Import Export Code (IEC) Registration

The IEC is a registration number (equal to your entity's PAN) issued by DGFT that authorises your business to import goods into India and export goods or services from India. It does not expire in the traditional sense — there is no fixed validity period. However, it must be electronically updated on the DGFT portal every year between April and June, even if no information has changed. Miss this annual update, and DGFT automatically deactivates the IEC. A deactivated IEC blocks Customs clearance and trade remittances.

Yes — since January 2021, the IEC is your entity's PAN. But PAN and an active, registered IEC are not the same thing. You must formally register on the DGFT portal, submit the application with entity and bank details, and get DGFT to activate the PAN as an IEC. Until that activation, your PAN is just a tax number — it will not clear Customs. Additionally, the IEC must be linked to your Authorised Dealer bank account and to the ICEGATE Customs clearance system before any shipment.

Yes. A sole proprietorship can obtain an IEC using the proprietor's PAN. The Authorised Dealer bank account should be in the business's name (or the proprietor's name if the bank account is in the proprietor's individual name — both are accepted, but PNPC verifies this against DGFT's current validation rules before filing). The proprietor's Aadhaar-linked mobile is sufficient for OTP-based application; a DSC is not mandatory for proprietors.

No. GST registration and IEC registration are separate processes on separate government portals. Having a GSTIN does not automatically create or activate an IEC. That said, your GSTIN is required in the IEC application if your entity is GST-registered — both registrations must reflect a consistent entity name, address, and PAN.

For services where foreign exchange is realised through banking channels — the usual case for IT services, software development, consulting, and similar B2B services — the IEC is technically required when using certain DGFT schemes or benefits. In practice, many service exporters have operated without one, but the RBI's Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) process and DGFT's Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS, now subsumed into RoDTEP) applications increasingly require a registered IEC. PNPC advises service exporters on whether their specific situation requires registration.

The Customs EDI system validates the IEC against every export/import declaration. Without a registered and active IEC, the Bill of Lading or Bill of Entry will be rejected by the system. Your freight forwarder or Custom House Agent cannot file the Customs declaration. The shipment is held. In practical terms: your goods are stuck at the port, you are paying demurrage, your buyer's deadline is at risk, and you cannot resolve it without an emergency IEC registration — which, while possible in 1–2 days, is best not required under operational pressure.

Yes. A wholly foreign-owned Indian subsidiary incorporated as a Private Limited Company under the Companies Act 2013 can hold an IEC — it is an Indian legal entity with an Indian PAN. The application process is identical. The Authorised Dealer bank account must be in the Indian subsidiary's name. This is common for Indian subsidiaries of multinational groups that manufacture or source goods in India for export.

The annual update is a mandatory electronic confirmation on the DGFT portal, completed between April and June each year. If your entity details are unchanged, you simply log in, review the pre-filled information, confirm it is correct, and submit. If details have changed — new address, new bank account, director change — you update them at this step. The DGFT uses the annual update process to keep its IEC database clean and to ensure active IEC holders are genuinely operating businesses. There is no fee for the update. The consequence of missing it — automatic deactivation — is entirely disproportionate to the 5 minutes the update takes.

No. The IEC is PAN-based, and one PAN can have only one active IEC. A company with multiple divisions, business lines, or branches holds a single IEC covering all units. If you are operating multiple distinct businesses and believe each requires an independent IEC, the correct structure is a separate legal entity (company, LLP, or proprietorship) with its own PAN — not multiple IECs under one entity.

It depends on whether the annual update was completed each year. If the IEC was not updated during the April–June window in any year, it is likely deactivated. An inactive IEC is not automatically cancelled — it can usually be reactivated by completing the overdue update(s) on the DGFT portal. PNPC verifies the current status of an existing IEC before a client's first shipment and handles any reactivation process if required.

No separate IEC is required for exports to a specific country or to UAE Free Zones. The IEC is country-agnostic — one registration covers exports to all destinations. However, certain goods exported to the UAE or elsewhere may require additional documentation: an Export Licence under the Foreign Trade Policy for restricted goods, phytosanitary certificates, conformity certifications, or destination-country import permits. PNPC's Dubai office can advise on UAE import requirements in parallel with the India IEC.

All major DGFT export incentive schemes require a valid, updated IEC at the time of application: RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products), RoSCTL (for apparel/made-ups), Advance Authorisation (duty-free input imports against export obligation), EPCG (duty-free capital goods import), and ECGC export credit guarantee cover. An IEC that lapsed during the April–June update window cannot be used to file scheme applications for shipments made during the lapsed period — the claim is lost.

The DGFT portal allows self-registration. There is nothing stopping you from filing yourself. What PNPC brings: pre-filing verification that entity name, PAN, bank account, and address are consistent; ICEGATE activation that most self-filers miss; documentation of the IEC in your client file for future reference; proactive annual update tracking so the IEC is never deactivated; and CA-level advice on DGFT schemes your business may be eligible for — RoDTEP, Advance Authorisation, EPCG. For a first-time exporter, understanding what you qualify for is often worth more than the registration itself.