Step 06 / 07
Get the licences your product needs
IEC, GST and RCMC are the same for everyone. Food, medicines, marine goods and some other products need an extra licence, registration or test certificate.
- 1Choose your business form and get a PAN
- 2Open a current account with a bank that handles foreign exchange
- 3Get your Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT
- 4Register for GST and file a Letter of Undertaking (LUT)
- 5Get an RCMC from the right Export Promotion Council or Board
- 6Get the licences your product needs
- 7Make your first shipment
- Official fee
- Varies by licence. Check the current fee on the issuing body’s portal (FSSAI, APEDA, Spices Board, MPEDA, CDSCO, Plant Quarantine).
- Time
- Varies by licence — check each body’s citizen charter.
First check the export policy for your 8-digit HS code in ITC(HS) Schedule 2 on dgft.gov.in. Most goods are “Free”. Some are “Restricted” (you need a DGFT export authorisation), some are allowed only under conditions, and a few are prohibited.
Food: an FSSAI licence is needed for food businesses, including exporters (apply on FoSCoS). Agricultural and processed food: APEDA registration. Spices: Spices Board CRES. Marine: MPEDA registration, and EIC approval of the processing plant for markets such as the EU.
Plants, fruits, vegetables, grains and seeds usually need a phytosanitary certificate from the Plant Quarantine Organisation, applied for online. Medicines need a state drug manufacturing licence, and CDSCO permissions for some products and markets. Some goods sold to certain countries need EIC export inspection.
BIS certification is mainly for goods sold or imported into India, not for exports. What matters for export is the buyer country’s own standard. Always ask your buyer which certificates their customs and retailers will ask for, before you produce the goods.