Multimodal Logistic Systems Private Limited

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Export Stage 1: Choose the buyer

Export guide · Stage 1 of 10 · The Readiness Trail

Export Stage 1: choose the buyer, and get export-ready

Six stations to cross before you quote. Get your registrations in place, check the export policy, the buyer's country and the buyer, and choose a payment route. Clear each hurdle, earn each badge, and finish as a Market Maverick. Prefer reading? Use the plain guide button.

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Export Cadet

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Station 1 of 6

Get export-ready before the first enquiry

Station 1 of 6 · Badge: Ready to Sail

Get export-ready before the first enquiry

Registrations take time. Do them before the first buyer asks.

What you do

  1. IEC from DGFT
  2. Bank account and AD code
  3. ICEGATE login and DSC
  4. GST registration

Keep these ready

  • IEC certificate
  • GST registration
  • DSC, if filing yourself
  • Bank details with the AD code
  • Council or board registration, if applicable

Watch out

  • Learning that the AD code is not registered at the port when the first shipment is ready.
  • An IEC whose details do not match the invoice or the bank.
  • No LUT filed, so IGST must be paid upfront.

Pro tip

Do the registrations when you send the first quotation, not when the first order lands.

Full details for this station

A buyer's enquiry can turn into an order in a day. Your registrations cannot. Set them up first.

How to do it

  1. Get your IEC from DGFT. It is needed to export goods as a business.
  2. Open or confirm a bank account that deals in foreign exchange, and ask the bank to register its AD code with Customs at your port.
  3. Register on ICEGATE and get a DSC if you will file yourself. Most exporters use a Customs Broker.
  4. Keep your GST registration current. Exports are zero-rated, subject to the GST rules, and you will need the LUT or to pay IGST and claim a refund.
  5. Join the Export Promotion Council or commodity board for your product, if one applies, and get the registration-cum-membership certificate.

Documents to keep ready

  • IEC certificate
  • GST registration
  • DSC, if filing yourself
  • Bank details with the AD code
  • Council or board registration, if applicable

What the documents must show

Bank details
Bank name, branch, account number, SWIFT code and AD code. The same details must appear on the invoice and match the bank's records.

Time and cost

  • IEC: usually quick when done online.
  • DSC: a few days.
  • Council or board registration: days to weeks.

Where people get stuck

  • Learning that the AD code is not registered at the port when the first shipment is ready.
  • An IEC whose details do not match the invoice or the bank.
  • No LUT filed, so IGST must be paid upfront.
Station 2 of 6

Check that your goods may be exported

Station 2 of 6 · Badge: Green Light Pass

Check that your goods may be exported

Most goods can be exported freely. Some are restricted, prohibited or on the SCOMET list.

What you do

  1. ITC(HS) export policy for your code
  2. SCOMET check
  3. Restricted: authorisation first
  4. Prohibited: stop

Keep these ready

  • IEC certificate
  • Export authorisation, if Restricted
  • SCOMET authorisation, if applicable
  • Printout of the policy entry for your records

Watch out

  • Finding out at the port that the goods are on the SCOMET list.
  • An authorisation that has expired.
  • Assuming a Free item has no other conditions.

Pro tip

Check the SCOMET list for chemicals and technical goods, even when the policy says Free.

Full details for this station

India's export policy puts goods into Free, Restricted or Prohibited. Dual-use items are also controlled under SCOMET.

How to do it

  1. Look up your 8-digit code in the ITC(HS) export policy on the DGFT website, and read the policy condition against it.
  2. Free: you may export without a licence, though other rules can still apply.
  3. Restricted: you need an authorisation before you export.
  4. Prohibited: the goods cannot be exported.
  5. Check the SCOMET list. Chemicals, materials, equipment and technologies with sensitive uses need an authorisation.
  6. Check for any recent notification on your product.

Documents to keep ready

  • IEC certificate
  • Export authorisation, if Restricted
  • SCOMET authorisation, if applicable
  • Printout of the policy entry for your records

What the documents must show

Authorisation
Issued online through DGFT. Keep the number and the validity date. It is quoted in the Shipping Bill.

Time and cost

  • Policy check: minutes.
  • Authorisation: days to weeks, so start before the order.

Where people get stuck

  • Finding out at the port that the goods are on the SCOMET list.
  • An authorisation that has expired.
  • Assuming a Free item has no other conditions.
Station 3 of 6

Check what the buyer's country requires

Station 3 of 6 · Badge: Border Scout

Check what the buyer's country requires

Your goods must be allowed in at the other end too.

What you do

  1. Import rules of the destination
  2. Certificates and tests
  3. Labelling and packing
  4. Duty and trade agreements

Keep these ready

  • Buyer's import requirements in writing
  • Certificates the buyer asks for
  • Certificate of Origin, if a duty benefit is claimed

Watch out

  • Goods stopped at the buyer's port for a missing certificate.
  • Labels in the wrong language.
  • Assuming rules are the same as in the last country you shipped to.

Pro tip

Ask the buyer to send the requirements by email. It is the cheapest insurance against a held shipment.

Full details for this station

Clearing Indian Customs is half of the journey. The other half is the buyer's country, and its rules can differ by product.

How to do it

  1. Ask the buyer which import conditions apply to your product: licences, certificates, tests, labelling and packaging.
  2. Check whether the goods need a health, plant, quality or conformity certificate.
  3. Find the duty the buyer will pay. A trade agreement may reduce it if you can give a Certificate of Origin.
  4. Check any restrictions in the buyer's country on the product or the packing, such as wood packaging treatment.
  5. Write the requirements into the order, so you and the buyer agree who provides what.

Documents to keep ready

  • Buyer's import requirements in writing
  • Certificates the buyer asks for
  • Certificate of Origin, if a duty benefit is claimed

What the documents must show

Buyer's requirement list
A short list from the buyer: licences, certificates, labelling and packing. Keep it with the order.

Time and cost

  • Check: days.
  • Certificates and tests: days to weeks.

Where people get stuck

  • Goods stopped at the buyer's port for a missing certificate.
  • Labels in the wrong language.
  • Assuming rules are the same as in the last country you shipped to.
Station 4 of 6

Hold the registrations your product needs

Station 4 of 6 · Badge: Seal Collector

Hold the registrations your product needs

Some products need a board or council registration to export.

What you do

  1. Export Promotion Council
  2. Commodity board
  3. Food and quality bodies
  4. Keep certificates current

Keep these ready

  • Registration-cum-membership certificate
  • Product registration or test reports
  • IEC certificate

Watch out

  • Certificate expired on the day of shipment.
  • Registering with the wrong council.
  • No registration, so a scheme benefit is lost.

Pro tip

Put the expiry date of each certificate in your calendar, with a reminder a month ahead.

Full details for this station

Many products are tied to a council or board that promotes and sometimes regulates their export.

How to do it

  1. Find the Export Promotion Council or commodity board for your product, for example for textiles, spices, tea, coffee, marine products or agricultural goods.
  2. Apply for the registration-cum-membership certificate. Some schemes and benefits need it.
  3. For food, check the registration and test requirements for export.
  4. Keep your certificates valid, and quote them on the documents where needed.
  5. Ask us if you are not sure which body covers your goods.

Documents to keep ready

  • Registration-cum-membership certificate
  • Product registration or test reports
  • IEC certificate

What the documents must show

Registration certificate
Issued by the council or board, with a number and validity date. Keep a copy with your export file.

Time and cost

  • Registration: days to weeks.
  • Renewals: before the expiry date.

Where people get stuck

  • Certificate expired on the day of shipment.
  • Registering with the wrong council.
  • No registration, so a scheme benefit is lost.
Station 5 of 6

Check the buyer before you quote

Station 5 of 6 · Badge: Trust Check

Check the buyer before you quote

A buyer who cannot pay is worse than no buyer.

What you do

  1. Company details and address
  2. Trade references
  3. Bank reference
  4. Credit cover

Keep these ready

  • Buyer registration details
  • Trade and bank references
  • Credit report, if bought
  • ECGC policy, if taken

Watch out

  • Shipping on credit to a new buyer.
  • Documents from a buyer that do not match each other.
  • Fraud by a person claiming to represent a well-known company.

Pro tip

Phone the buyer on a number you found yourself, not the one in the email, before you ship.

Full details for this station

Exporting on credit to an unchecked buyer is the most common way small exporters lose money.

How to do it

  1. Check the buyer's company name, address, website and registration, and match them across their documents.
  2. Ask for two or three trade references and a bank reference.
  3. Look into the buyer's payment record, where you can.
  4. Consider export credit insurance. ECGC, a Government of India enterprise, covers payment risk on exports.
  5. Start with advance payment or a letter of credit for a new buyer, and move to credit terms only after a good record.

Documents to keep ready

  • Buyer registration details
  • Trade and bank references
  • Credit report, if bought
  • ECGC policy, if taken

What the documents must show

Buyer details
Legal name, address, registration number, contact person, bank details. Keep them on file.

Time and cost

  • Checks: a few days.
  • Credit cover: days to weeks.

Where people get stuck

  • Shipping on credit to a new buyer.
  • Documents from a buyer that do not match each other.
  • Fraud by a person claiming to represent a well-known company.
Station 6 of 6

Choose a payment route you can live with

Station 6 of 6 · Badge: Safe Harbour

Choose a payment route you can live with

Pick the payment term that matches how well you know the buyer.

What you do

  1. Advance payment
  2. Letter of credit
  3. Documents against payment
  4. Open account

Keep these ready

  • Sales contract or order with payment terms
  • Letter of credit, if used
  • Bank details on the invoice

Watch out

  • A letter of credit that you cannot meet exactly.
  • Bank details on the invoice that do not match the bank's records.
  • Forgetting the deadline for realising the proceeds.

Pro tip

Read a letter of credit the day it arrives. If you cannot meet a condition, ask for an amendment before you ship.

Full details for this station

The payment route decides how safe your money is, and which documents you need to produce.

How to do it

  1. Advance payment: safest for you, hardest to get from a new buyer.
  2. Letter of credit: the bank pays against documents that meet its terms exactly, so read it carefully and make sure you can produce every document.
  3. Documents against payment: the buyer's bank releases the documents when the buyer pays or accepts.
  4. Open account: the buyer pays later. Use only with buyers you trust, ideally with credit cover.
  5. Remember that export proceeds must be realised through your authorised dealer bank within the period the foreign exchange rules prescribe.

Documents to keep ready

  • Sales contract or order with payment terms
  • Letter of credit, if used
  • Bank details on the invoice

What the documents must show

Payment terms
State the route, the timing, the currency and the bank details on the proforma invoice and the sales contract.

Time and cost

  • Choosing: a conversation.
  • Letter of credit: days to open.
  • Realisation: tracked through your bank.

Where people get stuck

  • A letter of credit that you cannot meet exactly.
  • Bank details on the invoice that do not match the bank's records.
  • Forgetting the deadline for realising the proceeds.

Run complete

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Words used on this page

AD code: Authorised Dealer code of your bank branch, registered with Customs at the port. Export proceeds are tracked against it.
Certificate of Origin: A document that says in which country the goods were made. Needed for a duty benefit under a trade agreement.
Customs Broker: A person licensed by Customs to file documents and deal with Customs on your behalf. Earlier called a CHA (Customs House Agent).
DSC: Digital Signature Certificate. A USB token that signs your filing electronically.
ICEGATE: The Customs e-filing portal (icegate.gov.in). Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills are filed there and duty is paid online.
IEC: Importer Exporter Code. A 10-character code issued by DGFT. You need it to import or export goods as a business.
LUT: Letter of Undertaking, filed on the GST portal. It lets you export without paying IGST at the time of export.
SCOMET: Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies. A list of dual-use and sensitive items that need an export authorisation.

Questions people ask

Do I need an IEC to export?

Exporting goods as a business generally needs an IEC. Check the current rules for your case with DGFT or with us.

What is the AD code?

The AD code identifies the bank branch that will receive your export proceeds. It is registered with Customs at the port.

What is SCOMET?

SCOMET is the list of dual-use and sensitive items that need an authorisation to export.

How long do I have to bring the money in?

Export proceeds must be realised through an authorised dealer bank within the period the foreign exchange rules prescribe. Ask your bank, or us, for the current period.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is practical guidance. Rules change, so confirm the position on the date of your shipment.

Want us to check your goods and buyer before you quote?

Send two lines about your goods and the buyer's country. We will tell you the policy, the registrations and the rules that apply. It is just a call and a message away.

Message us on WhatsAppCall +91 98230 14118

Office (backup): +91 93733 11838

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Last checked: 12 November 2026. Based on the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 and ITC(HS) export policy and SCOMET list (DGFT), the Customs Act, 1962 (CBIC) and the foreign exchange rules of the Reserve Bank of India. Rules and notifications change, so confirm the position on the date of your shipment.

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