P0805 Purpose Code: News agency services

P0805 is the RBI purpose code for: News agency services. It sits in group 08, Telecom, Computer and Information Services, of the receipt purposes RBI uses to classify foreign exchange coming into India.

P0805 at a glance

Can a P0805 remittance become an eBRC?

DGFT's guidelines do not name P0805. They say that for a service export the exporter can attach only invoices whose SAC code matches the description of the service, and that no two purpose codes may be clubbed in one eBRC except with P0103. So where P0805 is the right description of a service you exported, the eBRC is generated with P0805 on its own, or clubbed with P0103, against an invoice whose SAC code matches that service.

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 P0805 has been classified as: News agency services.

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 P0805 is defined. That list, Annex I to A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84 dated 29 February 2012, places P0805 in group 08, Telecommunication, Computer & Information Services, and describes it as: News agency services. 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.

Service exporters, freelancers included, will find the whole route from remittance to certificate in eBRC for freelancers and service exporters.

P0805 or a neighbouring code

The codes below are the ones most easily confused with P0805. The difference is in RBI’s wording, so the table quotes it, with what DGFT allows for each.

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 08

• P0801Hardware consultancy and implementationNot for Services > IT
• P0802Software consultancy and implementationYes, Services > IT
• P0803Database and data processingYes, Services > IT
• P0804Repair and maintenance of computers and softwareNot for Services > IT
• P0806Other information services and subscriptionsService export, not named
• P0807Off-site software exportsYes, Services > IT
• P0808Telecommunication servicesService export, not named
• P0809Satellite servicesService export, not named

All 9 Telecom, Computer and Information Services purpose codes