Step 07 / 07
Make your first shipment
Register on ICEGATE, link your AD code and bank account, hire a licensed customs broker and a freight forwarder, file the shipping bill, get Let Export Order, and collect your e-BRC once paid.
- 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
- No fee is listed for ICEGATE registration. Customs broker, freight, port and container charges are private quotes — get them in writing.
- Time
- Shipping bill to LEO is often the same or next day if no examination is ordered; ocean transit then takes days to weeks.
Register your IEC on ICEGATE, the Customs portal. Then use Bank Account Management on ICEGATE to register your AD code (with the bank’s authorisation letter uploaded on e-SANCHIT) and the bank account where drawback, RoDTEP and IGST refunds will be paid. Do this before the first shipment, for every port you will use.
Hire a licensed customs broker (CHA) to file your shipping bill, and a freight forwarder to book space on the ship or flight. Get written quotes from both. Give them the commercial invoice, packing list, and any product certificates.
The shipping bill is filed electronically. In it you declare the HS code, value, and whether you claim drawback, RoDTEP or export under LUT. Customs may examine the goods. Once cleared, Customs gives Let Export Order (LEO), and the goods can be loaded.
When the buyer pays, your AD bank records the realisation in RBI’s EDPMS and the data flows to DGFT as an e-BRC. You will need the e-BRC to claim many benefits. Under the RBI 2026 regulations, a bank can close a shipping bill of up to ₹10 lakh on your own declaration that payment has been received.
Start small: one pallet or a part-container (LCL) shipment, with an advance payment or a confirmed letter of credit. Keep a copy of every document — Customs, GST and your bank can ask for them years later.