DGFT Registration

Beyond IEC, DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) administers various scheme registrations — like Advance Authorisation, EPCG, and RoDTEP — that exporters register for to access duty exemptions and export incentives tied to their specific trade activity.

These scheme registrations exist to reduce the cost disadvantage Indian exporters would otherwise carry from duties and taxes embedded in their inputs and capital goods — bringing India's export pricing closer to international competitiveness while keeping each benefit auditable and tied to demonstrated export performance under the current Foreign Trade Policy.

DGFT's scheme architecture sits on top of the base IEC registration and is designed around distinct stages of the export value chain — Advance Authorisation and duty drawback address the input/raw-material stage, EPCG addresses capital equipment used to manufacture export goods, and RoDTEP addresses the embedded taxes that remain even after GST input credit is claimed. Most established exporters end up using more than one scheme simultaneously, since each targets a different cost component.

Each scheme carries its own eligibility conditions, export obligation period, and reporting cadence, and getting the scheme selection wrong (or missing a redemption deadline) can turn a duty benefit into a demand notice with interest. That's why scheme identification — matching your actual import/export pattern against the schemes genuinely available to you — is the step we spend the most time on before any application is filed.