IEC Registration, ICEGATE, AD Code and LUT: Exporting from India

Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT

Under the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 (para 2.05), no one may export or import goods without an IEC unless specifically exempted. The IEC is a 10-character code that is the same as the business's PAN, so a PAN can hold only one IEC. You apply online at dgft.gov.in in form ANF-2A, sign with a digital signature certificate (DSC) or Aadhaar-based e-authentication, and pay INR 500. The details are checked online against PAN and other records, and the IEC is generated online with permanent validity unless it is suspended, cancelled or de-activated.

You must update the IEC online every year between April and June, and confirm it online even if nothing has changed; the annual update is free. An IEC not updated in time is de-activated and is activated again once it is updated. Changes to the firm's constitution, address, bank or other primary details must be updated online within 30 days (Handbook of Procedures para 2.14).

• Proprietorship: PAN, one identity document (passport, voter ID, driving licence or Aadhaar), address proof such as a sale deed, rent agreement or utility bill, a cancelled cheque with the business's pre-printed name or a bank certificate, and a photo.
• Partnership, LLP or company: the entity's PAN, partnership deed or certificate of incorporation, identity document and photo of the managing partner or signatory, address proof, and a cancelled cheque or bank certificate.
• Exempt from IEC (Handbook of Procedures para 2.07): Central and State Government ministries and departments, persons importing or exporting goods for personal use not connected with trade, small consignments to or from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar within set value limits, and a few other listed cases, several of which use permanent IEC numbers.

ICEGATE and AD code registration with customs

ICEGATE (icegate.gov.in) is the e-filing portal of Indian customs. Shipping bills are filed there, often by a licensed customs broker on the exporter's behalf. Exporters register on ICEGATE with their IEC to register bank details with customs online, upload documents on e-Sanchit and track shipping bills and refunds; check the ICEGATE registration guidelines for the current identity and digital signature requirements.

The AD code identifies the Authorised Dealer bank branch that handles your export proceeds, and customs links your shipping bills to your bank through it. Exporters register it online on ICEGATE, and since June 2022 a code registered at one port is available at all customs locations (CBIC DG Systems Advisory 10/2022). CBIC Instruction 25/2023-Customs limits the documents to two, uploaded on e-Sanchit, and asks ports to decide requests made before 2 pm the same day, and others by 2 pm the next working day.

• Bank's authorisation letter giving your name and address, IEC, the PAN linked to the IEC, account number, AD code and IFSC, and the bank's contact details.
• Cancelled cheque for the account, or the latest bank statement for it endorsed by the bank.
• Incentive bank account: register separately the account and IFSC where IGST refunds and drawback are paid. Since CBIC Circular 24/2025-Customs, an account and IFSC already approved for your IEC at one customs location is approved automatically at others.

GST: export under LUT, or pay IGST and claim a refund

Exports are zero-rated supplies under section 16 of the IGST Act. You can export without paying IGST under a bond or Letter of Undertaking (LUT) and claim a refund of unused input tax credit, or, for goods and services not excluded by notification, pay IGST and claim that tax back.

The LUT is filed on the GST portal in form GST RFD-11 before you export (rule 96A of the CGST Rules), signed with a DSC or EVC. It is valid for the whole financial year in which it is given, so file a new one each year; all registered persons may use it except those prosecuted for tax evasion above INR 250 lakh (CBIC Circular 8/8/2017-GST). If goods are not exported within three months of the invoice date, or payment for exported services is not received within one year or the longer FEMA period, you must pay the tax with interest.

If you pay IGST on exported goods, the shipping bill itself is treated as the refund claim once the carrier has filed the export manifest, you have filed a valid GSTR-3B and the shipping bill matches your GSTR-1 (rule 96).

RCMC from an export promotion council

To apply for authorisations or other benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy you must show a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC), unless specifically exempted (FTP para 2.57). Take it from the export promotion council for the product of your main line of business. If no council covers the product, or you export several products and your main line is not yet settled, you can take it from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) (Handbook of Procedures para 2.80).

Applications are made online in the e-RCMC module of the DGFT portal, logged in with your IEC, and the council's fee is paid there. An RCMC is valid from 1 April of the licensing year in which it is issued for five years, ending on 31 March (para 2.81).

Shipping bill, Let Export Order and getting paid

The exporter enters goods for export with a shipping bill (sea or air) or a bill of export (land), declares that its contents are true, and answers for the accuracy of the information and supporting documents (Customs Act 1962, section 50). When customs is satisfied that the goods are not prohibited and any duty and charges are paid, it permits clearance and loading (section 51), shown as the Let Export Order. At ports with electronic (EDI) filing, the RBI Export Declaration Form (EDF) is treated as part of the shipping bill.

The full export value must be realised and repatriated within nine months of the shipment date. From 1 October 2026, the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 keep nine months and allow twelve months for exports invoiced or settled in Indian rupees; your AD bank can extend the period if you ask with reasons. If proceeds are not realised in time, benefits taken under the Foreign Trade Policy must be returned (FTP para 2.54).

Banks send inward remittance messages (IRMs) for export receipts to DGFT, and you self-generate the electronic Bank Realisation Certificate (e-BRC) on the DGFT portal by matching IRMs with your shipping bills, under the system DGFT introduced from November 2023.