Authorised person
Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 deals with authorised person. The Reserve Bank may, on an application made to it in this behalf, authorise any person to be known as authorised person to deal in foreign exchange or in foreign securities, as an authorised dealer, money changer or off-shore banking unit or in any other manner as it deems fit. The Act came into force on 01 Jun 2000.
(1) The Reserve Bank may, on an application made to it in this behalf, authorise any person to be known as authorised person to deal in foreign exchange or in foreign securities, as an authorised dealer, money changer or off-shore banking unit or in any other manner as it deems fit.
(2) An authorisation under this section shall be in writing and shall be subject to the conditions laid down therein.
(3) An authorisation granted under sub-section (1) may be revoked by the Reserve Bank at any time if the Reserve Bank is satisfied that--
(a) it is in public interest so to do; or
(b) the authorised person has failed to comply with the condition subject to which the authorisation was granted or has contravened any of the provisions of the Act or any rule, regulation, notification, direction or order made thereunder:
Provided that no such authorisation shall be revoked on any ground referred to in clause (b) unless the authorised person has been given a reasonable opportunity of making a representation in the matter.
(4) An authorised person shall, in all his dealings in foreign exchange or foreign security, comply with such general or special directions or orders as the Reserve Bank may, from time to time, think fit to give, and, except with the previous permission of the Reserve Bank, an authorised person shall not engage in any transaction involving any foreign exchange or foreign security which is not in conformity with the terms of his authorisation under this section.
(5) An authorised person shall, before undertaking any transaction in foreign exchange on behalf of any person, require that person to make such declaration and to give such information as will reasonably satisfy him that the transaction will not involve, and is not designed for the purpose of any contravention or evasion of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, regulation, notification, direction or order made thereunder, and where the said person refuses to comply with any such requirement or make only unsatisfactory compliance therewith, the authorised person shall refuse in writing to undertake the transaction and shall, if he has reason to believe that any such contravention or evasion as aforesaid is contemplated by the person, report the matter to the Reserve Bank.
(6) Any person, other than an authorised person, who has acquired or purchased foreign exchange for any purpose mentioned in the declaration made by him to authorised person under sub-section (5) does not use it for such purpose or does not surrender it to authorised person within the specified period or uses the foreign exchange so acquired or purchased for any other purpose for which purchase or acquisition or foreign exchange is not permissible under the provisions of the Act or the rules or regulations or direction or order made thereunder shall be deemed to have committed contravention of the provisions of the Act for the purpose of this section.
Section 10, The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (Act 42 of 1999).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 4
- s. 2 Definitions
- Finance Act s. 95 Amendment of Section 206C
- Income-tax Act s. 206C Profits and gains from the business of trading in alcoholic liquor, forest produce, scrap, etc
- Income-tax Rules s. 37BB [Furnishing of information for payment to a non-resident, not being a company, or to a foreign company
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Suborno Bose v. Enforcement Directorate & Anr.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
SC held FEMA s.10(6) is a deeming provision: where foreign exchange is not used for the stated purpose or not surrendered within the prescribed period (Regulation 6 sixty-day rule), contravention continues until corrective action; successor MD who knew of uncleared imports/Bill of Entry failure and failed due diligence remains liable for civil penalty without mens rea.
On this section: s.10 Authorised person — court applied s.10(6) continuing-contravention / surrender deeming to uphold Rs.10 lakh FEMA penalty
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 8 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations, 2017.Regulation 2017
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) Regulations, 2016.Regulation 2016
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of a branch office or a liaison office or a project office or any other place of business) Regulations, 2016.Regulation 2016
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2015.Regulation 2016
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a person resident in India) Regulations, 2015.Regulation 2016
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations, 2016.Regulation 2016
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Remittance of Assets) Regulations, 2016.Regulation 2016
- the Foreign Exchange Management (Crystallization of Inoperative Foreign Currency Deposits) Regulations, 2014.Regulation 2014
Questions about Section 10
What have the courts held on Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act?
Suborno Bose v. Enforcement Directorate & Anr. (05 Mar 2020) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.10 Authorised person — court applied s.10(6) continuing-contravention / surrender deeming to uphold Rs.10 lakh FEMA penalty.
How do I find court cases under Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Fema 10, section 10 Fema, section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. People searching for it also type section 10 of foreign exchange management act and section 10 5 of foreign exchange management act 1999. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Suborno Bose v. Enforcement Directorate & Anr. (05 Mar 2020).
What should I read with Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, and has it changed?
4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently the Foreign Exchange Management (Realisation, Repatriation and Surrender of Foreign Exchange) Regulations, 2015. (2015).
When did Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act come into force?
Section 10 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, cited as Fema 10, came into force on 01 Jun 2000, having been enacted on 29 Dec 1999. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.