Last Updated: September 24, 2026 by Pratham Agarwal, Rasp International
Rasp International | AD Code and ICEGATE
AD Code Registration on ICEGATE: One Code for Every Port and Why Refunds Still Fail
What an AD Code is, the bank letter Customs accepts, the ICEGATE steps and the separate incentive account that decides whether drawback and IGST refund reach you. Every rule on this page carries its source and date.
No shipping bill can be filed without a registered AD Code. That part fails loudly: the consignment stops.
The second registration, your incentive bank account, fails quietly. Everything clears, and the drawback or IGST refund simply never arrives.
14 Digits
Length of the AD Code that ICEGATE expects on the bank’s letter
1 Registration
Covers all customs locations since DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022 of 14 June 2022
2 PM
Requests before this are to be dealt with the same day, CBIC Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs
20+ Years
In international trade, with a family legacy that began in 2005
Verified as on 24 September 2026 against CBIC Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs, Circular No. 24/2025-Customs, Circular No. 32/2020-Customs and Public Notice No. 93/2020 (JNCH).
The Short Answer on AD Code Registration
An AD Code is a 14-digit Authorised Dealer Code issued by the bank where your firm holds its current account, provided that bank is authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to deal in foreign exchange. It is printed on the bank’s letterhead and registered once on ICEGATE, under Bank Account Management, as your Foreign Remittance Account.
Your incentive bank account and IFSC is a separate registration under the same menu, submitted for each customs location. Since CBIC Circular No. 24/2025-Customs dated 7 October 2025, those requests are approved automatically once the same account and IFSC pair is approved at any one location.
The rule that decides everything: the AD Code governs clearance and the incentive account governs payment. Drawback and IGST refund reach your bank only through a validated incentive account. RoDTEP never reaches a bank account: it is issued as an e-scrip in your ICEGATE credit ledger.
| Item | Key facts |
|---|
| Who issues the AD Code | Your bank, an Authorised Dealer Category I bank under FEMA |
| Where it is registered | ICEGATE, Bank Account Management, Foreign Remittance Account |
| Port coverage | One registration covers all customs locations (DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022, cited in Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs) |
| Documents Customs needs | Bank authorisation letter in the specified format, plus a cancelled cheque or a bank-endorsed statement (Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs) |
| Decision time | Same day if made before 2 PM, otherwise by 2 PM the next working day |
| Government fee | None for the ICEGATE registration |
| Signature | Class 3 digital signature of the authorised signatory |
Why This Page Exists
Why We Wrote This Page Rather Than Another Checklist
Rasp International has handled DGFT liaison, customs documentation and incentive recovery for exporters from Agra, on a family legacy that began in 2005, across more than 500 exporters in handicrafts, leather, textiles, engineering goods, marine products and processed food. AD Code registration is where first-time exporters most often lose a fortnight.
When we checked major published guides in August 2026, several still said IFSC registration needs manual officer approval at each port. That stopped being true on 7 October 2025. Following old advice breaks nothing, but it makes exporters plan for delays that no longer exist.
Every rule on this page carries a source and a date, and the references at the bottom list every one.
What an AD Code Actually Is and What It Is Not
AD stands for Authorised Dealer. Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, only banks authorised by the Reserve Bank of India may deal in foreign exchange. These are Authorised Dealer Category I banks. When your firm opens a current account with one and says it will trade internationally, the bank allots a 14-digit code identifying that branch as your foreign exchange channel.
- It is a banking identifier. It is not a licence and not something DGFT issues.
- Customs needs it to link shipments to a supervised bank. Export proceeds must be traceable to a bank the RBI supervises, and the AD Code ties each shipping bill to that bank.
- That is why the block is hard. Customs will not let a shipping bill be generated without it.
A Note on the 14 Digits
Older documents and some legacy bank formats show seven or eight digit codes. Those were branch identifiers under an earlier convention. ICEGATE expects the 14-digit AD Code.
If your bank gives you a shorter number, go back and ask for the 14-digit AD Code letter for ICEGATE bank account registration. Ask at the branch’s forex or trade finance desk rather than the general counter.
What Changed Between 2020 and 2025
This procedure has been simplified several times in five years. Most frustration comes from following instructions written for a superseded version.
| Instrument | Date | What it changed | Practical effect |
|---|
| CBIC Circular No. 32/2020-Customs | 6 July 2020 | Online AD Code registration facility, part of the Turant Customs contactless initiatives | Registration moved into the ICEGATE login |
| Public Notice No. 93/2020, JNCH Nhava Sheva | 29 July 2020 | e-SANCHIT upload procedure, document list and the Annexure-A bank letter format. Rescinded Public Notice No. 103/2018 | Set the expectation that the bank emails the letter to Customs from the branch email ID |
| DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022 | 14 June 2022 | AD Code registered at one customs location applies automatically at all locations | The real origin of single-point AD Code registration |
| CBIC Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs | 28 July 2023 | Fixed the documents and a binding timeline for AD Code and incentive account requests | Before 2 PM: same day. Otherwise: by 2 PM the next working day |
| CBIC Circular No. 24/2025-Customs | 7 October 2025 | Incentive account and IFSC requests auto approved at further locations once the same pair is approved at one | No manual officer approval at each new port. Requests still go to PFMS |
The Most Common Misreading
Many guides say Public Notice No. 93/2020 made AD Code registration a single pan-India registration. It does not. It is a local JNCH notice on uploading documents in e-SANCHIT, the document list and the Annexure-A letter. It says nothing about single registration.
The actual source is DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022, as stated in CBIC Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs, which we host in full.
What Circular 24/2025 Did and Did Not Change
It did not abolish the per-port submission of the incentive account. The submission workflow is expressly unchanged. What changed is who approves: the system, not a port officer, once the same account and IFSC pair has cleared at another location under your IEC.
So: submit, expect automatic approval, then watch PFMS. Skip the submission and you wait for money that never comes. Assume manual approval and you chase an officer with nothing to review.
The Two Accounts Inside ICEGATE Bank Account Management
Most guides describe one process. Inside ICEGATE there are two account types under the same Bank Account tab, and confusing them is where most refund money goes missing.
| Dimension | Foreign Remittance Account (AD Code) | Refund or Incentive Account (IFSC) |
|---|
| What it enables | Filing the shipping bill and clearing the consignment | Credit of duty drawback and IGST refund into your bank account |
| Identifier | 14-digit AD Code from the bank | 11-character IFSC tied to a specific account number |
| Fields ICEGATE shows | Location code, bank name, AD Code, account number, status at Customs | Location code, bank name, IFSC, account number, status at Customs and status at PFMS |
| Port scope | Registered once, applies at all customs locations | Submitted per location, auto approved after the first approval |
| Failure symptom | Loud: the shipping bill will not generate | Silent: everything clears and the money never lands |
| Downstream check | Customs system only | PFMS validates the account, IFSC and name |
| Governing instrument | Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs, with PN 93/2020 for the e-SANCHIT upload | Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs and Circular No. 24/2025-Customs |
Only the incentive account carries a status at PFMS, the government payment system that actually pays drawback and IGST refund. An account can show approved at Customs and still be unvalidated at PFMS. RoDTEP does not use this account for payment: its scrips go to your ICEGATE credit ledger.
The full PFMS walkthrough, including name mismatches, bank mergers and how to check the status, is on our IFSC registration on ICEGATE page. Our working rule in short: register the account name exactly as printed on a fresh bank certificate or pre-printed cheque, character for character.
Prerequisites Before You Begin
Every one of these must exist before you start. Starting without them causes the multi-week delays exporters complain about.
- An active IEC from DGFT. The AD Code letter is issued against it. An IEC de-activated for missing the yearly April to June update blocks everything downstream.
- A current account with an AD Category I bank in the firm’s exact registered name. Not a personal savings account.
- GST registration with the legal and trade names matching DGFT and the bank.
- An ICEGATE login registered against your IEC with PAN, email and mobile.
- A Class 3 digital signature for the authorised signatory, with signing and encryption enabled. A Class 2 or signing-only certificate fails.
- A board resolution or authorisation letter where the signatory is not the proprietor or sole partner.
One Consistency Check First
Lay your IEC, GST certificate and bank record side by side. Compare the legal name, trade name, address and PAN. Any difference will surface later as a rejection.
Fixing a name mismatch at the DGFT end is a quick online IEC modification. Fixing it after three rejected registrations and a stuck consignment is a much harder week.
How to Get the AD Code Letter From Your Bank
The ICEGATE part takes minutes. The bank part is where the fortnight goes.
1
Step 1: Confirm the Branch Handles Forex
A bank may hold AD Category I authorisation while your branch has no forex desk. If it cannot issue the letter, move the account to a branch that can, or open a second current account there. Ask this first, because it changes the timeline.
2
Step 2: Ask in Writing, in the Right Format
Request the AD Code letter on bank letterhead for ICEGATE registration. Give the branch your IEC copy with the request, since many branches will not issue the letter without it.
3
Step 3: Read It Before You Leave
Check for four errors: a short branch code instead of the 14-digit AD Code, a firm name spelled differently from the IEC, a transposed account digit and a missing signature or seal. Thirty seconds at the counter saves a week.
4
Step 4: Scan It So It Uploads
Documents go up through e-SANCHIT. Scan in colour at a resolution that keeps the seal and signature legible. Save it as a clean PDF. An angled phone photo is the most common cause of a rejected upload.
What the Bank Authorisation Letter Must Contain
Hand your branch the requirement instead of asking them to work it out. There are two reference points and they are not identical.
| Requirement | National: Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs | JNCH: Annexure-A, PN 93/2020 |
|---|
| Exporter identity | Name and address of the exporter, IEC and the PAN linked to the IEC | Certificate that name, address and directors, partners or proprietor match the IEC |
| Account details | Account number and the name on that account | Account number, the authorised signatory on the account and the account holder’s email and contact number |
| PAN confirmation | Bank confirms the PAN on the account is the same as the PAN on the IEC | Not a separate field |
| Code | AD Code or IFSC, as the case may be | Both AD Code and IFSC |
| Branch details | Name, address, contact details and official email ID of the branch | Bank and branch name, branch address, email and contact number |
| Supporting document | Cancelled cheque, or the latest bank statement endorsed by the bank | IEC, GST certificate, PANs of the entity and the signatory and a cancelled cheque |
Two national requirements are routinely missed: the bank’s positive confirmation of the PAN match and the branch’s official email ID on the letter. That email is how Customs verifies the letter.
The Instruction Almost Nobody Passes to the Bank
Ask the bank to email the letter, and any no objection certificate, to the customs EDI section directly from the branch email ID. If that does not happen, Customs checks genuineness with the bank by email, and that round trip is where days disappear. Once genuineness is verified, the EDI section is to process the request the same day.
For a change of registered bank account or IFSC, PN 93/2020 adds a no objection certificate from the bank whose account is currently registered.
How to Register the AD Code on ICEGATE
With a correct letter and a working Class 3 digital signature, this is short.
1
Step 1: Log In Against Your IEC
Use the ICEGATE portal with the credentials registered against your IEC. Use a current desktop browser, since the signing component is unreliable on old browsers and mobile.
2
Step 2: Open Bank Account Management
Open the Bank Account tab, choose the account type and click Add New Bank Account. Enter the bank, branch, AD Code, account number, customs location, document type and IRN.
3
Step 3: Upload and Verify
Upload the bank letter with the supporting set, then click Verify. The system populates the AD Code against the IRN. A cheque must carry the pre-printed firm name. A handwritten name is rejected.
4
Step 4: Sign and Submit
Sign with the Class 3 digital signature of the authorised signatory. A certificate in another person’s name, however senior, creates a mismatch that gets queried.
5
Step 5: Expect a Decision on Time
Under Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs, requests before 2 PM are to be dealt with the same day and others by 2 PM the next working day. With clean documents, same-day approval is common.
6
Step 6: Register the Incentive Account
Separately, register the incentive account and IFSC for the port you export from. This is what lets drawback and IGST refund reach your bank. After the first approval, further locations are auto approved.
7
Step 7: Prove It With a Live Shipment
An approval screen is not proof. The proof is the first shipping bill at that location going through, then the first refund landing in the account. Until money has moved once, treat the registration as unproven.
Consignment stuck because the AD Code will not accept? Send us the bank letter on WhatsApp and we will tell you what is wrong with it, or read our customs clearance guide.
Four Situations We See Repeatedly
These are anonymised composites of patterns from our files, not named clients.
| Situation | What happened | What actually broke | The fix |
|---|
| A Moradabad metalware unit’s first consignment sat at the ICD | The shipping bill would not generate | The bank letter carried the branch code, not the 14-digit AD Code | Ask by name for the 14-digit AD Code for ICEGATE and read the letter at the counter |
| A leather exporter shipped for several quarters with no clearance problem | Drawback and IGST refund accrued and never arrived | No validated incentive bank account behind the shipping bills | Treat the incentive account as its own checklist item |
| An engineering exporter changed banks for better forex rates | Clearance continued for a while, then refunds failed at PFMS | ICEGATE still pointed at a closed account | Treat any banking change as a compliance event and update the registration |
| A textile exporter expanding to three locations | Was quoted and scheduled for manual approval at each port | The advice predated Circular No. 24/2025-Customs | Submit at each port, then expect auto approval |
Outdated advice costs money both ways. It makes exporters pay for work that no longer exists and skip work that still does. When sources disagree, read the notice itself.
Where AD Code Problems Hit Your Refunds and Incentives
This is the connection most guides miss, and it is the one with money attached. Each benefit travels by a different route.
A mismatched account does not raise an error you will see. The credit simply does not complete. On the RoDTEP side, the silent killer is different: a RoDTEP declaration not flagged on the shipping bill at filing cannot be added after the Let Export Order.
If you are auditing past claims, check both: whether the scheme flags were set on each shipping bill and whether the incentive account ever validated at PFMS. In our recovery work, those two explain most of what clients thought they had claimed and had not.
Port and Route Notes for Uttar Pradesh and Delhi NCR Exporters
Because we work from Agra, most first-time registrations we see route through the northern inland network rather than a coastal port.
- Agra, Firozabad, Aligarh and Mathura exporters commonly clear through Delhi NCR inland container depots, then move to a gateway port.
- Moradabad and western UP handicraft units work the same way. Kanpur leather and the Bhadohi and Mirzapur carpet belt have their own routings.
- Air consignments of high-value handicrafts, jewellery components and samples go through airport cargo terminals.
The single registration rule covers all these locations automatically. What does not carry over is familiarity: each location has its own document rhythm. Submit the incentive account for a new location before its first consignment, and check every document twice on that first shipment.
Cost, Timeline and Who Should Do It
There is no government fee for the ICEGATE registration. The costs are the bank’s charge for the letter (it varies by branch), a Class 3 digital signature if you lack one and any professional fee. No prices are given here.
The ICEGATE decision is fast and has a stated service standard. The variable is the bank: a branch with an active forex desk can issue the letter in a day or two, while one that has never issued it takes longer.
| Route | Works well when | Where it goes wrong |
|---|
| Do it yourself | You hold a working Class 3 DSC, your branch has a forex desk and your IEC, GST and bank records agree exactly | Name and document mismatches you cannot see because you are too close to your own paperwork |
| Through your CHA | You have an established broker and are registering alongside a live consignment | The broker optimises for clearing this consignment. The incentive account, which does not block clearance, is most likely left incomplete |
| Through a trade consultant | You are new, expanding to new locations or auditing why refunds have not arrived | Providers working from pre-2020 or pre-October 2025 practice quote for port-by-port work the rules no longer require |
A well-organised firm with clean records and a cooperative branch can do this without help. The two things people most often get wrong, exact string matching and the separate incentive account, are exactly the things that stay invisible until they cost you.
What AD Code Registration Will Not Do
- It will not pay your refunds. Drawback and IGST refund need the separate incentive account, validated at PFMS. See our IFSC registration guide.
- It will not create a RoDTEP claim. RoDTEP depends on the declaration on each shipping bill, made before the Let Export Order.
- It will not follow your bank automatically. A new bank, branch, merged account or changed firm name needs the registration updated, and the IEC too within 30 days.
Have more questions?Visit our complete EXIM & DGFT Knowledge Base with 50+ answers about Foreign Trade Policy, export schemes, customs and more. Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to register my AD Code at every port I export from?
No. Since DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022 of 14 June 2022, cited in CBIC Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs, an AD Code registered at one customs location applies automatically at all of them. Public Notice No. 93/2020, often cited for this, only covers the e-SANCHIT upload and the Annexure-A letter. Still check the status for each location in your own ICEGATE login.
Is IFSC registration still required port by port?
The submission is still made for each port, and the workflow is unchanged. Under Circular No. 24/2025-Customs, once the same account and IFSC pair is approved at one location under your IEC, further requests are approved automatically and then go to PFMS for validation.
How long does AD Code registration take on ICEGATE?
Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs requires requests made before 2 PM to be dealt with the same day, and others by 2 PM the next working day. The longer part is usually getting the correct letter from your bank.
Does an AD Code expire or need renewal?
There is no prescribed expiry. It stays valid until something behind it changes: a new bank or branch, a renumbered account after a merger or a change in the firm’s name or constitution. Any of these needs the registration updated.
Can I file a shipping bill without a registered AD Code?
No. The shipping bill will not generate. This is a hard block, which is why the registration must be done before the first consignment is ready, not while it waits at the port.
What type of Digital Signature Certificate does ICEGATE require?
A Class 3 certificate with signing and encryption enabled, issued in the name of the authorised signatory. A Class 2 or signing-only certificate fails. See our digital signature guide.
Why has my drawback not been credited even though clearance worked?
Clearance runs on the AD Code, but drawback and IGST refund need a validated incentive account at PFMS. Common causes are a name that does not exactly match the bank’s record, a stale account number after a merger or no incentive account for that port. RoDTEP is separate: it arrives as an e-scrip, and a missing shipping bill declaration cannot be added after the LEO.
My bank gave me an eight digit code. Is that my AD Code?
Probably not the one ICEGATE wants. Shorter codes are branch identifiers from an earlier convention. Ask the forex or trade finance desk for the 14-digit AD Code letter for ICEGATE bank account registration.
Can a proprietorship firm register an AD Code?
Yes. What matters is a current account with an AD Category I bank in the name on the IEC. Proprietors trading under a business name should check this closely, because a personal savings account will not serve and a name mismatch is a common rejection.
Can I link more than one bank account to my IEC?
Yes, multiple AD Codes for different accounts can be linked, subject to ICEGATE’s rules. The difficulty is reconciliation: refunds go to the registered incentive account, not necessarily the one you assume. Know which account is registered at each location.
How Rasp International Handles This
We get the bank letter in the correct format and check your IEC, GST and bank records against each other before anything is filed. We then file the ICEGATE registration and the incentive account for the locations you ship from. We follow through to PFMS validation rather than stopping at an approval screen.
If refunds have not arrived, we work backwards through the shipping bills and the account registration to find where the chain broke. Rasp International is ISO 9001:2015 certified. For the other registrations you need, see our EXIM registrations guide and the IEC guide.
Fix a Stuck Consignment or a Missing Refund
Send us your bank letter or your ICEGATE bank account screen. We will find the break in the chain.
References and Official Sources
Every rule, circular number and date on this page traces to a primary Government of India source. Where published guidance elsewhere conflicts with the current position, we say so in the body.
| Source | What it covers | Type |
|---|
| CBIC Circular No. 24/2025-Customs (hosted copy) | Auto approval of incentive account and IFSC requests across locations, 7 October 2025, F. No. 450/145/2023-Cus IV | Primary, CBIC |
| CBIC Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs, hosted copy | Documents, the 2 PM timeline and the reference to DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022, 28 July 2023 | Primary, hosted copy |
| CBIC Circular No. 32/2020-Customs | Turant Customs and the online AD Code facility, 6 July 2020 | Primary, CBIC |
| Public Notice No. 93/2020, JNCH, hosted copy | e-SANCHIT upload, document list and the Annexure-A letter, 29 July 2020 | Primary, hosted copy |
| ICEGATE AD Code bank account registration advisory, hosted copy | Screen sequence for adding and modifying bank accounts, DG Systems and Data Management | Primary, hosted copy |
| ICEGATE Bank Account Management user manual, hosted copy | The two account types, the fields for each including status at PFMS and the Instruction 25/2023 document list | Primary, hosted copy |
| ICEGATE and its helpdesk | Bank Account Management, shipping bills, RoDTEP credit ledger and grievances | Primary, CBIC |
| DGFT and the Reserve Bank of India | IEC issue and yearly update plus the Authorised Dealer Category I framework under FEMA | Primary, Government of India |
Last verified 24 September 2026 against the instruments above. Where a circular is superseded we update the page and note it here.
Correction Notes
- 12 August 2026: an earlier version repeated the widely published claim that Public Notice No. 93/2020 created single pan-India AD Code registration. The primary text does not support it. The correct instrument is DG Systems Advisory No. 10/2022, cited in Instruction No. 25/2023-Customs.
- 24 September 2026: an earlier version said RoDTEP is credited through the registered bank account. RoDTEP is issued as an e-scrip in the ICEGATE credit ledger. Only drawback and IGST refund are paid into the bank through PFMS. Secondary reproductions of Circular No. 24/2025 were replaced by the CBIC copy.
This page is general guidance. Rules and portal screens change. Verify against the current CBIC instruction or the live ICEGATE screen before you file.
Related: customs house agent services, DGFT consulting and liaison, the Export Promotion Mission and certification cost reimbursement under TRACE.