FEM (TRANSFER OR ISSUE OF SECURITY BY A PERSON RESIDENT OUTSIDE INDIA) (FIFTH AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2016 – AMENDMENT IN SCHEDULE 1

NOTIFICATION NO. FEMA. 366/2016-RB/GSR-369(E), DATED 30-3-2016

In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (b) of sub-section (3) of section 6 and section 47 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999), the Reserve Bank of India hereby makes the following amendments in the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations, 2000 (Notification No. FEMA. 20/2000-RB dated 3rd May 2000) namely:—

Short title & Commencement

1. (i) These Regulations may be called the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2016.

(ii) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

Amendment of the Schedule 1

2. In the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations, 2000, (Notification No. FEMA 20/2000-RB dated 3rd May 2000), in Schedule 1, in the existing Annex B,

i.

The existing entry F.7, F.7.1 and F.7.2 shall be substituted by the following:

F.7.	Insurance	% of equity/FDI Cap	Entry route
F.7.1	Insurance (i) Insurance Company (ii) Insurance Brokers (iii) Third Party Administrators (iv) Surveyors and Loss Assessors (v) Other Insurance Intermediaries appointed under the provisions of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999)	49%	Automatic
F.7.2	Other Conditions
	(a) No Indian Insurance company shall allow the aggregate holdings by way of total foreign investment in its equity shares by foreign investors, including portfolio investors, to exceed forty-nine percent of the paid up equity capital of such Indian Insurance company. (b) The foreign investment up to forty-nine percent of the total paid-up equity of the Indian Insurance Company shall be allowed on the automatic route subject to approval/verification by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. (c) Foreign investment in this sector shall be subject to compliance with the provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938 and the condition that Companies receiving FDI shall obtain necessary license /approval from the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India for undertaking insurance and related activities. (d) An Indian Insurance company shall ensure that its ownership and control remains at all times in the hands of resident Indian entities as determined by Department of Financial Services/ Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India as per the rules/regulation issued by them from time to time (e) Foreign portfolio investment in an Indian Insurance company shall be governed by the provisions contained in sub-regulations (2), (2A), (3) and (8) of Regulation 5 of FEMA Regulations, 2000 and provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2014. (f) Any increase in foreign investment in an Indian Insurance company shall be in accordance with the pricing guidelines specified by Reserve Bank of India under the FEMA Regulations. (g) The foreign equity investment cap of 49 percent shall apply on the same terms as above to Insurance Brokers, Third Party Administrators, Surveyors and Loss Assessors and Other Insurance Intermediaries appointed under the provisions of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act,1999 (41 of 1999). (h) Provided that where an entity like a bank, whose primary business is outside the insurance area, is allowed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to function as an insurance intermediary, the foreign equity investment caps applicable in that sector shall continue to apply, subject to the condition that the revenues of such entities from their primary (i.e., non-insurance related) business must remain above 50 percent of their total revenues in any financial year. (i) The provisions of paragraphs F.2.2 (4) (i) (b) & (d), relating to ‘Banking-Private Sector’, shall be applicable in respect of bank promoted insurance companies. (j) Terms ‘Control’, ‘Equity Share Capital’, ‘Foreign Direct Investment’ (FDI), ‘Foreign Investors’, ‘Foreign Portfolio Investment’, ‘Indian Insurance Company’, ‘Indian Company’, ‘Indian Control of an Indian Insurance Company’, ‘Indian Ownership’, ‘Non-resident Entity’, ‘Public Financial Institution’, ‘Resident Indian Citizen’, ‘Total Foreign Investment’ will have the same meaning as provided in Notification No. G.S.R 115 (E), dated 19th February, 2015 issued by Department of Financial Services and regulations issued by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India from time to time.