Purpose codes: the code on each payment from abroad

From the Export Desk, chapter 7 · Look inside the Export Desk

What is a purpose code?

A five-character code that classifies a foreign exchange transaction; receipts start with a P. The RBI’s A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84, of 29 February 2012, told banks to report “all foreign exchange transactions as per the revised purpose code list” from April 2012, and ended the old lump-sum reporting of small non-export receipts below ₹5 lakh (source 1).

The DGFT’s e-BRC system pairs each code with the services it covers, by SAC, the code for the service on your invoice (source 2). The export invoice guide says where the SAC goes.

Which codes go with freelance work?

Purpose codes and the services the DGFT maps to them (version 1.0, 10 November 2023)

Code	The code’s words, and the services mapped to it	SAC
P0802	“Software consultancy/implementation (other than those covered in SOFTEX form)”: IT consulting and support; IT design and development.	998313, 998314
P0807	“Off-site Software Exports”: the same two services.	998313, 998314
P1006	“Business and management consultancy and public relations services”: management consulting; business consulting, including PR.	998311, 998312
P1007	“Advertising, trade fair service”: advertising services.	998361
P1016	“Market research and public opinion polling service”.	998371, 998372
P1005	“Accounting, auditing, book keeping services”.	998221, 998222
P1015	“Tax consulting services”.	998231, 998232
P1004	“Legal services”.	998211 to 998216
P1009	“Architectural services”: architectural advisory, among others.	998321
P1014	“Engineering Services”: engineering advisory, among others.	998331
P1101, P1109	Audio-visual services, or “Other Personal, Cultural & Recreational services”: photography and videography.	998381 to 998387
P1099	“Other services not included elsewhere”: among others, translation, specialty design, and other professional, technical and business services.	998395, 998391, 998399

The DGFT’s list still names SOFTEX (source 2). The RBI’s 2026 regulations put software under the EDF (source 5), so ask your bank which code it uses.

Some SACs map to more than one code; specialty design (998391), for one, maps to five. Then your bank picks the code with you. Older lists, including a copy on the RBI’s site now stamped “Withdrawn”, give P1019 as “other services not included elsewhere” (source 3); in the DGFT’s mapping, P1019 is “Commission agent services”, and P1099 is the catch-all.

Where do you see your code?

Ask your bank or platform to show it on its record of each receipt, the FIRC, FIRA or eFIRC, and note it in your register beside the invoice. The FIRA, FIRC and e-BRC guide says which record is which.

What if the code looks wrong?

1. Write to your bank the week the money lands: the date, the amount, the code it used, your SAC, and what the payment was for, with the invoice attached.
2. Ask which code it uses for your SAC, and whether it can correct this one.
3. Keep the reply with the invoice. Your CA will want to see it.

That’s practice, not a rule’s wording; your bank’s own process decides how a correction is made.

If your bank says you file an Export Declaration Form, it may ask about the same receipts. The RBI’s remarks of 7 October 2026 on who files are in the EDF guide. The FAQs it promised were not on its FAQ page when checked on 2 November 2026 (source 4), so ask your bank in writing whether you file.

From the kit. In the Export Desk, chapter 7 has the purpose codes beside the payment routes, and letter 9 asks your bank for the FIRA and the code in one message. This is chapter 7’s page.

Free: check an export invoice against the ten lines, also on one A4 page, free.

Questions to ask your bank and your CA

1. Bank: which purpose code do you report my export receipts under, for my SAC?
2. Bank: where does the code appear on your advice of each receipt?
3. Bank: a receipt carries the wrong code. How do I have it corrected?
4. CA: which SAC fits my work, and so which code should I expect?

Sources

1. Reserve Bank of India. A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 84, 29 February 2012: Compilation of R-Returns: Reporting under FETERS. Paragraph 3: reporting from April 2012, and the end of lump-sum reporting below ₹5 lakh. Primary source. Read on 2 November 2026.
2. Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Purpose Code and SAC Code Mapping, version 1.0, 10 November 2023, linked from the DGFT’s e-BRC page. Primary source. Read on 2 November 2026.
3. Reserve Bank of India. Annexure II, New purpose codes for reporting forex transactions: receipt purposes, the RBI’s copy, stamped “Withdrawn”. Group 10. Primary source. Read on 2 November 2026.
4. Reserve Bank of India. Frequently Asked Questions, the RBI’s index of FAQs, with no entry on the EDF or the 2026 regulations. Newest entry: 15 October 2026. Primary source. Read on 2 November 2026.
5. Reserve Bank of India. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, 13 January 2026, as amended up to 22 September 2026. Regulation 2(1)(f), with its Explanation, and regulation 3(2). Primary source. Read on 2 November 2026.

What changed in this guide

• 2 November 2026. Every source read again before publishing, and the RBI’s 2026 regulations added as a source. The short answer and the P0807 row no longer tie P0807 to a SOFTEX form, and a note under the table says why.
• 20 October 2026. Written, and checked against the sources above.