DGFT	Not an export receipt
Who attaches it	The AD bank that receives the payment

Can a P0016 remittance become an eBRC?

No, as a rule. RBI places P0016 outside both the exports of goods (group 01) and the service groups, so the money is not proceeds of an export, and an eBRC certifies export proceeds. DGFT's eBRC guidelines do not name P0016. If the payment was in fact for goods or services you exported, the classification is wrong, and the bank that reported it is the one to correct it.

The rule is DGFT’s, from its General Guidelines for Generating eBRC (last updated 26 March 2024). The full list, and what each rule means when you map remittances, is in how to generate an eBRC on the DGFT portal.

What this code says about the money

A purpose code is your bank speaking, not you. When a foreign payment reaches your account, the AD bank reports it with a purpose code that states the RBI classification of the transaction, and that report is the Inward Remittance Message, the IRM. A remittance carrying P0016 has been classified as: Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency..

In FETERS reporting

FETERS is the Foreign Exchange Transactions Electronic Reporting System, the system under which Authorised Dealer banks report their foreign exchange transactions to the RBI, and its receipt purpose list is where P0016 is defined. That list, Annex I to A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 dated 29 February 2012, places P0016 in group 00, Capital Account; Financial Account, under Banking Capital, and describes it as: Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.. That is the wording a bank’s reporting desk works from, so it is the wording to match when you ask the bank what a remittance was reported as.

P0016 or a neighbouring code

The codes below are the ones most easily confused with P0016. The difference is in RBI’s wording, so the table quotes it, with what DGFT allows for each.

Code	RBI wording	eBRC on DGFT
P0016	Purchase of a foreign currency against another currency.	Not an export receipt
P0001	Repatriation of Indian Portfolio investment abroad in equity capital (shares)	Not an export receipt
P0002	Repatriation of Indian Portfolio investment abroad in debt instruments.	Not an export receipt
P0003	Repatriation of Indian Direct investment abroad (by branches & wholly owned subsidiaries and associates) in equity shares	Not an export receipt

If the code on your remittance looks wrong

The code is attached at reporting time by the bank, so the fix runs through the bank, not through DGFT. Ask the AD branch that received the payment to confirm the classification; an amended report shows up as a revised IRM. What each IRM status means, and what you can do with a remittance in each state, is in the IRM explainer, and the errors DGFT returns when a code does not fit the filing are in IRM mapping errors on DGFT. Exporters who agree the purpose code with their buyer's bank once, at onboarding, rarely meet this page twice.

Other codes in group 00

All 26 Capital and Financial Account purpose codes