Imports & ExportsStart exporting

Step 01 / 07

Get your IEC (and GST registration)

No business can import into India without an Importer-Exporter Code from DGFT. It costs ₹500 and is issued online.

  1. 1Get your IEC (and GST registration)
  2. 2Register on ICEGATE
  3. 3Check the import policy and duty for your HS code
  4. 4Get the product licences before you order
  5. 5Check the supplier and sign a clear contract
  6. 6Pay the supplier through your AD bank
  7. 7Clear the goods: bill of entry to out of charge

Apply on the DGFT portal in form ANF-2A with the PAN of your business, its address and its bank account. Pay ₹500 online (Appendix 2K). The IEC is generated automatically. One PAN gets one IEC, and the same IEC is used for both imports and exports.

Update or confirm your IEC online every year between April and June, even if nothing has changed. If you miss this, the IEC is de-activated and Customs will not clear your goods until you update it. The update is free.

Register for GST in the same name and PAN. Your GSTIN goes on the bill of entry, and that is how the IGST you pay at Customs reaches your GST account as input tax credit. Without it you lose the credit.

Sources (4)
  1. FTP 2023, Chapter 2 — para 2.05 IEC, annual update April–June
  2. DGFT Handbook of Procedures, Chapter 2 (July 2026)
  3. DGFT Appendix 2K — Scale of application fee
  4. GST portal