Import Export Code (IEC)

The Import Export Code is a ten-digit identifier issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. Since 2017 the IEC is simply your PAN, activated for foreign trade — one PAN, one IEC.

You need it before you can clear an import through customs, file a shipping bill for an export, receive foreign currency against exports through a bank, or claim any export incentive. Banks will not process a trade remittance without one, which is usually how people discover they need it.

The code has lifetime validity and no renewal fee. But since 2021 there is a catch that trips up a large number of exporters: every IEC must be electronically confirmed once a year between April and June, even when nothing has changed. Miss it and the code is deactivated — mid-shipment, without warning.

The annual confirmation is not optional

Since the 2021 amendment, every IEC must be updated or confirmed electronically between April and June each year — even if not a single detail has changed. An IEC that is not confirmed is deactivated. Reactivation is possible but it takes days you will not have if a consignment is sitting at a port.

This is the single most common failure we see, because nothing prompts you. There is no notice, no email, no fee. The code simply stops working.

An IEC alone does not let you export without tax

To ship goods or services out without paying IGST up front, you also need a Letter of Undertaking in Form RFD-11 under GST. Without the LUT you must pay IGST on every export invoice and then claim it back as a refund — which ties up working capital for months. The LUT is free, takes a day, and must be renewed every April.

AD Code registration is a separate step

Before you can file a shipping bill, your bank’s Authorised Dealer code must be registered at each port or ICD you ship from. New exporters routinely discover this at the worst possible moment. It is quick, but it is not automatic.

Service exporters need one too

IEC is not only for physical goods. Software development, consulting, design and other services billed to overseas clients need an IEC for the bank to treat the receipt as export proceeds, and to claim benefits under the Services Exports scheme.

Where the rules live

Applications, amendments and the annual update are all handled on the DGFT portal. Customs procedures and shipping-bill requirements are published by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Three things should happen in the first fortnight. Register your AD Code at the ports you will actually ship from. File your GST LUT if you export goods or services, so you are not funding IGST refunds. And set an April reminder for the annual IEC confirmation.

If your business details change — address, bank account, directors, constitution — the IEC must be amended. An IEC showing a stale address will cause customs queries and can hold up remittances.

Exporters should also look at RoDTEP rates for their HS codes early. The scheme refunds embedded duties on exported goods, and the rate varies substantially by product.