Step 01 / 07
Choose your business form and get a PAN
Decide who will export: you as a proprietor, a partnership, an LLP or a company. Every later registration hangs on that entity’s PAN.
- 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
- A proprietorship needs no registration fee. Company and LLP fees are set by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs — check on mca.gov.in.
- Time
- PAN is usually issued online within a few days; check the timeline on the Income Tax portal.
You do not need a company to export. A sole proprietorship is allowed, and the IEC is then issued on the proprietor’s own PAN. Many first-time exporters start this way because it costs nothing to set up and needs no separate filings.
A partnership, LLP or private limited company has its own PAN. Choose one of these if you have partners, need outside investment, or want to keep business risk separate from your personal assets. Company and LLP registration is done on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal.
DGFT issues only one IEC against one PAN. So the entity you choose now is the one whose name will appear on every invoice, shipping bill and bank document. Changing it later means a new PAN and a new IEC.
Keep the name and address exactly the same across PAN, bank account, GST and IEC. Mismatches are the most common reason a registration or a customs entry gets held up.