The short answer
The government does say it. DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 dated 11 June 2020 warns exporters against websites that charge large sums for an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) when the process is online and the fee is Rs 500 under Appendix 2K. The Udyam portal says no agency or person outside the government portal is authorised to do MSME registration. Neither warning says a professional cannot help you. The difference is what you pay for: an agent sells access that does not exist, and a consultant sells work that is written down, invoiced and filed in your own name.
The rule that decides everything: if the person cannot show you the government fee as a separate line and a written scope for the rest, you are paying an agent, not a consultant.
Verified as on 18 October 2026 against DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 dated 11 June 2020, the DGFT website caution notice, DGFT Appendix 2K, the Udyam registration portal, PIB release 1909929 of 23 March 2023, PIB release 2025648 of 16 June 2024, the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations 2018. Written by Pratham Agarwal, Founder, Rasp International.
Rs 500the only government fee for an IEC, Appendix 2K
Rs 0the fee for Udyam registration, udyamregistration.gov.in
Rs 10 lakhfine for a misleading advertisement, Consumer Protection Act 2019, Section 89
Regulation 3customs clearance for others needs a licensed customs broker, CBLR 2018
What the government actually warns against
Four official texts say the same thing in different words: pay the government its fee, pay nobody for access.
| Source | What it says | What it means for you |
|---|
| DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 dated 11 June 2020 | Some websites “charge large sums as fee from applicants” for an IEC although the process is “completely online and contactless”. Trade is advised to avoid such websites and to make no payments on them. The official site is dgft.gov.in and the helpdesk is 1800-111-550. | The IEC fee is Rs 500 under Appendix 2K and the yearly update between April and June is free. Anyone who quotes a higher “government fee” for an IEC is misquoting it. |
| DGFT website caution notice, live on 18 October 2026 | Citizens are warned about spurious websites that look like the DGFT site or use similar email addresses and collect money “on the wrong pretext of providing DGFT services including IEC certificates”. | Only dgft.gov.in issues an IEC. A consultant files on that site under your login and shows you the acknowledgement. |
| Udyam registration portal, Ministry of MSME | Registration is “free of cost and paperless” and “no other private online or offline system, service, agency or person is authorized or entitled to do MSME Registration”. PIB release 1909929 of 23 March 2023 repeats that the process is free and based on self-declaration. | There is no government fee to recover for Udyam. If a consultant files it for you, the only charge is the consultant’s own fee for the work, shown as such. |
| CBIC campaign against customs frauds, PIB release 2025648 of 16 June 2024 | Indian Customs officers never contact the public by phone, SMS or email for payment of duty into private accounts. Fraudsters pose as courier staff and ask for duty on a held parcel. Verify any communication by its Document Identification Number on the CBIC site. | Customs duty is paid on ICEGATE against a challan, never into a private account. No consultant and no broker collects duty in cash. |
Note what the warnings do not say. None of them says that an exporter must file alone, and none forbids paying a professional for work. The Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 (Notification No. 41/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 14 May 2018) go the other way: Regulation 3 says nobody may carry on business as a customs broker for others without a licence, while an exporter may clear its own goods on its own account. The law regulates who may do the work. It does not pretend the work is nothing.
Why the word agent carries a warning
“We have a setting in the office” is the sentence that should end the meeting.The warnings exist because of a specific sales pitch, not because of consultancy. The pitch bundles the government fee, the professional charge and a promise into one cash figure, then claims special access to the office. DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 describes the result: applicants pay large sums and hand over confidential data for a service the government gives online for Rs 500.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 gives that pitch a legal name. Section 2(28) defines a misleading advertisement as one that falsely describes a product or service, makes a false promise of results or is likely to mislead the consumer, and Section 89 sets the penalty for a manufacturer or service provider who causes one: imprisonment up to two years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh for a first offence, and up to five years and Rs 50 lakh for every subsequent offence. A promise of an assured subsidy, an assured approval or a fixed payment date from a government department is the kind of statement that section covers.
The one sentence that should end the meeting: “We have a setting in the office.” No office has a setting. Every UP export subsidy order sets out its own route, day counts and committee, and the Authorised Committee decides claims first come first served within the budget. A person who promises to move that queue is either lying to you or describing something that would get your claim recovered as arrears of land revenue and your unit blacklisted.
Agent or consultant: the five tests
Use these tests on anyone who offers to handle your IEC, RCMC, Udyam, AD Code, a DGFT authorisation or a state subsidy claim.
| Test | An agent | A consultant |
|---|
| 1. The fee quote | One bundled cash figure that mixes the government fee, the professional charge and “expenses” | Two lines: the government fee at actual and a professional fee under a written scope, billed on a GST invoice |
| 2. Whose name is on the filing | The agent’s own login, email and phone number on your IEC, Udyam or portal profile | Your unit’s name, your email and your phone number; the consultant works under a written NDA and SLA, and you hold the logins too |
| 3. The promise | Assured approval, assured subsidy, a fixed date for the money | A promise about the work only: eligibility checked, papers complete, filed inside the window, queries answered. The decision stays with the government |
| 4. Government link | “Approved by the government”, “official DGFT partner”, “recognised by the department” | No such claim. DGFT does not authorise agents for IEC, and the Udyam portal says no agency is authorised |
| 5. What happens on a query | Disappears, or asks for more cash to “clear” it | Answers the query from the file within the days the order allows and tells you in writing if the claim cannot be saved |
What an export consultant actually does
Seen from the exporter’s side, the consultant’s work is the part the portal cannot do for you. The portal accepts what you upload. It does not check whether the facts behind the upload will survive the officer who reads it.
- Eligibility before spending. Reading the order or notification against your unit’s facts before you book the stall, pay the lab or ship the container. For every Uttar Pradesh subsidy order, that includes checking that the Export Promotion Bureau and UPEPC registrations exist at the time of the work, because a registration made afterwards cannot be fixed. Our post on registering before you spend explains why.
- Papers that match each other. The invoice, the shipping bill, the bank realisation certificate, the Udyam category and the IEC details must agree. Most rejections are mismatches, not missing documents.
- Filing in your name, inside the window. The IEC on dgft.gov.in for Rs 500, the RCMC with the right council, the AD Code on ICEGATE, the UP claim within its 45, 90, 120 or 180 day window. The consultant files on your behalf under your login, with a written NDA and SLA, so the record stays yours.
- Query replies. Each UP order gives a fixed number of days to fix a defect. A consultant answers from the file, in writing, within that time.
- Telling you no. A consultant tells you when the unit does not qualify, when a deadline has passed and when a claim cannot be saved. That sentence costs the consultant a fee and saves you a year.
What a consultant does not do: clear customs for others without a customs broker licence, collect government fees in cash, hold your portal login alone or promise what the government has not decided. Our page on how we work sets out each of these limits.
Rasp International handles RCMC registration with the right Export Promotion Council.
Talk to our team for a free assessment. 500+ exporters served since 2019.
What the government fees really are
The quickest way to spot a bundled quote is to know the government’s own numbers.
| Registration | Government fee | Where it is filed | Source |
|---|
| Importer Exporter Code (IEC) | Rs 500; the yearly update between April and June is free | dgft.gov.in | DGFT Appendix 2K, Sl. 1 and Sl. 6(A) |
| Udyam (MSME) registration | Nil | udyamregistration.gov.in | Udyam portal; PIB release 1909929 |
| Preferential Certificate of Origin | Rs 600 per certificate | Trade Connect ePlatform, trade.gov.in | DGFT Appendix 2K, Sl. 14 |
| Export Promotion Bureau UP registration | Rs 200 a year, renewal Rs 100 | epb.up.gov.in | Export Promotion Bureau UP instructions page |
| RCMC | Set by each export promotion council | DGFT common digital platform | Handbook of Procedures 2023, Chapter 2 |
Every one of these fees is paid online to the government. When a professional pays one on your behalf, the right way to see it is a separate debit note at actual, next to a separate invoice for the professional fee. Customs duty is paid on ICEGATE against a challan, by the CBIC release of 16 June 2024, so no one should ever ask you to hand over duty in cash.
Where exporters lose money to agents
Indian Customs never asks for duty into a private account by phone, SMS or email.The cases below are common patterns we see, not named client cases.
| What happened | What the exporter saw | What actually went wrong |
|---|
| IEC “package” for a few thousand rupees | A certificate arrived, so it seemed fine | The IEC was filed under the agent’s email and phone. Every DGFT alert, including the annual update reminder, went to the agent. The IEC later showed as not updated. |
| Udyam registration sold as a paid service with a “government fee” | A fee receipt with no GST number | The government fee is nil. The whole amount was the agent’s charge, hidden as a fee, which is the pattern the Udyam portal warns about. |
| Subsidy claim with an assured approval | Months of silence, then a rejection | The unit had registered with the Bureau after the fair. No filing could repair it, and the agent knew it when he took the money. |
| Customs duty collected in cash to “release” a shipment | A phone call about a held consignment | Customs never asks for duty in a private account, by the CBIC release of 16 June 2024. The shipment was never held. |
| Claim filed from the agent’s login | A query notice the exporter never received | The 15 day correction window in the UP order passed unread, and the claim was returned. |
Honest limits
Customs clearance for others needs a licensed customs broker under Regulation 3 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations 2018.- A consultant cannot make an ineligible unit eligible. If the registration date, the turnover or the product rule fails, the answer is no, and a consultant says so before taking a fee.
- A consultant cannot promise a government decision or a date. Approval and payment rest with the department, the committee and the budget of the year.
- A consultant cannot clear customs for you without a licence. That work belongs to a licensed customs broker under the 2018 regulations, and an honest consultant works with licensed partners rather than pretending to be one.
How Rasp International works
A consultant puts the scope, the NDA and the SLA in writing before the first filing.Rasp International is an ISO 9001:2015 certified EXIM and DGFT advisory firm that has served 500+ exporters since 2019. We work end to end: eligibility check, papers, filing on your behalf in your unit’s name, query replies and tracking. We file without an authority letter by default and give one when a client asks. We sign an NDA and an SLA with every client, and the portal logins are held by you and by us, kept safe and confidential. Government fees go on a separate debit note at actual cost, and our professional fee goes on a separate GST invoice under a written scope. We claim no link with any department. We hold no customs broker (CHA) licence; licensed CHA partners across India handle customs clearance. We make no promise of approval. Read how we work before you engage us.
Been quoted a “package” for an IEC, Udyam or a subsidy claim? Send it to us. Rasp International tells you what the government fee is, what the work is worth and whether the promise in it is one anyone can keep.
WhatsApp Rasp International Read how we work
Rasp International handles RCMC registration with the right Export Promotion Council.
Talk to our team for a free assessment. 500+ exporters served since 2019.
What Is Not Yet Notified, Checked on 18 October 2026
- Whether the GST portal has published its own caution against fake registration agents. The wording circulating online could not be read on gst.gov.in, so it is left out. Check the News and Updates section of gst.gov.in.
- Whether any Uttar Pradesh portal (Nivesh Mitra, the Export Promotion Bureau or UPEPC) carries a “no agent” notice. None was found on 18 October 2026. Check with your District Industries Centre.
- Whether ICEGATE has issued its own advisory on impersonation beyond the CBIC release of 16 June 2024. Check the advisories page on icegate.gov.in.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to use an agent for IEC or Udyam registration?
No law bans paying someone to help you. DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 warns against websites that charge large sums for a Rs 500 online IEC, and the Udyam portal says no outside agency is authorised to do MSME registration. The problem is misrepresented fees and false promises, not professional help under a written scope.
What is the government fee for an IEC?
Rs 500, under Sl. 1 of DGFT Appendix 2K, paid online on dgft.gov.in. The yearly IEC update between April and June carries no fee under Sl. 6(A). Any quote that shows a higher government fee for an IEC is bundling the agent’s own charge into the government line.
Is Udyam registration free?
Yes. The Udyam portal of the Ministry of MSME states that registration is free of cost, paperless and based on self-declaration, and PIB release 1909929 of 23 March 2023 says the same. A professional may charge a fee for doing the work, but there is no government fee to recover.
How do I know if an export consultant is genuine?
Ask for two documents: a written scope of work with the professional fee on a GST invoice, and the government fee shown separately at actual. Then ask whose login and email will sit on the filing. A genuine consultant files in your unit’s name under a written NDA and SLA and makes no promise of approval.
Can a consultant promise that my subsidy claim will be approved?
No. Under every Uttar Pradesh export subsidy order the Authorised Committee decides claims first come first served within the budget of the year, and the orders set no payment date. A promise of assured approval is the kind of false statement Section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 calls a misleading advertisement.
What is the penalty for a misleading advertisement in India?
Section 89 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 punishes a manufacturer or service provider who causes a false or misleading advertisement with imprisonment up to two years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh. Every subsequent offence carries up to five years and Rs 50 lakh, by the Act published on 9 August 2019.
Does DGFT authorise agents or consultants?
No. DGFT’s website warns citizens about spurious websites collecting money on the pretext of DGFT services, and Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 names dgft.gov.in as the only site for an IEC. A consultant who claims an official DGFT status for IEC work is making a claim DGFT does not support.
Can an export consultant clear my goods at customs?
Not without a licence. Regulation 3 of the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018 says no person may carry on business as a customs broker for others without a licence granted under the regulations, while an exporter may clear goods on its own account. A consultant works with a licensed customs broker partner.
Why does a consultant file under my login and not his own?
Because the record, the alerts and the queries then come to you. DGFT, ICEGATE and the state portals send notices to the email and phone on the profile. When an agent’s details sit there, a query notice or an update reminder passes unread and a claim is returned for a defect you never saw.
How should government fees appear on a consultant’s bill?
As a separate line at actual, ideally on a debit note with the portal receipt attached, next to a GST invoice for the professional fee under a written scope. Bundling the two into one cash figure hides the mark-up and is the pattern DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 warned about for IEC websites.
Someone called about customs duty on a held parcel. Is it real?
Almost certainly not. CBIC’s campaign of 16 June 2024, in PIB release 2025648, states that Indian Customs officers never contact the public by phone, SMS or email for payment of duty into private accounts. Verify any document by its Document Identification Number on the CBIC site and report the call on cybercrime.gov.in or 1930.
Is paying a professional fee for a free registration a waste of money?
That depends on what the fee buys. For Udyam, the registration is free and takes minutes, so a fee only makes sense as part of wider work such as the IEC, the bank account and the export promotion registrations done together. For a subsidy claim the fee buys the eligibility check and the matched papers.
What should I do if an agent has already filed my IEC under his details?
Log in to dgft.gov.in with the IEC and update the email, phone and authorised person to your own, then complete the annual update between April and June, which is free. Keep the acknowledgement. If the login itself is not with you, the DGFT helpdesk on 1800-111-550 is the route named in Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21.
Your checklist for this week
- Log in to dgft.gov.in and check whose email and phone number sit on your IEC profile.
- Open your Udyam certificate and confirm the mobile number and email are the unit’s own.
- Take the last quote you received for any registration or claim and split it into the government fee at actual and the rest.
- Ask any adviser you use for a written scope of work, an NDA and an SLA before the next filing.
Sources
- Tier 1. DGFT Trade Notice No. 14/2020-21 dated 11 June 2020, caution against fraudulent websites charging fees for IEC: content.dgft.gov.in; DGFT website caution notice on spurious websites: dgft.gov.in.
- Tier 1. DGFT Appendix 2K, scale of user charges, Sl. 1 IEC Rs 500, Sl. 6(A) annual update nil, Sl. 14 preferential Certificate of Origin Rs 600: content.dgft.gov.in.
- Tier 1. Udyam registration portal, Ministry of MSME, “Beware of fake sites” and the Important page on authorised systems: udyamregistration.gov.in, Important page; PIB release 1909929, 23 March 2023: pib.gov.in.
- Tier 1. CBIC campaign against frauds committed in the name of Indian Customs, PIB release 2025648, 16 June 2024: pib.gov.in.
- Tier 1. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (No. 35 of 2019), Sections 2(28) and 89, Gazette of India Extraordinary, 9 August 2019: egazette.gov.in.
- Tier 1. Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018, Notification No. 41/2018-Customs (N.T.) dated 14 May 2018, Regulation 3, on the CBIC Customs Broker License Management System: cblms.gov.in.
- Tier 1. Export Promotion Bureau, Uttar Pradesh, registration instructions (Rs 200 a year, renewal Rs 100): epb.up.gov.in; Handbook of Procedures 2023, Chapter 2 (RCMC): content.dgft.gov.in.
This is general guidance. Rules change. Check the current order or notification, or speak to us, before you act.
Related: How we work: consultant, not agent | IEC registration | Export Promotion Bureau and UPEPC registration | Register before you spend
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