Export from India Guide: 7 Steps for First-Time Indian Exporters

Verified as on 16 September 2026

Rasp International is India’s leading export compliance consultancy that helps first-time and established exporters manage DGFT regulations, IEC registrations, AD Code compliance, and custom clearances seamlessly.

Starting an export from India in 2026 is a seven-step compliance sequence. Get a live Importer Exporter Code (IEC) from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), file the GST Letter of Undertaking (LUT) or the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) paid route, confirm product permissions and Registration Cum Membership Certificate (RCMC), register the Authorised Dealer Code (AD Code) on ICEGATE, lock the Harmonised System (HS) code and assemble documents. Buyer outreach runs in parallel.

The rule that decides everything: Indian Customs will not generate a shipping bill until the IEC is live and the AD Code is registered at the port you intend to use.

Why we are writing this rather than another export brochure

DGFT issued 17,435 new IECs in December 2025-26 against 14,524 in December 2024-25, a 20 percent rise, according to the DGFT Monthly MIS Report for January 2026. This page puts the 2026 sequence in order, including dates that have already closed.

Fact checked against the DGFT IEC pages, Notification No. 58/2015-20 dated 12 February 2021, the GST portal LUT tutorial, ICEGATE AD Code guidance and CBIC Circular No. 24/2025-Customs dated 7 October 2025. Last regulatory review: September 2026

Rasp International has prepared first-shipment files out of Agra since 2005. The stall is rarely the missing buyer. It is an IEC never updated after 30 June, an LUT never filed for the year or an AD Code never approved at the load port.

What starting an export from India actually is

Starting an export from India is a legal identity plus a tax route plus a customs mapping that together let goods leave a notified port under a shipping bill. It is not a marketplace listing.

An Importer Exporter Code is a 10-digit DGFT registration that identifies a firm to Indian Customs and to authorised dealer banks. After GST, the IEC number equals the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the firm, but the code still has to be generated on dgft.gov.in. A PAN card in a drawer is not an IEC.

A Letter of Undertaking is a GST filing that lets a registered exporter ship goods without paying IGST at the time of export. An Authorised Dealer Code is a 14-digit bank identifier that maps one current account to one customs location on ICEGATE. A Registration Cum Membership Certificate is a product-linked council registration that records the exporter with the relevant Export Promotion Council (EPC) or Commodity Board. A Harmonised System code is a tariff classification that tells Indian Customs and the buyer’s customs what the goods are.

What the 7-step sequence actually does

The 7-step sequence turns a GST-registered Indian business into a firm that can file a shipping bill and, where eligible, claim a post-export remission. Skip a row and the next portal returns an error.

Rasp International handles first-shipment readiness: IEC, LUT, RCMC, AD Code and the document set. Talk to the team for a free assessment. Family trade practice in Agra since 2005.

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What changed for first-time exporters in 2026

The 2026 file is not the 2023 brochure with a new year on the cover. The IEC update window for this year is already closed. India-UK CETA is live. The EU-India FTA is not. RoDTEP has a published end date of 31 December 2026.

Where official sources disagree

Five conflicts show up in first-shipment files. Each one is resolved by opening the primary PDF or portal screen, not by a blog.

First, IEC is described as free on many commercial pages. DGFT charges Rs 500 for a new application, as the IEC Module User Help File V4.1 states at the Bharatkosh step and as Appendix 2K lists under Public Notice No. 02/2025-26 dated 15 April 2025. Annual update during April to June is nil.

Second, after GST the IEC number equals PAN, yet DGFT still issues the IEC separately. Do not skip the DGFT application because the PAN already exists.

Third, RCMC is still sold as mandatory for RoDTEP and Duty Drawback. Industry reporting since October 2021 has been that those remission claims do not treat RCMC as the lead document. RCMC remains the council membership under Para 2.57 of FTP 2023.

Fourth, TaxTMI’s AI summary of Notification No. 36/2026-27 dated 15 September 2026 reports an RCMC de minimis figure of Rs 3,00,000. That rupee figure is not verified against the DGFT PDF as on 16 September 2026. Open the PDF on dgft.gov.in before you act.

Fifth, EU Ambassador remarks have spoken of the EU eliminating or reducing duties on more than 99 percent of Indian goods exports. The European Commission page updated on 11 September 2026 quotes 90 percent of tariffs eliminated or reduced. Until the agreement is in force, neither figure is a price you can put on a proforma.

Who can start exporting from India in 2026

Any person making a commercial import or export of goods needs an IEC unless a DGFT exemption applies. Proprietorships, partnerships, LLPs, companies, HUFs, societies and trusts can apply. After GST, the IEC number is the PAN of that entity, separately issued by DGFT on dgft.gov.in.

Service exporters need an IEC when they take an FTP benefit. Goods exporters need it for the first commercial shipment. LUT in Form GST RFD-11 is available to a registered person who has not been prosecuted for tax evasion of Rs 2.5 crore or above, as the GST portal LUT FAQ states.

Who is NOT eligible

Personal, non-commercial movements that DGFT exempts from IEC are not this sequence. A deactivated IEC is not eligible to ship until the annual update or a successful reactivation is on the portal. Restricted items do not move on a standard free shipping bill. They need the relevant DGFT authorisation first.

A taxpayer prosecuted for tax evasion of Rs 2.5 crore or above cannot use LUT and must look at the IGST-paid route or a bond. An exporter who wants to quote duty-free EU prices today is not eligible to do so. The EU-India FTA is not in force as on 16 September 2026. An IEC with no AD Code at the load port is not ready to ship.

Edge cases that stall a first shipment

Four edge cases consume more calendar time than the IEC fee itself.

Samples and courier parcels still need a product policy check. A de minimis RCMC exemption, if it applies after you read Notification No. 36/2026-27, does not waive a restricted-list licence.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Export Oriented Unit (EOU) shipments are not Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) shipments. RoDTEP, Duty Drawback and LUT behaviour change with the licence. Do not copy a DTA checklist into an SEZ file.

An IEC can be issued to a firm that is not yet GST-registered. That firm cannot file LUT. Get GST live before you raise the export invoice. RCMC is product-linked. One council certificate does not cover every HS line you later add.

The 7-step process before the first 2026 shipment

The working order is IEC, GST plus LUT, product compliance plus RCMC, bank plus AD Code, HS code, documents and buyer outreach in parallel. Do the first six so a serious inquiry can become a shipping bill.

1. Apply for your Importer Exporter Code (IEC).
2. Complete GST registration and file LUT, where applicable.
3. Check product compliance and obtain RCMC, where relevant.
4. Complete bank and AD Code readiness.
5. Confirm your HS code classification.
6. Prepare the required export documents.
7. Start buyer outreach and shipment planning in parallel.

Stage 1: Exporter identity, GST route and product

Step 1 is the IEC. Apply on dgft.gov.in with PAN, bank details, cancelled cheque or bank certificate, address and Aadhaar e-sign or digital signature. Pay Rs 500 as the IEC Module User Help File V4.1 (February 2026) states at the Bharatkosh step.

If you already hold an IEC, read the portal status. The 2026 annual update closed on 30 June 2026. A deactivated IEC is a stop until you update it and Customs receives the transmission. Filing support sits on the IEC registration page.

Step 2 is GST plus LUT. File Form GST RFD-11 on gst.gov.in, generally each financial year, before the supply. The alternative is export on payment of IGST with a later refund. For FY 2026-27 the LUT for that year should already be on file. See GST compliance for exports.

Step 3 is product compliance plus RCMC. Check whether the ITC(HS) line is free, restricted or prohibited. An RCMC is issued by the relevant EPC or Commodity Board. It is not automatically mandatory for a RoDTEP claim. Read what an RCMC is and why exporters need it and use RCMC registration when the product line needs a council.

Stage 2: Bank, classification and documents

Step 4 is bank plus AD Code. Register the authorised dealer account on ICEGATE against the customs location you will use. CBIC Circular No. 24/2025-Customs dated 7 October 2025 then auto-approves the same account plus IFSC at further locations. Do this before the container is booked. Port mapping is on AD Code and port registration.

Step 5 is the HS code. Confirm the export line in the Indian Customs Tariff and in the buyer’s tariff. The HS code drives export policy, destination duty, origin tests under UAE CEPA or UK CETA and any RoDTEP rate while that scheme remains live through 31 December 2026. Recheck the line against the 1 May 2026 HS realignment before you print the invoice.

Step 6 is the document set. Plan for a commercial invoice, packing list, shipping bill, bill of lading or air waybill, CoO where required and any inspection or health certificate. Names, HS codes, quantities and weights must match. Use the free 23-step export checklist.

Stage 3: Buyer outreach in parallel

Step 7 is buyer outreach, run next to Stages 1 and 2. Some firms hunt buyers with no IEC, then cannot answer a serious request. Others finish every registration before they test demand. While IEC, LUT and AD Code move, prepare specification, capacity, Incoterms, certificates and packing.

The lapse penalty

The lapse that stops a ready cargo is a skipped IEC annual update. Notification No. 58/2015-20 dated 12 February 2021 requires electronic update every year during April to June, including a confirmation when nothing has changed. An IEC that is not updated is deactivated. The 2026 window closed on 30 June 2026.

A second lapse is shipping in FY 2026-27 on last year’s LUT. A third is AD Code registered at the wrong port.

The fast track

The fast track is parallel work, not skipped work. File or revive IEC and file LUT in the same week. Register AD Code at the intended load port as soon as the bank account is in the IEC. Confirm HS code before any quotation and start buyer conversations while those filings move.

UK CETA eCoO on trade.gov.in is live from 15 July 2026. EU duty-free quoting is not a fast track because that FTA is not in force.

Six sector files and one cautionary tale

The seven steps stay the same. The extra gate does not. Use the sector row to add work, not to delete IEC, LUT or AD Code.

Illustrative composite, not a named client: a North Indian manufacturer accepted a UK purchase order in June 2026, booked a container to Felixstowe and then found the IEC annual update unfiled, the FY 2026-27 LUT blank and the AD Code live only at a different port. The shipping bill would not generate. UK CETA preference was available from 15 July 2026. The firm could not use it. The failure was sequence, not demand.

The same pattern is why we keep a public list of the five mistakes first-time Indian exporters still make. Wrong HS code, missing AD Code, missing LUT, delayed RCMC and inconsistent documents remain the five that delay cargo.

How a first-shipment file is sequenced

A first-shipment file is sequenced as seven internal checks. The order is identity, tax route, product policy, bank mapping, classification, document set and only then a quotation that a buyer can trust.

1. Match legal name, PAN, GSTIN, bank account and registered address.
2. File or revive the IEC on dgft.gov.in, including the missed 2026 annual update where that is the stop.
3. Decide LUT versus IGST-paid and file Form GST RFD-11 before the invoice.
4. Read the ITC(HS) policy, destination certificates and the correct EPC for RCMC.
5. Register AD Code at the intended load port and the incentive bank account on ICEGATE.
6. Lock the HS code, the origin path (UAE CEPA, UK CETA or MFN) and the document templates.
7. Release a quotation only after those six are live, while buyer outreach runs in parallel.

Exporters who want a field-by-field walkthrough of the DGFT IEC form can use the IEC registration guide in the shop. This page does not list a price.

Rasp International handles the first-shipment sequence so the purchase order is not the first time you meet DGFT or ICEGATE. Talk to the team for a free assessment. Family trade practice in Agra since 2005.

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Three things this 7-step sequence will not do

It will not make a prohibited or restricted product eligible for a market that bans it. An IEC plus LUT plus AD Code does not override the FTP restricted list or a destination health rule.

It will not replace destination-country licences, labelling or chemical inventories. UK CETA and UAE CEPA cut duty where origin is real. They do not waive UK or UAE product law.

It will not keep RoDTEP alive after 31 December 2026. Notification 74/2025-26 dated 31 March 2026 is the published window. As on 1 October 2026 no extension beyond 31 December 2026 sat on the DGFT notifications list.

Questions exporters actually ask

This week checklist

Four actions fit a working week. Do them in this order if the IEC status is unknown.

1. Open dgft.gov.in, read the IEC status and complete any missed 2026 annual update.
2. File or confirm Form GST RFD-11 LUT for FY 2026-27 before the next export invoice.
3. Register the AD Code and incentive bank account on ICEGATE at the intended load port.
4. Lock the HS code and origin path (UAE CEPA, UK CETA or MFN) before any new quotation.

Who stands behind this page

Rasp International is an ISO 9001:2015 EXIM and DGFT advisory firm in Agra, with a family legacy in international trade since 2005 and 500 plus exporters served. Pratham Agarwal, Founder and Principal EXIM Consultant, reviews this page against the DGFT, ICEGATE, GST and CBIC sources named below.

If the first shipment is the job in front of you, ask for a free assessment of IEC status, LUT, AD Code and the document set.

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Sources

Tier 1

• DGFT IEC Profile Management, dgft.gov.in. Verified 16 September 2026
• DGFT Notification No. 58/2015-20 dated 12 February 2021
• PIB Delhi, 20 December 2023, PRID 1988823. FTP 2023 in force 1 April 2023
• PIB Delhi, 15 July 2026, PRID 2285085. India-UK CETA in force
• GOV.UK, 17 July 2026. UK-India FTA in effect from 15 July 2026
• European Commission EU-India trade agreement page, updated 11 September 2026. Not in force
• DGFT RoDTEP page. Notification 74/2025-26 dated 31 March 2026, window to 30 September 2026
• GST portal LUT help. Form GST RFD-11

Tier 2

• DGFT IEC Module User Help File V4.1, February 2026. IEC fee Rs 500
• ICEGATE AD Code Bank Account Registration Advisory
• GST tutorial, Form GST RFD-11. Prosecution bar of Rs 2.5 crore
• CBIC Circular No. 24/2025-Customs dated 7 October 2025, auto-approval of the same account and IFSC at further locations
• Public Notice No. 02/2025-26 dated 15 April 2025, Appendix 2K: Rs 500 for IEC, nil for April to June annual update
• DGFT Notification No. 36/2026-27 dated 15 September 2026. Open the PDF on dgft.gov.in. The Rs 3,00,000 figure in secondary summaries is not verified against that PDF as on 16 September 2026

Tier 3

• DGFT Monthly MIS Report for January 2026: 17,435 IECs issued in December 2025-26 against 14,524 in December 2024-25
• Industry reporting since October 2021 that RoDTEP and Duty Drawback have not required RCMC as the lead claim document

This is general guidance. Rules change. Verify against the current notification on the DGFT or CBIC portal before you act.

Need a working checklist for the first shipment? Use the free 23-step export checklist.

Related reading

• Five mistakes first-time Indian exporters still make
• What an RCMC is and why Indian exporters need it
• India-UAE CEPA guide for exporters, 2026