A complete checklist for setting up and maintaining an export-import business — documents for the IEC application, the LUT and RCMC, AD code and port registration, and the recurring obligations that keep everything active.
Trade registrations fail for two reasons — a document that does not match the others, and a renewal nobody diarised. This checklist covers both the setting up and the keeping alive.
Import Export Code Application
- PAN of the applicant entity. The IEC is issued against it.
- Aadhaar or passport of the proprietor, managing partner or director.
- Certificate of incorporation, partnership deed, or proprietorship proof.
- Bank account details — a cancelled cheque bearing the entity's name, or a banker's certificate in the prescribed format.
- Address proof of the business premises — a utility bill, lease deed, sale deed, or a no-objection certificate from the owner.
- Digital signature, or Aadhaar-based authentication of the signatory.
- Active email and mobile number for one-time password verification.
The name must match exactly across every document. The entity name on the PAN, the bank account and the address proof must be identical. A cancelled cheque in a trade name where the PAN is in a proprietor's name is a common cause of rejection.
Letter of Undertaking
- Active GST registration.
- The undertaking furnished on the GST portal, for the relevant financial year.
- Details of two witnesses, with their addresses and identity particulars.
- Filed before 1 April for the coming year, so no export falls outside a valid period.
Registration-cum-Membership Certificate
- IEC certificate.
- Entity constitution documents.
- GST registration certificate.
- Membership of the Export Promotion Council or commodity board relevant to your product.
- List of products you intend to export, with tariff classification.
- Bank certificate or details.
- Applicable fee.
AD Code and Port Registration
- AD code letter issued by your bank, in the prescribed format.
- IEC certificate.
- GST registration certificate.
- PAN of the entity.
- Registration at each port or airport you will ship through — not once nationally.
- ICEGATE registration for electronic filing.
Register the AD code at a port before you book a shipment through it. Adding a new port is quick but not instantaneous, and a shipping bill cannot be filed at an unregistered port. Exporters who diversify shipping routes at short notice are the ones who get caught.
Per-Shipment Documents
- Commercial invoice.
- Packing list, with weights and dimensions.
- Shipping bill for export, or bill of entry for import.
- Bill of lading or airway bill.
- Certificate of origin — preferential, where claiming a trade agreement benefit.
- Insurance certificate.
- Letter of credit and related documents, where applicable.
- Product-specific certificates — phytosanitary, health, fumigation, or quality.
- Purchase order or contract with the overseas counterparty.
Recurring Obligations
| Task | When |
|---|---|
| Update the IEC on the DGFT portal | Every year, April to June, even if nothing has changed |
| Renew the letter of undertaking | Before 1 April each year |
| Renew the RCMC | Before expiry |
| Realise export proceeds and ensure the realisation is recorded | Within the period allowed under the foreign exchange rules |
| Track and report export obligation fulfilment under EPCG or Advance Authorisation | As the authorisation requires, annually |
| File RoDTEP and drawback claims | With the shipping bill or within the period allowed |
| Reconcile shipping bills against realisations | Quarterly |