An export from India is a chain of permissions. Each link is a registration or a filing, and each one is checked by the next. When one is missing, the container sits at the port and demurrage starts. This guide walks the chain in the order it happens, names the authority that owns each step, and points to the primary source.
1. Register the business
Importer-Exporter Code (IEC). No commercial export can clear Indian customs without an IEC, which the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issues online. It is a 10-character code, usually the same as the entity’s PAN, and it must be updated on the DGFT portal once a year (between April and June), even when nothing has changed. See our IEC guide.
GST registration. Exports are zero-rated supplies, but you still need a GSTIN to file the Letter of Undertaking and to claim refunds.
Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC). If you will claim benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy, register with the export promotion council or commodity board for your product: for example APEDA for scheduled farm products, the Spices Board for spices, or GJEPC for gems and jewellery.
AD code on ICEGATE. Your bank’s Authorised Dealer code must be registered with customs for each port of export. ICEGATE links the shipping bill to the bank that will report your export proceeds. A shipping bill filed at a port where your AD code is not registered will not move.
2. Check the product before you sell it
Classify the goods under the 8-digit ITC(HS) code. Then check two things in DGFT’s ITC(HS) export policy schedule:
- Export policy. Most goods are Free. Some are Restricted (export needs a DGFT licence), Prohibited, or reserved for State Trading Enterprises.
- Special lists. Dual-use goods, chemicals and technologies are controlled under the SCOMET list and need an authorisation.
Also check the buyer’s side: the importing country’s product rules, labelling and certificates. The buyer usually knows these better than you do, so ask early.
3. Agree the commercial terms
Write down, before production starts:
- the Incoterms 2020 rule and the named place (for example “FCA Nhava Sheva CFS” or “CIF Jebel Ali”). It decides who pays for and insures each leg, and who files which customs entry. See the Incoterms guide;
- the payment terms: advance, letter of credit, documents against payment (D/P) or documents against acceptance (D/A). A letter of credit lists exact documents, so the documents you produce later must match it word for word;
- the currency, the price per unit, and the delivery window.
4. Settle GST before the goods move
You have two routes:
- Export under LUT. File a Letter of Undertaking in Form GST RFD-11 on the GST portal, once per financial year. You ship without paying IGST and claim a refund of the input tax credit you have built up.
- Pay IGST and claim a refund. Charge IGST on the export invoice. Once the export manifest is filed and your GST returns match, the shipping bill itself is treated as the refund application and the refund goes to your bank account.
Most regular exporters use the LUT route because it does not block working capital.
5. Prepare the paperwork
At minimum: a commercial invoice (with the Incoterm, HS codes and the LUT or IGST declaration), a packing list (marks, numbers, gross and net weights, dimensions), and any product certificates the buyer or the destination needs. If the buyer will claim a lower duty under a trade agreement, apply for a preferential certificate of origin on the DGFT e-CoO platform. The full list is in our documents checklist.
6. Move the goods to the port
The domestic road leg is where most delays start, and it needs its own paperwork:
- an e-way bill under Rule 138 of the CGST Rules for any consignment worth more than ₹50,000, with the vehicle number in Part B;
- a lorry receipt (LR) from the transporter;
- for a factory-stuffed container, self-sealing with an RFID e-seal under the CBIC self-sealing procedure, so the container can go straight to the terminal. Otherwise the cargo is stuffed at a container freight station (CFS) under customs supervision.
Plan the road leg against the vessel’s gate-in cut-off, not the sailing date. A truck that reaches the terminal after cut-off means the container rolls to the next vessel.
7. File the shipping bill and get Let Export Order
The shipping bill is the export declaration under section 50 of the Customs Act, 1962. It is filed electronically on ICEGATE by you or your customs broker, and it carries the invoice value, HS codes, the GST route, and your claims for duty drawback and RoDTEP.
Customs’ Risk Management System decides whether the shipment is cleared on the documents alone or selected for examination. Once assessment and any examination are complete, customs grants Let Export Order (LEO) under section 51. Only then may the goods be loaded.
8. Load, and get the transport document
The shipping line or airline loads the cargo and issues the bill of lading (sea) or air waybill (air). The carrier then files the export general manifest with customs. The manifest closes the shipping bill, and your IGST refund, drawback and RoDTEP all wait for it, so check that it has been filed.
9. Get paid and close the file
Send the original documents to the buyer, or to your bank under a letter of credit or collection. The export value must be realised and repatriated within the time the RBI’s Master Direction on Export of Goods and Services allows. Your AD bank will confirm the current limit. The bank reports the realisation, and DGFT’s e-BRC system records it, which is the proof that closes the shipment.
Then claim what you are owed: duty drawback and RoDTEP, both started from the shipping bill. See Duty drawback and RoDTEP.
Common mistakes that cost days
- Invoice, packing list and shipping bill disagree on weight or quantity. Customs holds the container until they match.
- AD code not registered at the port you are shipping from.
- IEC not updated in the April to June window, so it is deactivated when you file.
- e-way bill expired because the truck waited at the port gate.
- The letter of credit asks for a document you did not know you needed. Read the credit the day it arrives.