What registrations are needed to start an export business in India?

At the minimum: a current account in the business's name, an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT, GST registration, an AD code registered at your port on ICEGATE, and a GST Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for exporting without paying IGST. An RCMC from an export promotion council and product-specific registrations are needed for certain products and benefits.

How much does an IEC cost and how long does it take?

The IEC application fee on the DGFT portal is ₹500, and the code is generated online, usually immediately. The IEC is linked to your PAN and has no expiry, but it must be updated on the DGFT portal every year between April and June, or it is deactivated until you update it.

What is a LUT in GST and is it needed for imports?

A Letter of Undertaking, filed on Form GST RFD-11, lets you export goods or services without paying IGST at the time of export. It is valid for one financial year and must be on record before you export. It has nothing to do with imports; imports attract customs duty and IGST in the normal way.

Do I need to speak good English to export?

Basic written English helps, because most buyers communicate by email and documents are in English. Many small exporters manage with simple, clear written English, translation tools, and an export agent or freight forwarder who handles document wording. What matters more is replying quickly, honestly and consistently.

Is selling goods to another Indian state an export?

No. A sale from one Indian state to another is an inter-state supply, taxed with IGST within India. Export means the goods leave India for a buyer outside the country, with a shipping bill filed with customs.

Export Registration Checklist India (2026): IEC, GST, AD Code on ICEGATE, LUT, RCMC, Product Licences and Realisation Rules

Q: Is GST charged on exports?

Exports are zero-rated under GST. You either export under a LUT without paying IGST, or pay IGST and claim it back as a refund. Either way the foreign buyer does not bear Indian GST.

Most first-time exporters worry about the paperwork more than they need to. The core registrations are online, cheap and quick; what trips people up is doing them in the wrong order, missing the yearly renewals, or misunderstanding what the LUT is for. Here is the full list, in order, with what each one actually does.

Quick answer

Order matters: current account and PAN → IEC → GST → AD code on ICEGATE → LUT → RCMC (if needed) → product licences.
IEC: ₹500, online, usually immediate; update it every April–June or it is deactivated.
AD code: your bank's code, registered separately at each port you ship from.
LUT: lets you export without paying IGST; valid for one financial year, file it before you ship. It is not for imports.
RCMC: needed for certain Foreign Trade Policy benefits and some products, not for every export.
Get paid on time: from 1 October 2026, export proceeds must be realised within 9 months.

The registrations to start exporting are fewer and simpler than most coaching ads suggest. Nearly all are online, the government fees are small, and a sole proprietor can complete them in a couple of weeks. The real work in exporting is finding buyers and delivering reliably; the paperwork just has to be in place, in the right order, and kept alive.

The checklist, in order

Step	What it is	Cost and time
1. Current account	Bank account in the business's name	Bank's charges
2. IEC	Import Export Code from DGFT, linked to PAN	₹500; usually immediate
3. GST registration	Needed to export goods under LUT and claim refunds	No government fee; days
4. Digital signature	Class 3 DSC for ICEGATE and filings	A few thousand rupees
5. AD code	Bank code registered at each port on ICEGATE	No government fee; 1–3 days
6. LUT	GST undertaking to export without paying IGST	Free; filed online yearly
7. RCMC	Membership of the export promotion council for your product	Council membership fee
8. Product licences	Food, spices, marine, plants and others	Varies by product

1. Current account and business form

Exports are paid into a bank account, and the bank becomes your Authorised Dealer (AD) for foreign exchange. Open a current account in the name of your proprietorship, partnership or company at a bank branch that handles export documents. Ask the branch directly how they handle export bills and inward remittances; a branch that does this regularly saves weeks of confusion later.

2. IEC: Import Export Code

Issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on its online portal.
Linked to your PAN: one IEC per PAN; branches are added under the same code.
Fee: ₹500. The code is usually generated immediately after a successful application, signed with a DSC or Aadhaar e-sign.
Validity: no expiry, but an annual update between April and June is mandatory even if nothing has changed. If you miss it, the IEC is deactivated and customs clearance stops until you update it.
Who is exempt: personal imports and exports not linked to trade or manufacture. Service exporters generally need an IEC only when claiming Foreign Trade Policy benefits.

3. GST registration

To export goods and use the LUT, you need GST registration. Exports are zero-rated: the foreign buyer pays no Indian GST. You either export under a LUT without paying IGST, or pay IGST and claim it back as a refund. GST registration also lets you claim input tax credit on what you buy for the export.

4. AD code on ICEGATE

The AD code is a 14-character code your bank issues for your account. Customs uses it to link your shipments to your bank for foreign exchange, duty payments, IGST refunds and incentives.

Ask your bank for an AD code letter naming the port you will ship from.
Register it on ICEGATE (the customs portal) with your IEC, GST, PAN and a Class 3 DSC.
It is port-specific: if you ship from both Tuticorin and Chennai, register it at both.
There is no government fee, and approval usually takes a few working days.

Without a registered AD code, your shipping bill cannot be processed properly and refunds or incentives get stuck.

5. LUT: Letter of Undertaking

This is the registration most often misunderstood.

What it does: lets you export goods or services without paying IGST at the time of export.
Form: GST RFD-11, filed online on the GST portal, signed with DSC or EVC, with two witnesses' details.
Validity: one financial year. File a fresh LUT for each year before your first export of that year; it cannot be filed backwards.
Conditions: goods must be exported within 3 months of the invoice, and service export payments realised within 1 year; otherwise IGST with interest becomes payable.
Without a LUT: you pay IGST at export and wait for a refund, which ties up cash for months.
Not for imports. Imports pay customs duty and IGST in the normal way; the LUT has no role there.

6. RCMC: Registration-cum-Membership Certificate

An RCMC shows you are a registered member of the export promotion council or commodity board for your main product, applied for through DGFT's e-RCMC system.

Product decides the council: for example APEDA for agricultural and processed foods, AEPC or TEXPROCIL for textiles and apparel, EEPC for engineering goods, MPEDA for marine products, EPCH for handicrafts, CHEMEXCIL for chemicals and cosmetics, FIEO for multi-product exporters.
When it is needed: to claim certain Foreign Trade Policy benefits and authorisations, and for some regulated products. It is not required for every export, and not for duty drawback, RoDTEP or RoSCTL.
Validity: generally five years, then renewal.
Even when not mandatory, council membership gives access to buyer-seller meets, trade fair stalls and market information, which can matter more than the certificate itself.

7. Product-specific registrations

Some products need their own registration or certificate before they can leave India:

Spices: registration with the Spices Board as an exporter of spices.
Food products: FSSAI licence, and the buyer country's food rules (labels, residue limits).
Agricultural and processed food: APEDA registration for many products.
Plants, seeds, fruits and vegetables: a phytosanitary certificate from the plant quarantine authority for each shipment.
Marine products: MPEDA registration.

Check your product's requirements with the relevant council before you accept an order; the buyer's country may also need certificates of origin, lab reports or registrations on their side.

A worked example: first shipment from Tamil Nadu

Our own illustrative case: a sole proprietor in Madurai who has agreed to send one 20-foot container of cotton terry towels to a buyer in the United Kingdom, shipping from Tuticorin.

When	What gets done
Week 1	Current account opened; IEC applied and received the same day; GST application filed
Week 2	GST registration approved; Class 3 DSC bought; RCMC applied with the textile council for buyer-meet access
Week 3	Bank's AD code letter for Tuticorin; AD code registered on ICEGATE; LUT for the year filed
Week 4 onwards	Production and inspection; a customs broker (CHA) files the shipping bill; container stuffed and shipped
Within 9 months of export	Payment received through the bank and reported against the shipping bill

The registrations take about three weeks and cost a few thousand rupees. Everything after that, from getting the right quality to getting paid, is where an exporter's real effort goes.

Getting paid: the rules to remember

Realisation period: from 1 October 2026, the full value of exported goods must be realised and brought into India within 9 months of export. (A temporary 15-month window applied until 30 September 2026.)
Through your AD bank: payments come in through the bank, which reports them against your shipping bill.
Declare the true value: invoice the real transaction value. Customs can question values that look inflated, especially when incentives are claimed.
Payment terms matter more than paperwork: advance payment, letters of credit and export credit insurance protect you from non-payment; we will cover these in a separate guide.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the IEC annual update in April–June, then finding the shipment stuck at customs.
Shipping in a new financial year before filing the new LUT.
Registering the AD code at one port and shipping from another.
Treating the RCMC as optional for a product or benefit that requires it.
Paying large sums to agents for registrations that cost ₹500 or nothing on the official portals.

Final word

The paperwork to start exporting is a few weeks of online work and a few thousand rupees, not a barrier. Do it in order, keep the IEC update and the yearly LUT on your calendar, and register the AD code at every port you use. Then put your energy where exporting is actually hard: finding a buyer who trusts you, and delivering exactly what you promised.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees, procedures and Foreign Trade Policy and FEMA rules change; confirm the current requirements on the DGFT, GST and ICEGATE portals, with your bank, and with a chartered accountant or customs broker before your first shipment.