What registrations do you need to start exporting from India to the USA?
Four, in a natural order. The Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT is your identity as an exporter; the Foreign Trade Policy says no export or import of goods shall be made by any person without one unless specifically exempted.[1] The AD code registration on ICEGATE links the bank branch that will receive your dollars to your IEC in the Customs system and is a condition for filing a shipping bill.[5] The Letter of Undertaking (LUT) under GST lets you ship without paying IGST on the export invoice and must be in place before the export.[10] The Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) from your Export Promotion Council is what the policy asks for when you apply for an authorization or claim a benefit under the Foreign Trade Policy.[1]
Each lives on a different system: the IEC and the e-RCMC on the DGFT portal, the AD code on ICEGATE, the LUT on the GST common portal. Your bank issues the AD code letter and, after shipment, tracks your receipts in the Reserve Bank's Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS), covered in the last section.[7][16]
Once the registrations exist, the shipment is routine. Airlift's Indian branches, including Navi Mumbai near Nhava Sheva and Gandhidham for Mundra, arrange factory pickup, container stuffing, carrier bookings and Indian export clearance, including the shipping bill filed on ICEGATE, and Airlift issues its own house bill of lading. The pillar guide walks the whole sequence; this page is the registration step.
- Get the IEC on dgft.gov.in against your PAN and a current account.[2]
- Ask your bank for the AD code letter and register it, with the account, on ICEGATE at the port you will ship from.[6][5]
- Furnish the LUT in Form GST RFD-11 on the GST portal before the first export invoice, if you will export without paying IGST.[10][9]
- Apply for the RCMC through the DGFT e-RCMC module when you want Foreign Trade Policy authorizations or benefits.[15][1]
How to get an IEC code for export
An IEC is a 10-character alphanumeric number allotted to an entity (firm, company or LLP) and is mandatory for any export or import activity. Since GST, the IEC is the same as the entity's Permanent Account Number (PAN), issued separately by DGFT on an online application.[1] The exemptions are narrow: government departments, goods for personal use not connected with trade, and small consignments across the land borders with Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China under value ceilings; the Handbook of Procedures lists them with the permanent IECs those categories use.[2]
You apply online in form ANF-2A at dgft.gov.in with the fee and documents. The IEC is auto-generated, you are told by email and SMS, and the e-IEC can be downloaded from your DGFT dashboard. Unless the system exempts you, you upload a cancelled cheque bearing the entity's pre-printed name or a bank certificate in the prescribed format, plus address proof for the entity; the details are validated online against other ministries and banks where feasible.[2] The application fee in Appendix 2K of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, as amended by Public Notice No. 02/2025-26 of April 15, 2025, is Rs 500.[3]
An IEC has permanent validity unless suspended or cancelled, and one IEC covers all branches, divisions, units and factories of the applicant. Only one IEC is issued against a PAN. Any change in the constitution of the firm, its address, bank details or other primary details must be updated online within 30 days, and the importer-exporter profile in ANF-1 has to be kept current, at least once a year.[2] A surrendered or updated IEC is transmitted to the Customs authorities, so what DGFT holds is what the port sees.[2] The glossary entry has the short definition.
IEC annual update: the April to June window and deactivation
This is the rule that catches established exporters, not just new ones. Paragraph 2.05(d) of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 says an IEC holder has to ensure that the details in its IEC are updated electronically every year during the April to June period; where nothing has changed, the same has to be confirmed online.[1] Appendix 2K lists the fee for the annual updation during April to June as nil, and Rs 200 for an updation made after the stipulated period.[3]
Paragraph 2.05(e) says an IEC shall be deactivated if it is not updated within the prescribed period, and may be activated on its successful updation, without prejudice to any other action under the policy. Paragraph 2.05(f) adds that an IEC may be flagged for scrutiny, and the holder must address the flagged risks in time or the IEC shall be deactivated.[1]
The requirement came in with DGFT Notification No. 58/2015-2020 dated February 12, 2021, and DGFT then deactivated non-compliant IECs in phases. Trade Notice 31/2021-22 of January 14, 2022 announced the third phase: IECs not updated after July 1, 2020 were deactivated from February 1, 2022, with automatic reactivation, and no visit to the Regional Authority, once the holder updated the IEC online; the updated status is transmitted to the Customs system.[4] If your cargo is booked for a July sailing and nobody confirmed the IEC in the spring, check the status on the DGFT portal before the shipping bill is filed.
AD code registration on ICEGATE: one port, all customs locations
The AD code identifies the Authorised Dealer bank branch through which your export remittances will come. Customs registers that code, with the linked bank account, against your IEC in its system (ICES); the registration is the one-time step that lets you file a shipping bill, and ICEGATE describes the same module as covering the registration of bank accounts for collection of export incentives and the declaration of banks used for making foreign remittances.[5][7]
Since the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management's Advisory No. 10/2022 of June 14, 2022, an AD code with its bank account is registered at only one port and is then available at all Customs locations; earlier it had to be registered at every port where documents were filed. New registrations and updates go through an online request on ICEGATE, approved by the officer at the port you choose. Any later change to that AD code's account details is made at the port of registration. You can register several AD codes against one IEC, each with its own port of registration; for codes registered before the change, the port where the last shipping bill with that code was filed became the port of registration. Each code's port is visible under Bank Account Management in your ICEGATE login.[5]
The documents are the bank's part. Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House at Nhava Sheva lists, for a fresh registration, a bank authorization letter in its prescribed format, a copy of the IEC, the GST registration certificate, the PAN of the entity and of the authorized signatory, and a cancelled cheque, all uploaded through e-Sanchit; JNCH also asks the bank to email the letter directly from the branch to its EDI section and cross-checks letters that do not arrive that way.[6] Check your own port's public notice for its list. Ports you are likely to use include Nhava Sheva (INNSA), Mundra (INMUN), Chennai (INMAA) and Pipavav (INPAV).
- Log in to ICEGATE and open the Bank Account tab.[7]
- Select Foreign Remittance Account (Authorized Dealer Code), then Add New Bank Account.[7]
- Enter the bank name, branch, AD code, account number and Customs location, choose the document type, enter the e-Sanchit IRN of the uploaded proof and attach it.[7]
- Click Verify; the system populates the AD code under the IRN. Click Submit.[7]
- Wait for the officer at the chosen port to approve; the code is then usable at every port.[5]
LUT for export under GST: Form GST RFD-11 and zero-rated exports
Export of goods is a zero-rated supply under section 16(1) of the IGST Act, and section 16(3) lets a registered person export without payment of integrated tax under a bond or Letter of Undertaking and claim refund of the unutilized input tax credit under section 54 of the CGST Act.[11] Rule 96A of the CGST Rules supplies the mechanics: anyone taking that option furnishes, prior to export, a bond or LUT in Form GST RFD-11 to the jurisdictional Commissioner, binding themselves to pay the tax with interest within fifteen days after the expiry of three months from the date of the export invoice if the goods are not exported out of India, or such further period as the Commissioner allows. If the amount is not paid, the facility is withdrawn and the amount recovered; it is restored when the amount is paid.[10]
Who can file one: Notification No. 37/2017-Central Tax of October 4, 2017 makes all registered persons who intend to export without payment of integrated tax eligible to furnish an LUT in place of a bond, except those prosecuted for an offence under the CGST Act, the IGST Act or an earlier law where the tax evaded exceeds two hundred and fifty lakh rupees. The LUT is furnished on the registered person's letterhead, for a financial year, in the annexure to Form GST RFD-11, executed by the working partner, Managing Director, Company Secretary, proprietor or a person they duly authorize.[8] A financial year means a fresh LUT every April.
How to file one: CBIC's Circular No. 40/14/2018-GST of April 6, 2018 says the exporter fills and submits Form GST RFD-11 on the common portal, and the LUT is deemed accepted as soon as an acknowledgement bearing the Application Reference Number (ARN) is generated online; no document is physically submitted. If an exporter whose LUT was accepted was in fact ineligible, the LUT is liable for rejection from the start.[9] After shipment, the export invoices in your GSTR-1 are transmitted to the Customs system, which confirms back that the goods were exported.[10] The shipping bill guide covers how the GST invoice and the shipping bill are matched.
Paying IGST and claiming a refund instead of an LUT
Section 16(4) of the IGST Act lets the government notify the classes of persons and of goods or services that may be exported on payment of integrated tax with a refund of the tax paid.[11] Notification No. 01/2023-Integrated Tax of July 31, 2023, in force from October 1, 2023, notifies all goods and services for that route except the goods in its table: pan masala, unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse bearing a brand name, the manufactured tobacco products of heading 2403 such as chewing tobacco, gutkha, hookah tobacco and snuff, and the mint essential oils of sub-headings 3301 24 00 and 3301 25.[12] Those goods can be exported only under an LUT or bond; stone, textiles, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods can go either way.
The IGST-paid route avoids the LUT but ties up cash until the refund arrives; the LUT route keeps the cash and leaves you claiming the accumulated input tax credit. Which suits your working capital is a question for your chartered accountant. Section 16(5) bars any refund, of input tax credit or of IGST paid, where the exported goods are subject to export duty; and under the LUT route, section 16(3) makes an exporter whose sale proceeds are not realized liable to deposit the refund of input tax credit, with interest, within thirty days after the FEMA time limit for receiving the remittance.[11] The refund side of RoDTEP, drawback and IGST is in the incentives guide.
RCMC registration: which Export Promotion Council, and when you need it
Export Promotion Councils are organizations of exporters, each responsible for a group of products, projects or services listed in Appendix 2T, and recognized as Registering Authorities that issue the RCMC to their members.[1] The Foreign Trade Policy requires the RCMC from any person applying for an authorization to import or export (other than Restricted items) or for any other benefit or concession under the policy, unless specifically exempted; the Spices Board's Certificate of Registration as Exporter of Spices and the Coir Board's registration count as an RCMC.[1] The policy ties the RCMC to authorizations and FTP benefits; it is not what Customs checks on a shipping bill.
You apply in form ANF 2C, declaring your main line of business, and obtain the RCMC from the Council concerned with that product. If no Council or Commodity Board covers your product, the RCMC comes from the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO); a multi-product exporter whose main line is not settled also has the option of FIEO. A manufacturer exporter has to furnish evidence of manufacturing. The RCMC is deemed valid from April 1 of the licensing year in which it was issued for five years ending March 31, unless otherwise specified; a change in ownership, constitution, name or address has to be intimated within one month.[2]
Since April 1, 2022 it has been mandatory to file for and issue RCMCs through DGFT's common digital platform, the e-RCMC module on dgft.gov.in, under Trade Notice No. 35/2021-22 of February 24, 2022.[15] The councils most relevant to the India to USA lane are in the table. Appendix 2T is amended by public notice: Public Notice No. 23/2023 of July 31, 2023 added AYUSHEXCIL at serial 39 and moved Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, homoeopathic and biochemic medicines out of the Pharmexcil and CHEMEXCIL lists, so check the current appendix on dgft.gov.in before you apply.[14] CAPEXIL's jurisdiction in Appendix 2T includes granites and natural stones, which is where granite and quartzite exporters register.[13] See the granite and stone export guide and the granite and quartz slabs page.
| Your main product line | Council that issues the RCMC | Jurisdiction as listed in Appendix 2T |
|---|---|---|
| Granite, marble and other natural stone | CAPEXIL | Granites, natural stones; also ceramics, glass, processed minerals, paper, plywood, rubber products[13] |
| Readymade garments | Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) | Readymade garments[13] |
| Cotton yarn, fabrics and made-ups | Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) | Cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups such as bed linen and towels, raw cotton[13] |
| Synthetic and rayon textiles | Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) | Listed at serial 24 of Appendix 2T; the appendix prints no product description for this council, so confirm your product line with it[13] |
| Handloom products | Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) | Handloom fabrics, home furnishings, carpets, floor coverings[13] |
| Powerloom products | Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) | Powerloom products[13] |
| Pharmaceuticals | Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil) | Bulk drugs and intermediates, formulations, biotech and biological products, diagnostics, surgicals, nutraceuticals and pharma industry services; Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, homoeopathic and biochemic medicines moved to AYUSHEXCIL on July 31, 2023[13][14] |
| Engineering goods | EEPC India | Machinery, motor vehicles and auto components, pumps, hand and machine tools, iron and steel and non-ferrous products, project exports[13] |
| Not covered by any Council, or multi-product with no settled main line | Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) | Residual registering authority under the Handbook of Procedures[2] |
The four registrations at a glance
The table puts the four registrations side by side. Dates and fees are as of October 15, 2026; the fee column quotes only what the official schedule states.
| Registration | Issued by | Portal and form | Validity and renewal | Needed for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) | Directorate General of Foreign Trade[1] | dgft.gov.in, form ANF-2A; fee Rs 500[2][3] | Permanent, but confirm or update every April to June or it is deactivated[2][1] | Any export or import of goods[1] |
| AD code registration | Your bank issues the AD code letter; Customs registers it against your IEC[6][5] | ICEGATE, Bank Account Management, documents via e-Sanchit[7] | Once, at one port; changes to the account only at that port[5] | Filing shipping bills; receiving remittances and incentives in the registered account[5][7] |
| Letter of Undertaking (LUT) | Furnished by you to the jurisdictional GST Commissioner[10] | GST common portal, Form GST RFD-11; accepted on ARN[9] | One financial year; file afresh each year[8] | Exporting without payment of IGST[10] |
| Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) | Your Export Promotion Council, or FIEO if none covers the product[2] | DGFT e-RCMC module, form ANF 2C[15][2] | Five years from April 1 of the licensing year to March 31[2] | Authorizations and benefits or concessions under the Foreign Trade Policy[1] |
The bank side: export declaration, EDPMS and realizing your proceeds
The Reserve Bank's Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, notified on January 13, 2026, came into force on October 1, 2026 and superseded the 2015 export regulations. Under Regulation 3 an exporter of goods furnishes an Export Declaration Form (EDF) stating the full export value at the time of export, and the EDF is deemed submitted as part of the shipping bill at an EDI port. For a container through Nhava Sheva, Mundra or Chennai there is no separate form; at a non-EDI port the authenticated EDF goes to your bank, which enters it in EDPMS within five working days.[16]
Realization is the clock that matters. As of October 15, 2026, Regulation 5 requires the full export value to be realized and repatriated within nine months from the date of shipment for goods, and within twelve months where the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees; the Authorised Dealer may extend the period on a request citing reasons. The regulations as issued in January said fifteen and eighteen months; the amendment of September 22, 2026 substituted nine and twelve.[16] If proceeds stay unrealized for more than a year beyond the due date or any extension, you may export further only against full advance payment or an irrevocable letter of credit.[16] Under the Foreign Trade Policy, an exporter who fails to realize proceeds within the RBI time is also liable to return the benefits and incentives taken against those exports.[1]
EDPMS is the Reserve Bank's ledger of your open shipping bills. Your Authorised Dealer credits your account for an export receipt only after satisfying itself of the genuineness of the transaction, and at the same time closes or updates the EDPMS entry. Where the shipping bill is up to Rs 10 lakh, the bank may close the entry on your declaration that payment has been realized, and such declarations can be given quarterly in bulk. An advance received for an export, and the eventual realization, must be routed through the same Authorised Dealer unless you inform both banks of a change.[16] Keep the account registered on ICEGATE and the one on your invoices the same, and keep your buyer's payment terms inside the realization window; the Incoterms guide explains how the delivery term and the payment term interact.