RBI Extends FLA Return Due Date to 31 July 2026: What Changed & What to Do Now

Quick Summary:

The FLA Return due date for FY 2025-26 has been extended. The Reserve Bank of India has pushed the deadline from 15 July 2026 to 31 July 2026, as confirmed in an official announcement on the FLAIR portal. This applies to the annual FLA census reporting foreign assets and liabilities as on 31 March 2026. RBI also changed its FLA contact email to flareturn@rbi.org.in.

If you were racing to file your FLA Return today because you thought 15 July was a hard deadline, you can breathe. RBI just gave everyone 16 more days. New deadline: 31 July 2026. Check this blog to know everything about the filing, who needs to file, what documents you need and many more.

The Official RBI Announcement

The extension is published directly on the FLAIR (Foreign Liabilities and Assets Information Reporting) portal under its Announcements section. The notice reads:

“The extended due date for submitting the annual census on FLA as on end March-2026 on the FLAIR portal is July 31, 2026. Please note, the email id surveyfla@rbi.org.in has been changed to flareturn@rbi.org.in. Accordingly, all communication/queries should henceforth be sent to flareturn@rbi.org.in only."

Two things are confirmed in that one notice:

The deadline moves from 15 July to 31 July 2026.
The RBI's contact email for all FLA queries has changed to flareturn@rbi.org.in, the older surveyfla@rbi.org.in address is retired.

Old Deadline vs. New Deadline

Particulars	Previous Deadline	Extended Deadline
FLA Return (FY 2025-26, data as on 31 March 2026)	15 July 2026	31 July 2026
Extra time granted	—	16 days
Revision deadline (if filed provisional)	30 September 2026	Unchanged, still 30 September 2026
RBI contact email	surveyfla@rbi.org.in	flareturn@rbi.org.in

What You Should Do Right Now

If you've already filed: No action needed, if you have filed already. Your filing stands, nothing changes for you.
If you haven't filed yet: You now have until 31 July 2026. Use the extra time to get your numbers right rather than rushing a provisional filing, but don't wait until the last day.
If your accounts still aren't audited: You can still file with provisional figures by 31 July, then revise with audited figures by 30 September 2026 (that date has not moved).

Update your records: Swap out surveyfla@rbi.org.in for flareturn@rbi.org.in anywhere you've saved it, email templates, compliance calendars, client instructions.
Don't confuse this with other FEMA deadlines: the APR (Annual Performance Report) deadline and other FEMA filings are unaffected by this notice.

Conclusion

Good news if you were down to the wire today. But don't let 16 extra days turn into 16 days of procrastination, audits still take time, and the RBI approval step for revisions isn't instant either. File as soon as your numbers are ready, extension or not.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes, RBI's FLAIR portal officially confirms the FY 2025-26 FLA Return due date is now 31 July 2026, extended from the original 15 July 2026 deadline.

The due date for FLA Return is now extended till 31 July 2026, officially announced by RBI.

No, If you file with provisional/unaudited figures, you still need to submit the revised return with audited figures by 30 September 2026, that date is unchanged.

RBI's announcement doesn't state a reason this time. Last year's extension was attributed to technical upgrades on the FLAIR portal; this year's notice is a straightforward date change without an explanation given.

Directly on the FLAIR portal (flair.rbi.org.in) under the Announcements section.

flareturn@rbi.org.in. The older surveyfla@rbi.org.in address is no longer in use.

There's no way to know in advance. RBI has extended this specific deadline in both 2025 and 2026, but each year's decision is separate and announced close to the original due date. Plan for 15 July every year regardless.