What RBI reporting applies to intercompany loans from a foreign parent to its India subsidiary?

A cross-border loan from a foreign parent isn't simply a book entry between related companies — under FEMA, it generally falls under the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) framework, which requires the loan terms (maturity, interest rate, end-use) to meet RBI's conditions before the funds are drawn, and ongoing reporting through an authorised dealer bank for as long as the loan is outstanding.

Treating an intercompany loan informally — without ECB registration or with terms that don't meet the framework's requirements — is one of the more common FEMA compliance gaps in MNC subsidiaries, often surfacing only when the loan needs to be repaid or refinanced and the paperwork isn't in order. Structuring the loan correctly at the outset avoids that gap.