Shipping Bill

A shipping bill is the declaration an exporter makes to Indian Customs for goods leaving India by sea or air. Section 50 of the Customs Act, 1962 requires the exporter to make entry of the goods by presenting a shipping bill electronically on the customs automated system; goods exported by land use a bill of export instead. The exporter declares that the contents are true, and it must ensure that the information is accurate and complete, that its supporting documents are genuine and valid, and that the goods comply with any restriction or prohibition.

What goes with it

Paragraph 2.06 of India's Foreign Trade Policy 2023 lists three mandatory documents for exporting goods: the bill of lading or air waybill (or lorry, rail or postal receipt), the commercial invoice cum packing list, and the shipping bill or bill of export. The exporter also needs an Importer Exporter Code (IEC); paragraph 2.05 bars exports and imports without one unless the exporter is exempt.

Free, dutiable and drawback shipping bills

The old paper-based Shipping Bill and Bill of Export (Form) Regulations, 1991 set separate forms for exporting duty-free goods, dutiable goods and goods under duty drawback. That is where the familiar names come from. Those forms were replaced in 2017, and a shipping bill is now an electronic integrated declaration accepted and numbered by the Indian Customs EDI system, under the Shipping Bill (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2019 (Notification No. 33/2019-Customs (N.T.)).

Let export order and the export general manifest

• Let export order (LEO): under section 51, once the proper officer is satisfied that the goods are not prohibited and any export duty is paid, the officer orders clearance and loading for export. The order can be made electronically on the basis of risk evaluation, and it goes electronically to the port or ICD custodian. Under section 40, export goods cannot be loaded until the shipping bill has been passed
• Export manifest: under section 41, the person in charge of the vessel or aircraft, or another person the government specifies, must deliver a departure or export manifest electronically before departure. Section 42 bars the vessel from leaving until the manifest is filed and the shipping bills are delivered. At seaports the old export general manifest (EGM) has been replaced port by port since 2025 by the sea departure manifest (SDM) under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations, 2018, filed by the authorized sea agent. Chennai Customs, for example, stopped EGM filing on 4 August 2025, and export incentives depend on the SDM being filed

Who files it

The exporter itself, or a customs broker (still often called a CHA) licensed under the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018. Regulation 3 of those regulations exempts an exporter transacting business at a customs station solely on its own account. Cargo cleared inland is filed at the ICD rather than at the port.

Shipping bill vs bill of lading

The shipping bill is a customs declaration by the exporter. The bill of lading is issued by the carrier or NVOCC as a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage. In the United States the closest counterpart to the shipping bill is the Electronic Export Information filed in the Automated Export System.

On Airlift's India lanes

On India to USA shipments, the exporter or its licensed customs broker in India files the shipping bill. Airlift is an FMC-licensed NVOCC, not a licensed customs broker, and it issues the house bill of lading. Keep the invoice, packing list and shipping bill descriptions consistent, because the US importer's entry is built from the same commercial papers.