Where Indian garments and home textiles ship from, and through which port
India's textile exports come from a handful of clusters, each with a natural gateway: knitwear in Tiruppur, with Ludhiana for woolen and winter knits; woven apparel in Delhi NCR (Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad) and Bengaluru; home textiles in Panipat, Karur and Erode; fabrics and denim in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The pairings below are geography, not a rule: the port is booked for the best sailing to your buyer's coast, and the cargo-ready date often decides it.
- Tiruppur, Karur, Erode and Coimbatore: the nearest gateways are Tuticorin (INTUT) in the deep south and Chennai (INMAA), Ennore (INENR) and Kattupalli (INKAT) on the east coast; compare Tuticorin to New York and Chennai to Los Angeles. Airlift's Coimbatore and Chennai branches arrange pickup, stuffing and the port end.
- Delhi NCR and Panipat: JNPA's list of ICD destinations for JN Port carries Tughlakabad (customs code INTKD6), Dadri (INDER6), Patparganj (INPPG6), Garhi Harsaru (INGHR6), Faridabad (INFBD6) and the Jathipur/Samalkha ICD at Panipat (INDWN6).[9] Airlift's New Delhi branch covers the belt; Navi Mumbai and Gandhidham handle Nhava Sheva (INNSA) and Mundra (INMUN). See Nhava Sheva to New York and Mundra to Savannah.
- Ludhiana: the Kanech (INSNI6), Kilaraipur (INQRH6) and Chawapail (INCPR6) ICDs are on the same JNPA list.[9]
- Bengaluru: the Bengaluru ICDs (INWFD6) are on the JNPA list too, and Chennai is the nearest gateway port.[9] Airlift's Bengaluru branch covers Karnataka.
- Gujarat and Maharashtra fabrics and denim: Mundra, Hazira (INHZA) and Nhava Sheva, through Airlift's Ahmedabad, Gandhidham and Navi Mumbai branches; Kolkata jute and made-ups ship from Kolkata (INCCU) via the Kolkata branch.
- Fashion drops by air: when the buyer's floor date cannot wait for a sailing, garments fly from Delhi, Chennai or Bengaluru. Apparel is light for its volume, so cartons are often charged on volumetric rather than scale weight; run them through the chargeable weight calculator and read the lane guide's air freight section. Airlift arranges air freight from the same Indian branches.
Is apparel free to export from India? Export policy, the textile EPCs and the RCMC
India's export policy is Schedule 2 of the ITC (HS). In DGFT's 8-digit schedule, every tariff item of Chapter 61 (knitted or crocheted apparel), Chapter 62 (woven apparel) and Chapter 63 (made-up textile articles, including bed, table, toilet and kitchen linen, curtains and the worn clothing of 6309) is Free. The one policy condition printed on these chapters makes dress materials, readymade garments, fabrics or textile items with imprints of excerpts or verses of the Holy Quran Restricted, exportable only against a Restricted Export Authorisation.[1] The schedule moves by notification, so check each new 8-digit code in DGFT's ITC (HS) export policy lookup.
Anyone applying for a benefit or concession under the Foreign Trade Policy, RoDTEP included, must provide a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) from the competent authority unless specifically exempted (paragraph 2.57 of FTP 2023), and paragraph 2.56 recognizes Export Promotion Councils as registering authorities for the product groups in Appendix 2T.[2] In Appendix 2T as on July 31, 2023, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) covers readymade garments; the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) covers cotton yarn, cotton fabrics and cotton made-ups such as bed linen, terry towels, curtains, blankets and table, toilet and kitchen linen; the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) covers all handloom products, including fabrics, home furnishings and floor coverings; the Powerloom Development and Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) covers powerloom products; and the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council covers natural silks and silk blends and their products, including readymade garments. The Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), the Wool Industry Export Promotion Council and the Wool and Woollens Export Promotion Council are listed with no product description printed against them.[3] Appendix 2T is amended by public notice; which council fits your product mix is a question for the council or the DGFT helpdesk.
The RCMC application runs through the DGFT e-RCMC module; the IEC, AD code, LUT and RCMC guide walks through the registrations in the order you need them, and the how to export from India to the USA pillar puts them in the full sequence.
RoSCTL or RoDTEP? Which rebate your product group gets
Garments and made-ups have their own rebate. The Ministry of Textiles notified the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme on March 7, 2019. Its Gazette notification of February 8, 2024 continued RoSCTL for apparel and garments (Chapters 61 and 62) and made-ups (Chapter 63), in exclusion of RoDTEP for those chapters, and left other textile products outside Chapters 61 to 63 to claim RoDTEP; the rebate is a transferable duty credit scrip kept in an electronic ledger in the customs system and issued without insisting on realization of export proceeds.[4] The Ministry's notification of March 31, 2026 extended the scheme to September 30, 2026, or until the scheme for the 16th Finance Commission cycle is approved, whichever is earlier, with rates and caps unchanged unless notified otherwise.[5][6] As of October 15, 2026 we could not open a later continuation notification on an official site, so confirm the scheme period and rate schedule in force with the Ministry of Textiles or your council before you price the rebate into a quote.
The mechanism is the same for both schemes. You claim RoSCTL or RoDTEP in the Shipping Bill; once the EGM is filed, customs processes the claim and scrolls the admissible amount, and you then create an e-scrip account on ICEGATE and generate the scrip against the relevant shipping bills, as ICEGATE's e-scrip advisory (version 0.11, August 16, 2024) sets out.[7] The Shipping Bill and ICEGATE guide shows where the claim goes.
Textile goods outside Chapters 61 to 63, such as yarn, fabric, denim and the other goods of Chapters 50 to 60, claim RoDTEP. DGFT Notification No. 41/2026-27 of September 30, 2026 continues RoDTEP to December 31, 2026 for exports by DTA units, Advance Authorisation holders, SEZ units and EOUs, at the Appendix 4R and 4RE rates and value caps applicable on September 30, 2026.[8] Rates are set per 8-digit line and change by notification; the RoDTEP, duty drawback and IGST refund guide explains the three refunds and how they combine. Whether a given style qualifies, and at what rate, is a question for your CHA or chartered accountant.
HS Chapters 61, 62 and 63 in the US tariff: why textile duty is high and why the 6-digit code matters early
The first six digits of your HS code are the same on the Shipping Bill and on your buyer's US entry: Chapter 61 for knitted or crocheted apparel, 62 for woven apparel, 63 for made-ups. The US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (2026 Revision 21) then splits each subheading by fiber and often by gender, age and construction; its statistical lines carry the textile category number in parentheses and report quantities in dozens and kilograms, which is why buyers ask for dozens and weights on the packing list.[10] CBP treats textiles and wearing apparel as a Priority Trade Issue: it says high duty rates and complex laws and regulations make textile imports susceptible to trade fraud, and it sends Textile Production Verification Teams to visit factories abroad to verify origin and preference claims.[12]
Duty is your buyer's bill, but it shapes whether your quote lands. Products of India pay a 10% Section 301 duty on goods entered on or after July 24, 2026, with the exceptions listed in the USTR notice of July 28, 2026.[11] This guide quotes no duty rates, because they turn on the 10-digit line and the entry date: classify each style with the HTS code finder, run it through the tariff simulator with your buyer, and read the US tariffs on India guide for the full stack. Classification is your CHA's call in India and the licensed customs broker's call in the United States; a blend that tips from cotton-majority to polyester-majority can change the subheading, so settle it before the labels are printed.
US labeling rules you must build into the garment: fiber content, RN, care and country of origin
Three FTC rules put labels into the product before it ships. Under the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act rules, each covered product carries the generic names and percentages by weight of its fibers in order of predominance, the name or FTC registered identification number (RN) of the manufacturer or of a person marketing or handling it, and the country where it was processed or manufactured; fibers under 5% of the fiber weight are shown as other fiber unless they have a clearly established functional significance, as in 4 percent spandex. A product with a neck carries the country of origin on a label at the inside center of the neck, midway between the shoulder seams or next to another label there; fiber content and the RN or name may share that label or sit on another conspicuous one, and the origin must be on the front side of the label. The rule reaches home textiles as much as garments: bedding, towels, curtains, draperies, table linen, floor coverings, cushions, throws and all fibers, yarns and fabrics are covered.[13] Imported products name the country where they were processed or manufactured; an unqualified Made in U.S.A. is only for products made completely in the United States of US materials.[13][16]
The RN is not yours to get: the FTC does not issue RNs to businesses outside the United States, so the label names the foreign manufacturer or carries the name or RN of a US company marketing or handling the product.[16][13] Agree with your buyer whose name or RN goes on the label before the label order is placed. Wool products follow the parallel Wool Products Labeling Act rules: the same neck-label placement, with the percentage of wool or recycled wool always stated, even below 5 percent.[14] Textile wearing apparel also needs a care label that stays attached and legible for the product's useful life, giving a washing instruction (hand or machine, water temperature, drying, and ironing, bleaching and warnings where needed) or a drycleaning instruction; if the label cannot be seen at sale, the care information also goes on the package or a hang tag.[15]
Customs marking is a separate law. Every article of foreign origin must be marked in a conspicuous place, as legibly, indelibly and permanently as its nature permits, with the English name of its country of origin for the ultimate purchaser in the United States; an unmarked article is subject to an additional duty of 10 percent of its final appraised value unless exported or destroyed under customs supervision. Where a US name or city, or another country's name, appears on the garment or its packaging, such as a brand's New York address or a Milan design credit, and could mislead the purchaser about origin, Made in India or similar words must appear legibly and permanently close to it, in at least comparable size.[17] For textiles, CBP sets origin under 19 CFR 102.21 in sequence: a good wholly obtained or produced in one country originates there; otherwise the rule for its tariff heading in paragraph (e) applies; failing that, a knit-to-shape good originates where it was knit, and a good wholly assembled in one country originates there, except for the fabrics and made-ups the rule lists, among them headings 6213, 6214 and 6301 through 6306. Under paragraph (e), assembled garments of Chapters 61 and 62 that are not knit to shape generally take the origin of the country where they were wholly assembled, while for goods of headings 6301 through 6306, such as blankets, bed linen, curtains and furnishing articles, origin generally follows the country where the fabric was formed, with separate rules for some goods of 6302 to 6304.[18] So a garment cut and sewn in Tiruppur from imported fabric is generally Indian, but a made-up sewn in India from imported cloth may not be: ask your buyer's broker before you label it Made in India. The same operation fixes the manufacturer identification code (MID) on the entry: for textiles, CBP builds the MID from the name and address of the entity performing the origin-conferring operations, so the factory, not the merchant exporter, goes on the entry.[19]
US safety rules: flammability of clothing textiles, children's sleepwear, lead, phthalates and tracking labels
Clothing textiles sold in the United States must meet the Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles, 16 CFR 1610, which sorts fabrics into Class 1 (normal flammability, acceptable for clothing), Class 2 (intermediate, raised-fiber surfaces only, may be used for clothing) and Class 3 (burning characteristics unsuitable for clothing). Two groups are exempt from testing to support a guaranty: plain surface fabrics of 2.6 ounces per square yard or more, whatever the fiber; and fabrics of any weight or surface made entirely of acrylic, modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester or wool, or combinations of them.[20] Lightweight cotton or rayon fabrics, sheers and brushed or napped cotton fall outside both exemptions, so keep the test report from the mill or a lab in the production file: the US importer has to certify compliance.[20][24]
Children's sleepwear, sizes 0 through 6X, means nightgowns, pajamas and similar or related items such as robes intended to be worn primarily for sleeping, except diapers and underwear, infant garments and tight-fitting garments; part 1616 covers sizes 7 through 14. An infant garment is sized nine months or smaller, within the length limits in the rule, complies with parts 1610 and 1611 and carries a size label in months. A tight-fitting garment must stay within the maximum body dimensions the rule prints for each size and carry Wear Snug-fitting, Not Flame Resistant on the front of the sizing label at the center back, immediately below the size, in at least 5-point sans serif capitals inside a line border, along with the hangtag the rule prescribes.[21] Loose-fitting pajamas for a four-year-old therefore have to pass the part 1615 flammability test; settle the design, the size chart and the labels with the buyer at sampling.
Children's products, those designed or intended primarily for children 12 or younger, add the CPSIA layer. Accessible component parts may not exceed 100 ppm total lead, and paint and similar surface coatings 90 ppm (0.009 percent). Natural and manufactured fiber textiles have been determined under 16 CFR 1500.91(d)(7) not to exceed the limit and need no third-party lead test, and dyes do not take a textile out of that determination; the determination covers the textile only, so buttons, snaps, zippers and other accessible component parts are judged separately, and a screen print whose ink scrapes off counts as a surface coating.[22] The phthalate limit of 0.1 percent applies to children's toys and to child care articles, products designed to facilitate sleep or feeding of children age 3 and younger or to help them with sucking or teething; ask your buyer whether an infant sleep garment, bib or plastic-coated item falls inside it.[23] For an imported product the importer is the certifier: it issues the Children's Product Certificate, based on tests by a CPSC-accepted laboratory, and eFiles the certificate data in ACE at entry, including the date and place of manufacture and the testing lab, so the buyer needs your factory details and test reports before the vessel sails.[24] Children's products also need permanent, visible and legible tracking marks on the product and its packaging, to the extent practicable, from which the manufacturer, importer or private labeler, the location and date of production and batch or run details can be ascertained.[25] Sew them into the care label or a separate label at the factory.
| Product group | HS chapter | US labeling rule | US safety rule | Shipping mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knit garments: T-shirts, polos, innerwear, knit dresses (Tiruppur, Ludhiana) | 61[10] | 16 CFR 303 fiber, RN or name, origin at the neck; 16 CFR 423 care label[13][15] | 16 CFR 1610; cotton and rayon fabrics under 2.6 oz per square yard are not exempt from testing[20] | FCL 40-foot high cube when the order fills it; LCL for small drops; air for floor dates |
| Woven garments: shirts, trousers, dresses, outerwear (Delhi NCR, Bengaluru) | 62[10] | Same, plus 19 CFR 134 marking next to any US city or brand address[17] | 16 CFR 1610; sheer or brushed cotton and rayon fabrics are not exempt from testing[20] | FCL flat-pack or garment-on-hanger; air for fashion drops |
| Children's apparel, sizes 0 to 12 years | 61 or 62[10] | Same, plus the CPSIA tracking label on product and packaging[25] | Lead: 100 ppm total in accessible parts such as trims, 90 ppm in surface coatings; CPC issued by the importer and eFiled at entry[22][24] | FCL or LCL; test reports and factory details go to the buyer before sailing |
| Children's sleepwear, sizes 0 to 6X and 7 to 14 | 61 or 62[10] | Same, plus the Wear Snug-fitting, Not Flame Resistant label for tight-fitting styles[21] | 16 CFR 1615 and 1616 flammability, or the infant and tight-fitting exceptions[21] | FCL or LCL; sampling stage decides compliance |
| Wool and wool-blend knitwear, shawls, scarves (Ludhiana, Kashmir, Amritsar) | 61, 62 or 63[10] | 16 CFR 300 wool labeling, neck label, wool and recycled wool named[14] | 16 CFR 1610; fabrics made entirely of wool are exempt from testing[20] | FCL or LCL by season; air for late winter orders |
| Home textiles: bed linen, terry towels, kitchen and table linen (Panipat, Karur, Erode) | 63[10] | 16 CFR 303 covers bedding, towels, dish cloths and table linen; origin generally follows the fabric for 6301 to 6306[13][18] | Not clothing, so outside part 1610; bedding designed primarily for children 12 or younger is a children's product[20][22] | FCL 40-foot high cube; dense cartons stack well |
| Curtains, drapes and furnishing fabrics | 63 (made-ups) or 52 to 60 (piece goods)[10] | 16 CFR 303 covers curtains, casements, draperies and all fabrics; care label on piece goods for home sewing[13][15] | Not clothing, so outside part 1610; ask the buyer which tests it specifies[20] | FCL on rolls or in cartons; LCL for samples |
The commercial invoice, packing list and ISF data that apparel needs
The Shipping Bill, invoice, packing list and bill of lading are the same as for any export; the export documents checklist lists them. What is specific to apparel is the invoice detail CBP asks for. Under 19 CFR 141.89, invoices for textile wearing apparel should give a fiber breakdown in percentages by weight for the whole garment, plus separate breakdowns for the outer shell (excluding linings, cuffs, waistbands, collars and other trimmings) and the lining; for garments of more than one material (knit with woven, or textile with leather or plastic), a breakdown for each textile material and for each non-textile material; for woven garments, whether the fabric is yarn dyed and whether there are two or more colors in the warp and/or filling; for all-white T-shirts and singlets, whether there are pockets, trim or embroidery; and for mufflers, the exact length and width. Invoices for textile fiber products also carry the fiber names and percentages, the name or FTC RN of the manufacturer or marketer and the country where processed or manufactured, mirroring the label.[26] Build these fields into your invoice template per style.
Make the packing list something your buyer's warehouse can receive against: one line per carton or carton range, with style, color, size breakdown and pieces per carton, net and gross weight, carton dimensions, and totals in pieces, dozens and kilograms, the units the HTS statistical lines report in.[10] Add the carton number range, the purchase order and the seal number; for garment-on-hanger loads, list the hanging quantity per bar or bag.
Most of your buyer's Importer Security Filing data comes from you. The seller, buyer, the buyer's importer and consignee numbers, the manufacturer, the ship-to party, the country of origin and the HTS number are due no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden aboard the vessel in India. The data is given for each good at the six-digit HTS level and at the house bill of lading level, with the manufacturer, origin and HTS number linked line by line; the manufacturer is the entity that last manufactures, assembles or produces the goods, or the supplier of the finished goods, and the filing also names the container stuffing location and the consolidator.[27] Send the factory name and address for each style, not just the merchant exporter's, and the HS codes with the booking; Airlift files the ISF as the NVOCC and arranges the US customs entry through licensed customs brokers. The US import rules for Indian exporters guide covers the ISF, the AMS manifest and CBP exams.
Packaging and container choice: flat-pack cartons, garment on hanger, FCL or LCL
Apparel ships two ways. Flat-pack is folded, poly-bagged garments in export cartons, packed solid-size or ratio-packed to the buyer's packing instruction, with the carton marks (PO, style, color, size run, pieces, carton number and gross weight) on two faces; use the container load calculator to size the run. Garment on hanger (GOH) is for suits, jackets and dresses the retailer wants floor-ready: the garments hang on bars or strings in a container fitted for it, and the GOH equipment and fit-out are arranged with the forwarder for the stuffing point. A mixed load puts flat-pack cartons under the hanging garments.
Garments are light for their volume, so a container of apparel usually fills by cubic capacity long before weight; a 40-foot high cube is the usual box for a full order, and the container dimensions page gives internal sizes. An order too small for a container moves as LCL through a consolidation, charged on volume and handled at a CFS at each end; ask before you plan GOH on a small order. The LCL vs FCL from India guide and the lane guide's LCL section set out the trade-offs; Airlift arranges FCL ocean freight and LCL consolidation from its Indian branches, and factory stuffing or CFS stuffing decides where a GOH fit-out happens.
Pallets are optional for garment cartons; if you use them, wood pallets and bracing entering the United States must be treated and carry the IPPC mark, see ISPM-15.[28] Keep the load dry: desiccant in the cartons or the container, and no stuffing in the rain. The container seal and verified gross mass glossary entries cover the two records the carrier asks for.
The sequence for a first apparel shipment to the USA
Pulling the pieces together, this is the order that avoids reprinting labels and remaking cartons.
- At sampling: agree the fiber content and the 10-digit HTS line per style with the buyer and its broker; agree whose name or RN goes on the label; for children's styles, agree sleepwear or not, the tight-fitting dimensions if sleepwear, and the lab that will test trims for lead.[13][21][22]
- Before bulk cutting: get the 16 CFR 1610 position for each fabric (weight-exempt, fiber-exempt or tested) from the mill or a lab, and keep the report in the style file.[20]
- Label order: fiber content, origin, RN or name, care instructions, and for children's products the tracking label with the factory location, production date and batch, all in English.[13][15][25]
- Registrations: IEC, AD code, GST LUT, and the RCMC from the export promotion council for your product group in Appendix 2T.[2][3] See the IEC, AD code, LUT and RCMC guide.
- Booking: FCL 40-foot high cube, GOH, LCL or air, from the port or ICD nearest the factory; send the factory name and address, HS codes and cargo-ready date with the booking so the ISF can be filed in time.[27]
- Shipping Bill: claim RoSCTL or RoDTEP in the Shipping Bill; after the EGM, customs scrolls the admissible amount and you generate the scrip on ICEGATE.[7] See the Shipping Bill and ICEGATE guide.
- Documents to the buyer: invoice with the 141.89 fiber and construction detail, packing list by carton with dozens and kilograms, bill of lading, and the test reports and factory details the buyer's Children's Product Certificate needs.[26][24]
- Incoterm and payment: agree the Incoterm and the payment terms with the buyer; the Incoterms for Indian exporters guide explains what changes between FOB, CIF, DAP and DDP, and the commercial invoice and letter of credit glossary entries cover the paperwork the bank wants.