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The registrations every exporter needs before the first shipping bill, the order that avoids rejections and the product-specific approvals that apply only to some goods. Rasp International prepares and files them with you and keeps every record consistent across DGFT, GST, your bank and ICEGATE.
An export business in India runs on a chain of registrations. Each one is issued by a different body and each one checks the one before it.
Most rejections are not about missing papers. They come from a name, address or bank account that reads one way on the IEC and another way at the bank or on ICEGATE.
Verified as on 24 September 2026 against the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 and Handbook of Procedures 2023 (Chapter 2) and CBIC Circular No. 8/8/2017-GST.
To export goods from India you need an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and GST registration with a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) to export without paying IGST. You also need a digital signature plus an AD Code and an incentive bank account registered on ICEGATE. To claim any Foreign Trade Policy benefit you need a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC).
The rule that decides everything: keep the same legal name, PAN, address and bank account on every registration. A mismatch between two of them is the most common reason the next one is rejected.
Handbook of Procedures 2023 para 2.14 requires any change in constitution, address or bank details to be updated on the IEC within 30 days. Change your bank without updating the IEC, and the AD Code letter from the new bank will not match the IEC that Customs holds.
Rasp International sequences the registrations, prepares each application and checks every record against the others before it is filed. The issuing bodies decide. We make sure what they receive is consistent.
A registration is an identity record that lets a government system recognise you: the IEC at DGFT, the GSTIN at GST, the AD Code and IFSC at Customs. A licence, called an authorisation in the Foreign Trade Policy, is permission for something specific, such as a restricted item or a duty-free import scheme.
You need registrations to trade at all. You need a licence only for particular goods or schemes. ICEGATE, the Customs e-filing portal, is where the AD Code, the bank account and every shipping bill come together, so a gap in any earlier registration shows up there first.
Your IEC number is your PAN, and HBP para 2.12 allows only one IEC per PAN. A single IEC covers every branch, division, unit and factory of the business under para 2.10, so a second factory needs no second IEC. It does need to be recorded correctly wherever the address matters, such as GST and RCMC.
HBP para 2.07 exempts categories such as Central and State Government departments and persons importing or exporting for personal use not connected with trade, manufacture or agriculture. Service exporters need an IEC only to claim FTP benefits, per FTP para 2.05.
Follow this sequence. Each step uses details from the step before it, so an error early on repeats all the way down.
Fix the legal name and address. Open a current account in that exact name with a bank branch authorised to handle foreign exchange.
Register on the GST portal with the same legal name, PAN and address.
Apply online in ANF-2A with a cancelled cheque bearing the pre-printed firm name or a bank certificate, plus address proof. The IEC is generated online.
Get a Class 3 digital signature for the authorised signatory. Register on ICEGATE against the IEC with PAN, email and mobile.
Take the bank’s AD Code letter and register it on ICEGATE. One registration now covers all customs locations. Then register the incentive bank account and IFSC.
File the LUT in Form GST RFD-11 on the GST portal. File a fresh one for every financial year.
Get the RCMC from the council for your main line of business, plus any product registration your goods need.
Starting out and not sure which registrations your product needs? Tell us on WhatsApp what you plan to export, or start with our IEC registration service.
Find your situation in the first column. The last column links to the page that covers that registration in detail.
Some goods need an extra registration from the body that governs them. Check your product before the first order.
BIS Quality Control Orders mostly affect imports and domestic sale. The orders generally state that they do not apply to goods meant for export, but check the text of the specific order for your product.
These documents repeat across applications. The third column is where rejections start.
These failures surface at the worst moment: the first shipment, the first refund or the first licence application.
This is an illustrative composite, not a named client. A leather exporter in Kanpur moves to a new bank for better forex rates and registers the new AD Code on ICEGATE, but never updates the IEC. Months later the drawback stops arriving. Updating the IEC within 30 days, then the AD Code, then the incentive account, would have kept the chain intact.
Getting registered is a one-time job. Staying registered is a calendar. These are the dates and triggers that keep the chain valid.
For most goods: an IEC from DGFT, GST registration with an LUT, an AD Code and incentive bank account on ICEGATE and a Class 3 digital signature. Add an RCMC to claim FTP benefits and any product registration your goods need.
Not to export itself. Under FTP 2023 para 2.57, an RCMC is required to apply for an authorisation to import or export, other than for restricted items, or for any other benefit or concession under the Foreign Trade Policy.
Entity, PAN and bank current account first, then GST, then IEC, then the digital signature and ICEGATE login, then AD Code and incentive account, then LUT, then RCMC and product registrations.
An IEC has permanent validity unless suspended or cancelled, per HBP para 2.10. It must still be updated or confirmed online every year between April and June, or it is de-activated.
The IEC is de-activated under FTP para 2.05(e), which blocks export and import filings. It is re-activated once you complete the update online.
Yes. CBIC Circular No. 8/8/2017-GST says an LUT is valid for the whole financial year in which it is filed. File a fresh Form GST RFD-11 before exporting in the new year.
The council that covers the product of your main line of business, per HBP para 2.80. If no council or board covers your product, or you export many products, you can take the RCMC from FIEO.
Under FTP para 2.05, an IEC is needed for services only to claim benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy. It must be held on the date the service is rendered.
If your product is an APEDA scheduled product, yes. APEDA issues its RCMC through the DGFT e-RCMC platform after you have an IEC. Other food items may need a different council or board.
No. DGFT, the GST system, banks, Customs and export councils issue them. We prepare and file the applications with you and check that every record matches before submission.
Rasp International is an ISO 9001:2015 certified EXIM and DGFT advisory firm in Agra, with a family legacy in trade since 2005 and more than 500 exporters served. We map the registrations your product needs, file them in order and re-check the chain whenever your bank, address or constitution changes.
For shipping after registration, see our customs house agent services.
Tell us your product, entity type and bank. We will list what you need and the order to get it.
This page is general guidance. Policy paragraphs, portals and fees change. Verify against the current Foreign Trade Policy, Handbook of Procedures and portal screen before you apply or pay.
Related: GST compliance for exports, AD Code registration, IFSC registration on ICEGATE and the logistics hub.
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