RBI Trade Guideline for MSMEs on Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS)
RBI understands that micro, small and medium enterprises
have and still do, play an important role in the country’s economic
development. However, such institutions still do suffer from the lack of
finances, or to be more specific to get finances at all. They require funds and
loans to convert trade receivables to liquid funds for various ventures. Thus,
their business suffers from a lack of it. To address this problem throughout
the country, RBI is setting up a mechanism for giving finance for trade
receivables. It has already published a paper called Micro, Small and Medium
Factoring Trade Receivables Exchange.
Below given
are the guidelines for setting up and for operating the system.
1.
This scheme,
which shall be set up and shall operate for the purpose of facilitating finance
of trade receivables of MSMEs from the corporate buyers through channels, will
henceforth be known as Trade Receivables Discounting System or TReDs.
2.
The TReDS
shall therefore facilitate the discounting of bills of exchange and invoices.
As the entities are the same in both cases, the system is able to deal with
receivables factoring along with reverse factoring so as to facilitate higher
transaction volumes and better pricing.
Participants
1.
The
participants in this scheme or system shall be MSME sellers, financiers and
corporate buyers. Financiers include NBFCs and banks alike, and they shall be
direct participants in the TReDS system. This system shall provide a platform
for facilitating accepting, uploading, discounting and settlements of bills of
MSMEs, invoices, etc. The corporate buyers and bankers may have access to the
system when it is deemed necessary, for getting information of various
portfolios like bills and discounted invoices of clients. The TReDS will be
tying up with technologies as needed.
Process flow
1.
The
objective of the TReDS system is to facilitate the financing of bills of MSMEs
and bills of exchange that are drawn on corporate buyers by way of discounting
by financiers. To this end, the system has put suitable mechanisms in place by
which invoice and bills are converted into factoring units.
2.
In the very
first phase, the system shall aid in the facilitation of discounting of the
factoring units by financiers, thereby resulting in the flow of funds to the
MSMEs with the final payment of factoring units made on due date by a corporate
buyer. In the second phase, the system shall enable discounting and
rediscounting of the factoring units.
3.
The TReDs
system’s process flow is there to enable the minimum uploading of bills of creation
and invoices of factoring units by MSME sellers. This includes acceptance by
corporate purchasers, rating, re-discounting, discounting etc, of factoring
units, providing notifications to each party that are relevant to the
transaction, reporting the MSME requirements, and lastly the generation and
submission of obligation settlements.
4.
The TReDS
may from time to time introduce random audits to make sure there is no window
dressing, and that factoring units uploaded on exchange are completely
authentic, and that these are based on genuine transactions.
5.
The TReDs
system shall introduce a standard mechanism process for the on-boarding of
buyers and sellers on the system. This process shall require all parties to
submit their KYC documents to the TReDS, along with resolutions related to
authorize corporate personnel buyers and MSME sellers. They shall be given IDs
and passwords for multi-level authorizations.
6.
The KYC
documentation process can be simplified because it needs confirmation of the
MSME seller’s banker, or of the corporate buyer, as the case may be.
7.
The
participants shall have a one-time agreement only.
8.
The master
agreement between the two parties shall include the buyer’s obligation to pay
back on the due date as soon as the factoring unit is accepted online, that
there shall be no disputes on the quality of goods, and that set-offs are not
allowed.
9.
The master
agreement shall state the terms and conditions, and shall have a declaration by
the seller that any finance received through the system shall not be taken as a
part of an existing charge or hypothecation Working Capital Bankers. An NOC may
be needed as well to avoid double-financing.
10.
In case the
financing is based on invoices, and agreement will be executed by the two
parties.
11.
All
agreements shall be in custody of the TReDS.
12.
The TReDS
system shall review the need for CERSAI registration for all assignments, and
it will therefore put mechanisms in place for the same purpose.
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