Power to compound contravention
Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 deals with power to compound contravention. Any contravention under section 13 may, on an application made by the person committing such contravention, be compounded within one hundred and eighty days from the date of receipt of application by the Director of Enforcement or such other officers of the Directorate of Enforcement and officers of The Act came into force on 01 Jun 2000.
(1) Any contravention under section 13 may, on an application made by the person committing such contravention, be compounded within one hundred and eighty days from the date of receipt of application by the Director of Enforcement or such other officers of the Directorate of Enforcement and officers of the Reserve Bank as may be authorised in this behalf by the Central Government in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) Where a contravention has been compounded under sub-section (1), no proceeding or further proceeding, as the case may be, shall be initiated or continued, as the case may be, against the committing such contravention under that section, in respect of the contravention so compounded.
Section 15, 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.
This section refers to
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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New Delhi Television Limited v. Reserve Bank of India & Ors.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Once a FEMA compounding application is made under s.15, RBI must consider it in accordance with law; ED cannot interdict that discretion via Rule 8(2) proviso on mere suspicion without cogent material linking the applicant to money-laundering, and vague ED communications may be quashed so RBI can decide uninfluenced.
On this section: s.15 compounding consideration by RBI cannot be blocked by ED suspicion lacking cogent material.
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P. Vardarajan v. The Reserve Bank of India & Ors.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Companion to Kumudam: FEMA s.15 compounding applications by the director-side petitioner are to be freshly filed and decided by RBI on checklist compliance within 180 days, without creating an absolute right to compound or prejudging related civil/company disputes.
On this section: Confirms s.15 processing pathway for individual applicant in the same batch as the company petition.
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Kumudam Publications Pvt. Ltd. v. The Reserve Bank of India & Ors.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where applicants invoke FEMA s.15, RBI undertakes to scrutinise fresh compounding applications against a checklist and decide within 180 days; there is still no absolute right to grant compounding, and Brentfield-type public-interest/circular constraints remain open.
On this section: s.15 applications must be processed (checklist + 180-day decision), not permanently shelved without consideration.
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Brentfield Travels Company Private Limited v. The Reserve Bank of India & Anr.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
FEMA s.15 confers no absolute right to compound; RBI may return a compounding application and refer sensitive contraventions (money-laundering/national-security/serious regulatory infringement) for ED investigation under the Compounding Rules/circulars, and judicial review will not stall that investigation where reasons are not extraneous.
On this section: s.15 compounding power is discretionary and may be deferred pending ED investigation of sensitive contraventions.
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.
Questions about Section 15
What have the courts held on Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act?
New Delhi Television Limited v. Reserve Bank of India & Ors. (26 Jun 2018) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.15 compounding consideration by RBI cannot be blocked by ED suspicion lacking cogent material. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2011 to 2018.
How do I find court cases under Section 15 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 15, section 15 Fema, section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. People searching for it also type section 15 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. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with New Delhi Television Limited v. Reserve Bank of India & Ors. (26 Jun 2018).
What should I read with Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 13 (Penalties), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 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 (Compounding Proceedings) Rules 2000 (2000).
When did Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act come into force?
Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, cited as Fema 15, 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
- 2. Definitions1265 words
- 14. Enforcement of the orders of Adjudicating Authority837 words
- 13. Penalties496 words
- 10. Authorised person489 words
- 49. Repeal and saving475 words
- 19. Appeal to Appellate Tribunal465 words
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 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.