CMA Data Format for Bank Loan: What Goes in Each of the 6 Forms
The CMA data format is a set of six linked forms: existing and proposed limits, an operating statement, an analysis of the balance sheet, current assets and liabilities, the bank finance calculation and a funds flow statement. No RBI template is in force today. Banks use their own versions of one old layout, so ask your branch for its sheet.
- The CMA format is bank practice. RBI does not notify a standard CMA template today.
- An RBI master circular records that the old Maximum Permissible Bank Finance rule, based on a minimum current ratio of 1.33, was withdrawn and banks now decide their own method.
- Under the turnover method, the working capital need is 25% of projected turnover: you bring 5% and the bank finances at least 20%.
- RBI's MSME FAQ applies the 20% turnover basis to working capital limits up to Rs 5 crore.
- Every form uses the same columns: past audited years, the current year estimate and the projected years.
In this guide
Is there one official CMA format?
No. CMA stands for Credit Monitoring Arrangement. The forms grew out of the way RBI once asked banks to assess working capital. That assessment rule is gone. An RBI master circular for urban co-operative banks, updated to June 2004, says the Maximum Permissible Bank Finance (MPBF) prescription has been withdrawn and banks are free to assess working capital as they see fit. The forms stayed because bankers know how to read them.
So when a branch says "give us CMA", it means its own spreadsheet, usually with the same six forms and the same line names. If the bank hands you a file, use it. If not, use the layout below. If you are new to CMA, start with what CMA data is and why banks ask for it. This article goes one level deeper: what goes in each line and how the forms check each other.
What goes in each form
| Form | Main lines | Feeds into |
|---|---|---|
| I. Existing and proposed limits | Each bank or lender, type of facility, sanctioned limit, amount outstanding, security, and the limit you want now | The bank finance figure in Form V should not exceed the limit asked here |
| II. Operating statement | Net sales (without GST), other operating income, cost of goods sold with opening and closing stock, selling and administration expenses, interest, depreciation, profit before and after tax, drawings or dividend | Closing stock goes to Form III. Sales drive the holding periods in Form IV |
| III. Analysis of balance sheet | Current liabilities (bank borrowing, creditors, advances from customers, statutory dues, instalments due within a year), term loans, net worth; current assets (cash, receivables, stock, advances), fixed assets, other non-current assets | Current ratio and net working capital; totals carry to Forms IV and V |
| IV. Current assets and current liabilities | Each item in rupees and as a holding period: stock in months of cost of sales, receivables in months of sales, creditors in months of purchases | Total current assets and other current liabilities used in Form V |
| V. Assessment of bank finance | Total current assets, less current liabilities other than bank borrowing, gives the working capital gap. Less your margin, gives the bank finance | The limit the bank can consider |
| VI. Funds flow | Long-term sources and uses (profit, depreciation, new capital, term loans, asset purchases) and short-term sources and uses | The increase in net working capital must match Form III year to year |
Many banks add a ratio sheet with current ratio, debt to equity, interest cover and, for term loans, the debt service coverage ratio.
How the forms check each other
A credit officer reads CMA data the way an auditor ticks a ledger. Before you send it, run these checks yourself.
- Closing stock. The figure in Form II equals the stock line in Form III for the same year.
- Balance sheet. Total liabilities equal total assets in Form III, in every projected year too.
- Current assets. The totals in Form IV equal those in Form III.
- Profit. Profit after tax less drawings in Form II equals the rise in reserves or capital in Form III.
- Working capital. The net working capital used in Form V equals Form III, and its change matches Form VI.
- Limits. Bank borrowing shown in Form III for the next year matches the limit asked in Form I.
- Past years. Every past figure matches your filed accounts and income tax return.
A worked example: Form V both ways
You run a trading business with projected sales of Rs 1,50,00,000 for next year. Your projected balance sheet shows this:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stock | Rs 30,00,000 |
| Receivables | Rs 15,00,000 |
| Other current assets | Rs 5,00,000 |
| Total current assets | Rs 50,00,000 |
| Creditors and other current liabilities (no bank borrowing) | Rs 15,00,000 |
| Your net working capital (long-term funds in current assets) | Rs 14,00,000 |
Gap method. The working capital gap is Rs 50,00,000 less Rs 15,00,000, which is Rs 35,00,000. A common bank layout then takes your margin as the higher of 25% of total current assets (Rs 12,50,000) and your actual net working capital (Rs 14,00,000). Bank finance: Rs 35,00,000 less Rs 14,00,000 = Rs 21,00,000.
Turnover method. The need is 25% of Rs 1,50,00,000, which is Rs 37,50,000. You bring 5% (Rs 7,50,000) and the bank finances 20%, which is Rs 30,00,000.
Why the difference? The turnover method assumes a cash cycle of about three months. Your actual stock, receivables and creditors show a shorter one. Banks decide which result to use under their own policy, and many look at both. So the Rs 30,00,000 is not yours by default. If you want it, your stock and receivable levels must support it.
Online sellers: three lines to get right
- Sales. Use net sales after returns and without GST, matching your GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. The bank verifies these.
- Receivables. Money a marketplace owes you for delivered orders is a receivable. Take it from the settlement reports as on the balance sheet date.
- Stock. Goods lying in marketplace warehouses are still your stock. Count them in.
The mistake people usually make
The usual mistake is filling each form separately, often by copying an old file from another business. The operating statement looks fine, the balance sheet looks fine, but closing stock differs between them and the projected balance sheet does not tally. The banker sends it back, and every figure in it is now doubted.
The second is putting GST-inclusive sales in Form II. On Rs 1,50,00,000 of sales at 5% GST, that adds Rs 7,50,000 of sales you never earned, and the bank's check against your GST returns shows it at once.
The third is ignoring instalments of term loans due in the next twelve months. Banks differ on where they sit in Form III and Form V. Follow your bank's sheet, but never leave them out.
What should you do next? Ask the branch for its CMA file, collect three years of accounts and your GST returns, and run the seven checks above before you submit. If you are unsure whether you also need a project report, read CMA data vs project report.
Sources
- RBI: master circular on management of advances for urban co-operative banks, updated up to 30 June 2004 (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- RBI: frequently asked questions on lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Union Bank of India: checklist for credit proposals above Rs 2 crore (checked 12 Nov 2026)
- Indian Bank: MSME checklist of data to be kept ready by the customer (checked 12 Nov 2026)
How AprilTax can help
An AprilTax Tax Expert prepares CMA data in your bank's format at a fixed fee of Rs 1,999, with the forms tied to each other and to your filed returns. You fill one online form and add your financial statements, bank statements and GST returns. Start at Project report and CMA with AprilTax.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CMA data format for a bank loan?
Is there an RBI-prescribed CMA format?
What is the operating statement in CMA data?
How is bank finance worked out in Form V?
What is the turnover method of working capital assessment?
Should sales in CMA data include GST?
Can I use a CMA Excel template from the internet?
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