How to get your FIRC certificate Online

As a freelancer or exporter, you're likely familiar with FIRC certificate, or Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate. However, with changing regulations, FIRC has become somewhat of a mystery for many. To clear up any confusion, let's break it down and explore what this document means, who issues it, and most importantly, how you can get your FIRC certificate online. 

FIRC, or its full form Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate, is an important document issued by banks to exporters as proof of receiving foreign currency payments. Prior to 2016, AD Category I Banks were authorized to issue FIRCs to exporters for every cross-border payment received. This certificate was crucial for exporters to serve as proof of foreign transfers. It was also a crucial document for both goods and service exporters to claim their tax exemption and GST refund.

However, as per RBI guidelines since 2016, banks only issue FIRCs for specific financial transactions like inward remittances from Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII). For export collections, banks now provide a Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA) instead.

Although FIRA is often still referred to as FIRC, the two serve slightly different purposes. The key difference is that FIRCs are now limited to transactions related to foreign investment, meaning FDI and FII transactions, while FIRA is what exporters need for all other international payments. 

Understanding FIRA/ FIRC Certificate Format

This is a sample FIRA/FIRC certificate. All crucial remittance details have been masked for security purposes. Now let’s break the content of a FIRA down:

Who issues FIRC certificate/FIRA ?

According to FEMA and RBI regulations, only AD Category I banks are authorized to issue FIRA or FIRC certificates. To obtain one, you must submit a request form with the required details to the bank handling your foreign payment. Once the request is processed, the bank will issue the FIRA or FIRC certificate to the beneficiary i.e. your account. We’ll cover the detailed process in the next section. 

How to get your FIRC Certificate from the Bank

As discussed, to obtain your FIRC document or FIRA from the bank, you'll need to submit a request form with the following details:

These are the standard details required, though some banks may ask for additional information based on the transaction. Once submitted, the bank will process your request, and most banks charge a fee between INR 400-800 for issuing the FIRC/FIRA.

The entire process typically takes 7-15 days, and you may need to follow up with your bank to expedite it. 

FIRC Certificate Download: How to do it online?

Today, beyond traditional banks, several online platforms like Skydo, Wise, and Payoneer provide exporters with fast and secure options for receiving international payments in India. Some of these platforms also offer digital FIRAs to streamline compliance for exporters.

While some platforms may refer to these digital FIRAs as eFIRC, electronic FIRC digital FIRC, or simply FIRC, it's important to understand that they are essentially digital FIRAs, regardless of the name. Now, let’s explore how you can receive your digital FIRA from these platforms:

How to get your PayPal FIRC/ FIRA

Since 2021, PayPal has started issuing digital FIRA to businesses receiving international payments in India as proof of payment receipt. The platform doesn’t issue individual FIRA for every transaction, instead, it issues monthly digital FIRA, and all international transactions of the previous month are referenced in that one FIRA. You can access this FIRA by the 15th of the subsequent month. For example, your monthly FIRA for July will be available to you by 15th of August.

Once the FIRA is available, PayPal will notify you of the same via email. Here’s how you can download it:

Note that PayPal doesn't charge any additional fee for issuing FIRA. 

How to get your FIRC/FIRA from Payoneer

Payoneer is another widely used platform for Indian businesses to receive international payments. To simplify compliance, Payoneer provides users with free digital FIRAs for all their international transfers.

Here’s how you can download your FIRA from Payoneer 

How to get Wise FIRC/ FIRA?

Wise is a leading platform for businesses and individuals to receive foreign payments, supporting both B2B and P2P transfers. For business payments in India, Wise provides a digital FIRA via email for each transaction.

However, Wise charges an additional fee for issuing the digital FIRA, which varies depending on the currency. For instance, if you receive a payment in GBP, the fee is 1.91 GBP, while for USD transactions, the fee is 2.50 USD. 

Get Your Free FIRA from Skydo instantly 

At Skydo, our goal is to simplify the international payments process, allowing you to focus on growing your business. That’s why we provide digital FIRAs for every transaction, completely free of charge.

When transacting through Skydo, it automatically generates FIRA for all international payments when they reach your bank account. You will also be notified of the same via email. The document details will be according to the information mentioned in the invoices and payment receipt details. You can easily go to the Skydo dashboard and download FIRA receipts for all or specific transactions, at no extra cost!

Here’s how you can download your FIRA from Skydo

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