DGFT Regulations Guide 2026 for 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 customs clearances.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) implements Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and the filings on dgft.gov.in. The 2026 Importer Exporter Code (IEC) annual update closed on 30 June 2026. Miss it and the code is deactivated. RoDTEP is notified only to 30 September 2026. Restricted, prohibited and SCOMET goods still need a licence. EPCG, Advance Authorisation, Certificate of Origin, status holder, e-BRC and the Denied Entity List sit on the same portal.

The rule that decides everything: a deactivated IEC, a Restricted item filed as free, or a Certificate of Origin that does not match the shipping bill, will stop the shipment even if the buyer is ready.

Why we are rewriting this DGFT guide in September 2026

Fourteen calendar days remain in the notified RoDTEP window. DGFT Notification 74/2025-26 dated 31 March 2026, Gazette S.O. 1857(E), continues the scheme only from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026. The 2026 IEC annual update already closed on 30 June 2026 under Notification No. 58/2015-20 dated 12 February 2021.

The live version of this page was 701 words, last touched on 6 June 2026. It still read like a brochure. It did not say the IEC window had closed. It did not say RoDTEP ends on 30 September 2026. It did not mention Public Notice No. 01/2026-27 on electronic Certificates of Origin.

Fact checked against FTP 2023, Notification No. 58/2015-20, Notification 74/2025-26, Public Notice No. 01/2026-27, Notification No. 05/2026-27 dated 7 April 2026 and Notification No. 36/2026-27 dated 15 September 2026. Last regulatory review: September 2026

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. Volume is not the problem. Sequence is. Rasp International is rewriting this page because the seven filings below still stop cargo out of Agra when the portal and the circular do not say the same thing.

What DGFT is

DGFT is the office that implements India’s Foreign Trade Policy and issues the licences, codes and origin certificates that Customs and banks then read. It sits in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is not Customs. It is not the GST Network. It is not your bank.

The parent statute is the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. Section 5 is the policy power. Section 7 is the IEC. Section 8 is suspension and cancellation. Section 14A is the SCOMET control. FTP 2023 is the current policy instrument issued under that Act.

An IEC is a 10-digit identification number that lets Customs and banks recognise the firm. After GST the number equals the Permanent Account Number (PAN), but the code still has to be generated and kept live on DGFT. A PAN card in the drawer is not an IEC. Get the code at Importer Exporter Code registration if the firm does not have one.

DGFT also publishes the Indian Trade Classification (Harmonised System) export and import policy. That is the list that marks each 8-digit line as Free, Restricted, Prohibited, State Trading Enterprise or SCOMET. The product policy is a DGFT instrument. The shipping bill is a Customs instrument. Confusing the two is how a Restricted line goes to Let Export Order (LEO) as if it were Free.

What DGFT actually does for an Indian exporter in 2026

DGFT does seven operational jobs for a goods exporter. Those jobs are IEC, product permission, Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG), Advance Authorisation, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) policy, Certificate of Origin and status holder, with e-BRC and the Denied Entity List sitting underneath all of them. It does not file the shipping bill. It does not pay GST.

AD Code, LUT and the shipping bill are not DGFT modules. They still sit next to this list. A live IEC with no Authorised Dealer Code at the load port still produces no shipping bill.

Rasp International handles IEC, restricted-list checks, EPCG, Advance Authorisation and Certificate of Origin files. Talk to the team for a free assessment. Family trade practice in Agra since 2005.

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What changed in DGFT regulations in 2026

The parent policy is still FTP 2023. The operating year is not. IEC, RoDTEP, Certificate of Origin, RCMC and SCOMET all moved. The table is the year in ten lines.

India-UK CETA entered into force on 15 July 2026. Preferential CoO for that agreement also sits on the DGFT electronic platform. The EU-India FTA concluded on 27 January 2026. It is not in force. Do not quote duty-free EU prices on the strength of a DGFT login.

Where the official texts disagree

Five conflicts sit on the public record. None of them is a reason to invent a licence, a rate or a live IEC.

First, the Certificate of Origin URL. Public Notice No. 01/2026-27 names https://www.trade.gov.in. Older user manuals and CHA bookmarks still open coo.dgft.gov.in. Both can reach the same stack. A paper CoO issued outside the designated platform is the failure. Do not treat a familiar URL as a second legal channel.

Second, Status Holder issuance. HBP 2023 Para 1.08 still tells the exporter to file ANF 1B with the jurisdictional Regional Authority. A Ministry statement dated 9 October 2023 said the certificate would be system-generated from Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) merchandise data, without an application. In 2026 both descriptions still circulate. For complex dispute hearings, SCOMET licensing or policy relaxation before the Central Licensing Area (CLA) and DGFT Headquarters, our DGFT consultant in Delhi specialists represent exporters directly before licensing committees. For port-level EDI coordination and matters before the Western Zonal Regional Authority, work with our DGFT consultant in Mumbai team at JNPT Nhava Sheva. For SEZ units and electronics exporters falling under RA Moradabad jurisdiction, our DGFT consultant in Noida practice handles SEZ compliances and Advance Authorisation redemptions. Trust the certificate on your DGFT dashboard and the e-BRC behind it, not a blog that says “apply” or “do not apply” as a universal rule.

Third, the RoDTEP restoration date under Notification 66/2025-26. Some circulating copies of the 23 March 2026 PDF said rates were restored from 23 February 2026. The Gazette S.O. 1855(E), the PIB release of 23 March 2026 and the corrigendum to Notification 66 all put the restoration with effect from 23 March 2026. Treat the cut month as cut unless a later instrument reopens it. As on 16 September 2026 none has.

Fourth, the RCMC de minimis FOB cap. The July 2026 consultation figure was Rs 10,000 for postal, courier and e-commerce consignments, excluding Restricted items. A TaxTMI AI summary of Notification No. 36/2026-27 reports Rs 3,00,000. That rupee figure is not verified against the DGFT PDF as on 16 September 2026. Download the notification from the DGFT notifications list before you skip membership.

Fifth, IEC status on the portal versus the shipping bill. A code that still prints can already be deactivated from 1 July 2026 if the annual update was not filed. ICEGATE reads the live flag, not the PDF in your drawer. View the IEC on dgft.gov.in, then try the shipping bill. Do not assume the printout wins.

Who qualifies for DGFT filings in 2026

A person making a commercial import or export of goods needs a live IEC. After GST the number equals PAN, but the code still has to be generated on DGFT. Service exporters need an IEC when they take an FTP benefit or deal in specified services or technologies. That is the DGFT IEC page, not a consultant rule.

EPCG and Advance Authorisation are for firms that will actually use the capital goods or the inputs. Actual-user conditions apply. RCMC under FTP 2023 Para 2.57 is the usual gate for those authorisations unless a specific exemption applies. Status holder recognition follows the Para 1.26 thresholds and realised FOB, not a marketing claim.

RoDTEP follows the shipping bill, the 8-digit line in Appendix 4R or 4RE and LEO on or before 30 September 2026. Certificate of Origin follows origin rules of the named agreement plus the electronic platform. Restricted and SCOMET follow the live Appendix, not last year’s CHA sheet.

Who is NOT eligible

A deactivated IEC is not eligible for a shipping bill, an authorisation, a CoO or an e-BRC view that anyone can use. Reactivate first. Do not apply for a second IEC against the same PAN. A firm on the Denied Entity List does not clear this path by fixing HS or AD Code.

Personal, non-commercial movements that DGFT has exempted from IEC stay exempt. The moment you want RoDTEP, Duty Drawback, Advance Authorisation or an RCMC, the exemption ends. Restricted goods do not become free because a courier de minimis exists. Prohibited goods do not move. SCOMET goods do not move on an ordinary Free shipping bill.

SEZ and EOU units follow their own Development Commissioner stack for many licences. They still need IEC. They do not copy a Domestic Tariff Area Advance Authorisation onto an SEZ bill of export and call it the same file. Deemed exports and re-exports use different document sets. Do not file the physical-export ANF on those facts.

Edge cases that stop a 2026 DGFT file

Four edges decide more files than the policy chapter. They are operational, not academic.

Deactivated IEC after 30 June 2026

The 2026 annual update closed on 30 June. Notification No. 58/2015-20 dated 12 February 2021 is the instrument. If you did not confirm, treat the code as deactivated until the update is filed. Reactivation is the same IEC and the same PAN. A new application against the same PAN is the error that creates a second query.

Restricted item treated as Free on the CHA sheet

The ITC(HS) export policy mark is a DGFT fact. The shipping bill is a Customs fact. A Restricted dye, a SCOMET chemical or a Prohibited wildlife product does not become Free because the CHA software defaulted to Free last year. Open the live policy against the 8-digit code before the invoice is raised. A licence after LEO is not how this system was built.

EPCG machine with no average export obligation plan

Specific export obligation is 6 times duty saved in 6 years. Average export obligation is the arithmetic mean of the preceding three licensing years for the same and similar products, maintained through the obligation period. Dairy is exempt from average EO under FTP 2023. Most engineering files are not. Buying the machine on EPCG without a working average-EO sheet is how the demand notice starts in year two.

Certificate of Origin invoice that does not match the shipping bill

Notification No. 05/2026-27 dated 7 April 2026 requires identical invoice numbers on the CoO and the shipping bill. A split invoice, a revised invoice after LEO or a CoO raised on a proforma number is the 2026 rejection. Raise the CoO on the commercial invoice that actually went on the bill. File it on trade.gov.in, not on paper.

How to handle a DGFT filing, stage by stage

A DGFT filing is a master-data job, a product-policy job and a portal job, in that order. The module changes. The sequence does not. Miss the masters and every ANF comes back as a query.

Stage 1. Before you open the portal

Confirm the IEC is live. If the 2026 annual update was missed, file the update before anything else. Check Denied Entity List status with View Any IEC. Align legal name and address across PAN, GST, bank proof and the DGFT profile. A one-character mismatch is a week.

Then map the 8-digit HS to the live export policy. Free, Restricted, Prohibited or SCOMET. If the file is EPCG or Advance Authorisation, confirm RCMC under Para 2.57. If the file is a preferential CoO, confirm origin and the invoice that will sit on the shipping bill. Write the instruction. Do not leave it as “as usual”.

Stage 2. Filing on dgft.gov.in or trade.gov.in

Log in as the IEC holder, not as a CHA using a borrowed credential. Open the correct module. Use Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) or Aadhaar e-sign where the form allows it. Companies and LLPs should not treat Aadhaar e-sign as the default. Pay the government fee the portal quotes. This page will not invent a modification fee.

For Certificate of Origin, use trade.gov.in. Public Notice No. 01/2026-27 is the reason. Match the invoice number to the shipping bill under Notification No. 05/2026-27. For IEC, the shop resource that walks the screens without a price on this page is the IEC registration guide.

Stage 3. After issue: transmission, obligation and evidence

Watch Authorisation Transmission Details until CBIC has the licence. An EPCG or Advance Authorisation PDF that has not transmitted will not debit at the port. For CoO, the importer still has to claim preference. Indian issue is not foreign clearance.

Then keep the evidence that DGFT will later read. e-BRC for realisation. Annual EPCG report by 30 June. Shipping bills that actually name the authorisation. Origin worksheets held for five years where the agreement says so. The certificate is the start of the file, not the end.

The lapse penalty

Miss the IEC annual update and the code is deactivated from 1 July. That was 1 July 2026 for this year. Miss RoDTEP after 30 September 2026 and there is no notified scheme, as on 16 September 2026. Miss the EPCG or Advance Authorisation export obligation and the duty saved plus interest comes back. Miss a paper CoO after 7 April 2026 and the preference can fail even if origin was real.

A Restricted line that went to LEO as Free is a Customs problem and a DGFT problem at once. A firm placed on the Denied Entity List without a cured default does not ship. Delhi High Court in May 2026 required notice and hearing before DEL. That judgment is not a licence to ignore an existing listing.

The fast track

There is no paid government fast track for IEC, EPCG, Advance Authorisation or CoO. Speed is matching masters, a live IEC, a clean product-policy note and a query answered on the portal the same day. Status holder, where the dashboard already shows the star, does not need a fresh ANF 1B unless the portal asks for one. Do not buy a second login to go faster.

How six export desks should read DGFT in 2026

These six notes are composites drawn from the sectors this practice sees most. They are illustrative. They are not client files and they are not a substitute for the live 8-digit policy.

Leather, Agra and Kanpur. IEC annual update and the 1 May 2026 HS split on 4104, 4105 and 4106 are the operational DGFT facts. Finishing machines often arrive on EPCG. Average export obligation still applies. Restricted chemicals in the tannery store are a SCOMET or Restricted question, not a Free default.

Engineering and foundry. This is the Advance Authorisation and EPCG desk. Para 2.57 RCMC is the gate. Self-ratification of norms is for Two Star and above, or AEO, not for a first-year MSME. Transmission to Customs is the step the PDF does not do for you.

Agri and food, Chapters 01 to 24. RoDTEP never took the 50 percent cut. The remaining DGFT jobs are IEC, product policy (some spices and seeds are Restricted) and Certificate of Origin for UAE CEPA and UK CETA. Preferential CoO is now electronic only.

Handicrafts and home objects. IEC plus CoO plus council RCMC for fairs. FTP authorisations are less common until a plating line or a kiln arrives on EPCG. The brand story does not pick the council. The HS family does.

Chemicals, dyes and extracts. Open Appendix 3 before the invoice. The September 2025 SCOMET revision added emerging-technology lines under Category 7. A dual-use pump or a precursor is not a Free engineering item because the commercial invoice says “industrial supply”.

D2C courier and e-commerce. This is the Notification 36 zone for RCMC. It is not an IEC holiday and it is not a Restricted-list holiday. If the 2026 IEC update was missed, the courier bag fails for the same reason a container fails.

Cautionary tale, illustrative. A composite North Indian manufacturer accepted a UK purchase order in June 2026, booked a container and then found the IEC annual update unfiled. The shipping bill would not generate. UK CETA preference was available from 15 July 2026. The firm could not use it. Label: illustrative composite, not a named firm. The failure was sequence, not demand.

Seven steps we use on a DGFT file

Seven steps. The same order every time. The licence is checked last, not first, because a dead IEC or a Restricted line makes the scheme irrelevant. This sequence is the one used on MSME files out of Agra.

1. Pull the IEC print, the portal status and the Denied Entity List flag. If the 2026 annual update is missing, stop and file it.
2. Map every 8-digit HS on the live invoices to the current ITC(HS) export policy, including SCOMET Appendix 3 as revised in 2025.
3. List the schemes actually in play: EPCG, Advance Authorisation, RoDTEP, CoO, status holder. Drop the ones the facts do not support.
4. Align PAN, GST, bank, address and signatory across every master. Then open the correct DGFT or Trade Connect module.
5. File, pay the government fee the portal quotes and watch transmission to Customs where a licence must debit.
6. Match CoO invoice numbers to the shipping bill. Flag RODTEPY only where the line is live and LEO will fall on or before 30 September 2026.
7. Diary e-BRC, the 30 June EPCG annual report, RCMC expiry and the next IEC annual window of 1 April to 30 June 2027.

A consultant cannot resurrect a bill that went to LEO on a deactivated IEC, or a Restricted line that moved as Free. The sequence above is the whole point of the file.

Rasp International handles the IEC-to-authorisation sequence, including Restricted-list and CoO invoice matching. Talk to the team for a free assessment. Family trade practice in Agra since 2005.

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Three things a DGFT filing will not do

A DGFT filing will not generate a shipping bill. Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE) does that, after a live IEC and an Authorised Dealer Code at the load port. The IEC PDF in a folder is not a bill of lading.

A DGFT filing will not refund GST. Letter of Undertaking in Form GST RFD-11, Integrated GST payment and input-tax-credit refunds live on gst.gov.in. RoDTEP is not a GST refund. It is an e-scrip for Basic Customs Duty, notified only to 30 September 2026.

A DGFT filing will not turn a Restricted or SCOMET line into a freely exportable one and it will not extend RoDTEP past 30 September 2026 without a new notification. As on 16 September 2026 no such RoDTEP notification exists. Status holder recognition will not replace e-BRC. A Star certificate without realised FOB is a printout.

Questions exporters actually ask

This week: four actions

Check the IEC on dgft.gov.in and the Denied Entity List flag with View Any IEC. If the 2026 annual update is missing, file it against the same PAN before any shipping bill, CoO or authorisation. Do not apply again.

Map every live 8-digit HS to the current ITC(HS) export policy, including SCOMET Appendix 3. Write Free, Restricted, Prohibited or SCOMET against each SKU. Give that sheet to the CHA in writing.

Stop quoting RoDTEP on any offer whose LEO will fall after 30 September 2026 until a new DGFT notification exists. Recalculate those prices without the rebate. Tell the buyer the scheme is notified only to that date.

Move Certificate of Origin work to trade.gov.in and match invoice numbers to the shipping bill under Notification No. 05/2026-27. Kill any paper-CoO habit left from before 7 April 2026. Diary the next IEC window of 1 April to 30 June 2027.

Who wrote this

Rasp International is an ISO 9001:2015 certified EXIM and DGFT advisory firm in Agra. The family has worked international trade since 2005. The practice has served 500 plus exporters, with a concentration in leather, engineering, agri and the wider Uttar Pradesh belt.

Reviewed by Pratham Agarwal, Founder and Principal EXIM Consultant. Regulatory read for this page: 16 September 2026, against FTP 2023, Notification No. 58/2015-20, Notification 74/2025-26, Public Notice No. 01/2026-27, Notification No. 05/2026-27, Notification No. 36/2026-27 and the DGFT portal.

If an IEC looks live but the shipping bill will not generate, or a Restricted line is sitting on a CHA sheet as Free, send the IEC number and the 8-digit code. The usual causes are a missed 30 June update, a portal-versus-circular mismatch or a CoO invoice that does not match the bill.

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Sources

Tier 1

• Foreign Trade Policy 2023, including Chapter 1 (Status Holder Paras 1.25 to 1.27), Chapter 4 (Advance Authorisation and RoDTEP) and Chapter 5 (EPCG Paras 5.01 and 5.04)
• FTP 2023 Chapter 1 PDF, Status Holder thresholds in Para 1.26
• FTP 2023 Chapter 5 PDF, EPCG Scheme Para 5.01
• DGFT IEC Profile Management pages, including annual update and View Any IEC / DEL status
• DGFT Notification No. 58/2015-20 dated 12 February 2021, mandatory annual IEC update from 1 April to 30 June
• DGFT Notification 74/2025-26 dated 31 March 2026, RoDTEP continued to 30 September 2026
• Gazette of India, S.O. 1857(E), Notification 74/2025-26
• DGFT Notification 66/2025-26 dated 23 March 2026, restoration of RoDTEP rates
• PIB Release ID 2244147 dated 23 March 2026, restoration of RoDTEP rates from 23 March 2026
• DGFT notifications list, checked 16 September 2026. No RoDTEP extension past 30 September 2026. Notification No. 36/2026-27 dated 15 September 2026 listed.
• Trade Connect ePlatform, designated Certificate of Origin platform under Public Notice No. 01/2026-27 dated 7 April 2026
• Public Notice No. 01/2026-27 dated 7 April 2026, Gazette CG-DL-E-09042026-271657, CoO only via trade.gov.in
• DGFT Notification No. 05/2026-27 dated 7 April 2026, Certificate of Origin / Approved Exporter, identical invoice numbers
• Trade Notice No. 25/2026-27 dated 7 September 2026, CoO Open API on Trade Connect
• PIB Release ID 2307462 dated 7 September 2026, CoO Open API including India-UAE CEPA
• Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, Sections 5, 7, 8 and 14A
• DGFT Import, Export and SCOMET Policy, Appendix 3 of Schedule II

Tier 2

• IEC Module User Help File V4.1 (February 2026) and Appendix 2K, Public Notice No. 02/2025-26 dated 15 April 2025, Rs 500 new IEC fee
• Handbook of Procedures 2023, Para 1.08 (Status Holder application), Para 2.57 read with FTP, Para 2.90 (Certificates of Origin, as amended), Para 5.14 (EPCG annual EO report by 30 June)
• DGFT e-BRC User Guide v2.0, July 2023
• DGFT Monthly MIS Report for January 2026, 17,435 new IECs in December 2025-26
• PIB Delhi, 20 December 2023, FTP 2023 in force 1 April 2023
• PIB dated 9 October 2023, system-generated Status Holder certificates from DGCI&S data
• Trade Connect newsletter on the 23 September 2025 SCOMET revision (Notification numbered 31/2025-26 in that issue)
• DGFT Notification 15/2026-27 dated 30 April 2026, hosted PDF with RoDTEP HS annexures

Tier 3

• Taxscan, 27 May 2026, report of the Delhi High Court holding that an IEC cannot be put on the Denied Entity List without notice and hearing under Section 8 of the FT (D&R) Act, 1992
• TaxTMI AI summary of Notification No. 36/2026-27 reporting a Rs 3,00,000 FOB de minimis cap. Not verified against the DGFT PDF as on 16 September 2026
• Business Standard, 21 July 2026, report of the July 2026 RCMC consultation figure of Rs 10,000 FOB

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

• How to start exporting from India in 2026
• What is RCMC and why Indian exporters need it
• RoDTEP rates 2026: full rates until 30 September