Byju’s expects minimal or no fine from India’s forex rule violation allegation

Byju’s said on Wednesday that recent accusations by India’s crime-fighting agency regarding a breach of the nation’s foreign exchange rule are “solely technical” in nature and the startup anticipates that any resultant penalty would be minimal.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, India’s most valuable, said it has filed requisite intimation for all the foreign direct investment it received and is confident of successfully dealing with the case. Based on the “precedent actions” by the authority, Byju’s said it anticipates that the fines, “if any, will be nominal.”

The Enforcement Directorate last week accused Byju’s of violating rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), to the tune of $1.12 billion, by failing to submit documents of imports against advance remittances and proceed of exports made outside India and delayed filing of documents for foreign direct investment received by the startup.

Byju’s asserted in a statement Wednesday evening that the ED notice does not specify any quantum of fine but “rather highlights the quantum of FDI/ODI (~ 9,000 crore) along with the deadlines that we missed in the reference period for this quantum.”

It added: “We want to reassure you that Byju’s maintains and will continue to maintain complete adherence to all relevant FEMA regulations, as verified by comprehensive due diligence conducted by reputable law firms.”

The statement is a relief for Byju’s, which is scrambling to resolve many challenges. Prosus, which owns about a 9% stake in Byju’s, added more worries to the list of challenges earlier Wednesday by noting that it had cut the edtech giant’s valuation to under $3 billion.