Export Customs clearance in India: your questions, answered
Shipping Bill, documents, incentives and delays, in plain questions and answers.
- File a Shipping Bill on ICEGATE, directly or through a Customs Broker.
- Customs gives the Let Export Order, and the goods can be loaded.
- Check export incentives such as RoDTEP before you price.
- Courier exports have no Rs 10 lakh cap from 1 April 2026.
What is export Customs clearance?
It is Customs permission to send goods out of India.
You file a Shipping Bill, Customs checks the goods and the papers, and then gives the Let Export Order.
Who can file the Shipping Bill?
The exporter or a Customs Broker.
- Business exports need an Importer Exporter Code (IEC). Customs receives it online from DGFT, so it must exist before the Shipping Bill is filed.
- The Shipping Bill is filed electronically on ICEGATE.
What documents are needed?
- Commercial invoice and packing list
- Shipping Bill details
- IEC
- Any licence, certificate or quality document your product needs
- Buyer order or letter of credit terms, if any
What are the steps in order?
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Get your IEC |
| 2 | Classify the goods |
| 3 | Pack and mark the goods |
| 4 | File the Shipping Bill |
| 5 | Customs verifies the Shipping Bill and examines the goods if warranted |
| 6 | Customs gives the Let Export Order on the Shipping Bill |
| 7 | Goods loaded and shipped |
Did you know? The tea clipper Cutty Sark
Q. What was Cutty Sark? A fast sailing ship launched on 22 November 1869 at Dumbarton, Scotland, built for the China tea trade. Between 1870 and 1877 it carried almost 10 million pounds of tea.
Q. What happened to it? When the Suez Canal opened it moved to other cargo, including more than 45,000 bales of wool from Australia. Today it is a museum ship in Greenwich, London.
Illustration, not a photograph.Can I export by courier?
Yes. The Rs 10 lakh cap on courier exports was removed from 1 April 2026.
This follows Notifications 33/2026 and 34/2026-Customs (N.T.) and Circular 17/2026 of CBIC.
Which export incentives exist?
RoDTEP is one. It has been extended to 31 December 2026.
Our guide explains how to claim it.
Did you know? The first Boeing 747
Q. When did the 747 first fly? On 9 February 1969, from Everett in the United States.
Q. What did it change for cargo? Freighter versions with a hinged nose carry large, heavy and urgent goods. Every such consignment is still cleared by a Bill of Entry or a Shipping Bill.
Illustration, not a photograph.Why do export shipments get stuck?
- Documents that do not match
- A wrong tariff head
- A missing certificate
- A Customs query that was not answered
- A missed vessel cut-off date
Where can I read more?
Not sure how this applies to your shipment? Send us the product and the route. A call or a message is all it takes, and we are with you at every step of the way, whether you are importing or exporting.
Multimodal Logistic Systems Pvt. Ltd., Pune, India. Written by Shankar Jha. We are consultants, not a law firm. This page is general information.