FCGPR Filing: The FDI Reporting Deadline Foreign Investors Miss Most
Every equity infusion from abroad triggers an FCGPR filing with the RBI within 30 days of share allotment, and missing it means penalties compound fast.
Once a foreign investor's funds land in an Indian subsidiary's bank account and shares are allotted, the company has 30 days to file Form FCGPR through the RBI's FIRMS portal. This is separate from the earlier Advance Reporting Form for the inbound remittance itself, two filings, two deadlines, and both are frequently missed by companies that assume their bank or CA has it covered by default.
Late filing doesn't void the investment, but it does trigger compounding under FEMA, which means a penalty proceeding with RBI, typically a percentage of the transaction value plus a fixed fee, scaled by how late the filing is and whether it's a first offense. For a mid-sized seed round this can run into six figures in INR once compounding fees are added.
The practical fix is process, not vigilance: tie the FCGPR filing to the same internal checklist as the share allotment resolution, not to a separate compliance calendar that can slip. Companies that bundle entity incorporation, FDI reporting, and the first FCGPR filing into one engagement rarely miss this deadline.