Exporting for the First Time: The Registrations You Need

The first export is rarely blocked by demand. It is blocked by a missing code, a bank account that is not linked to the port, or a tax election nobody mentioned. Here is the sequence in the order it actually matters.

1. IEC — Import Export Code

Issued by the DGFT and linked to your PAN, the IEC is the basic licence to import or export. It is quick to obtain online with PAN, bank details and address proof. Two things people forget: one PAN gets one IEC, and the IEC has to be updated or confirmed every year during the prescribed window even if nothing about your business has changed. An IEC that is not updated can be deactivated, which you will discover at the worst possible moment.

2. AD code registration

Your bank issues an Authorised Dealer code, and that code has to be registered at each port or airport you ship from. This is the step that most often stalls a first shipment, because it is done per port and cannot be arranged the day the container is waiting. Decide your port before you take the order.

3. GST and the LUT

Exports are treated as zero-rated supplies. You can either export under a Letter of Undertaking without paying IGST, or pay IGST and claim a refund. For most small exporters the LUT route is simpler, because it does not lock up working capital in a refund queue. The LUT is filed on the GST portal and is valid for a financial year — it has to be renewed each year.

4. Product-specific clearances

Depending on what you ship, you may need registration with the relevant export promotion council, an FSSAI licence for food, a phytosanitary or health certificate, or conformity marks required by the destination country. This is where a buyer's market matters more than yours: the importing country's rules decide the paperwork, not India's.

5. The documents for the shipment itself

• Commercial invoice and packing list
• Shipping bill filed on ICEGATE
• Bill of lading or airway bill
• Certificate of origin, where the buyer claims a preferential duty
• Insurance certificate, depending on your Incoterm

Getting paid, and proving you were paid

Export proceeds have to be realised within the period allowed under FEMA, and your bank will track it. Keep the inward remittance documentation from day one — it is required for refund claims and for any incentive scheme you later apply under. Choose your Incoterm deliberately too: agreeing to a delivered price without understanding who pays freight and duty is the most expensive rookie mistake in the list.

We set up the IEC, AD code and LUT together as one exercise, because done separately they tend to be finished in the wrong order. Rules and windows do change — confirm the current DGFT and GST position before committing to a shipment date.