Gateway to international trade
Get your 10-digit IEC from DGFT to import or export from India.
Overview
Import Export Code (IEC) is a 10-digit number issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce. It is mandatory for any individual or business that imports goods or services into India, exports goods or services out of India, or receives foreign currency payments through banks (even Stripe / Wise / PayPal payouts). Without an IEC, your authorised dealer bank (HDFC, ICICI, Axis, SBI) will not credit international payments into your account.
IEC applies to far more businesses than founders realise. A freelance designer billing US clients on Upwork needs IEC for SWIFT remittance above $25,000/year. A SaaS founder using Stripe Atlas needs IEC. A Shopify-Amazon-Etsy seller exporting handicrafts needs IEC. An importer ordering from Alibaba needs IEC. A service exporter under MEIS / SEIS schemes claims incentives only via IEC. Even Indian YouTubers earning over $10,000/year from AdSense need IEC for full RBI compliance.
RegisterEase issues your IEC in 1–3 working days, fully online. We collect your PAN, Aadhaar, bank certificate (or cancelled cheque), address proof, business registration (GST / Pvt Ltd / Proprietorship), and authorised signatory details. Our experts file your Form ANF-2A on the DGFT portal, pay the ₹500 government fee, respond to any clarifications, and deliver your IEC certificate to your dashboard. The IEC is valid for lifetime (no renewal needed) but must be updated annually between April–June — non-update deactivates your IEC until refresh.
Once you have an IEC, RegisterEase helps you unlock real export benefits: GST refund on exports (LUT bond or paid+refund), MEIS / RoDTEP duty drawback schemes, EPCG capital goods import at zero duty, AEO (Authorized Economic Operator) certification for faster customs, and SEZ unit registration if applicable. Service exporters can claim SEIS benefits. We also help with AD Code registration at your bank — required by Customs for every shipment over ₹5 lakh.
The most common IEC mistakes: applying with wrong business PAN (proprietor's PAN is different from firm PAN), missing the annual KYC update window (April–June every year — DGFT auto-deactivates non-updated IECs), and wrong NIC code selection on AD Code. RegisterEase handles all of these — annual KYC update reminder is automatic, and the AD code registration is supported across 80+ Indian bank branches.
Know exactly where your money goes. We charge zero markup on government fees.
Indicative split of Basic plan — govt fees are at actuals and included transparently.
You pay government fees at actuals — zero markup.
Benefits
Mandatory for cross-border trade.
No renewal needed — just annual update.
Access Duty Drawback, MEIS, RoDTEP.
Required to expand via Alibaba, Amazon Global.
Trust, in plain English
RegisterEase follows Google's helpful, people-first content guidance — transparent authorship, transparent process, transparent purpose.
This import export code (iec) page is written and reviewed by practising Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and Advocates on the RegisterEase editorial panel. Every guide is fact-checked against MCA, GSTN, CBDT and IPO primary sources before publishing, and re-verified after each Ministry notification or Union Budget update.
You submit documents once. A verified expert is assigned inside 24 hours, drafts every form, files with the concerned authority (Licenses), and posts progress into your 9-stage tracker. Government fees are pass-through at actuals — you can see line-item receipts in your dashboard.
Indian founders lose 40+ hours a year chasing consultants, portal errors and missing acknowledgements. RegisterEase exists to compress that into a single transparent workflow — one dashboard, one invoice, verified experts, and a money-back guarantee if we miss the committed timeline. No hidden charges, no lock-ins, no reselling.
Why RegisterEase
12,000+ founders trust us. Here's what makes the difference for Import Export Code (IEC):
Ready to start?
Free expert call · Govt fees pass-through · Money-back guarantee.
How it works
Approximate days per step (parallelized execution). Timeline breakdown is shown below.
Prepare IEC application on DGFT portal.
Verify proprietor via OTP.
10-digit code issued digitally.
Total turnaround
2–3 working days
A dedicated expert handles every step — you just share documents and track progress.
Compare
| Activity | IEC required? |
|---|---|
| Exporting physical goods (any value) | Yes |
| Importing physical goods (any value) | Yes |
| Receiving $ from Stripe / Wise / PayPal > $25K/yr | Yes |
| Selling SaaS to international customers | Yes (service export) |
| YouTube / AdSense earnings > $10K/yr | Recommended |
| Amazon Global Selling / Etsy / Shopify (intl) | Yes |
| Domestic-only e-commerce | No |
| GST-exempt small trader within India | No |
Cost of non-compliance
Skipping Import Export Code (IEC) or filing late triggers automatic penalties. Many founders learn this only when MCA blocks their next venture.
Pricing
Transparent pricing. No hidden fees. Govt fee included.
Pay only 30% today to lock in your plan. We draft everything; you review and pay the balance before final filing.
Complete service package.
Pay only 30% today, balance after draft
Pay 30% today (₹600), balance after draft
Complete service package.
Pay only 30% today, balance after draft
Pay 30% today (₹1,500), balance after draft
We prepare every document for your import export code (iec). You review each draft, request changes, and only after your approval do you pay the remaining 70% — right before final submission.
Note: Government fees (if applicable) will be communicated before processing. Pay 30% today to begin.
Customer Reviews
Real reviews from 18+ verified founders who registered their Private Limited Company with RegisterEase. From Mumbai to Guwahati, Kolkata to Kochi.
I was honestly tired of agents asking ₹15-20k upfront with no clarity. Paid only ₹2,499 on RegisterEase, my draft MoA and AoA were ready on day 4, and they explained every clause before submitting SPICe+. Incorporation certificate landed on day 16. The transparent state-wise stamp duty calculator was the deciding factor for me.
My co-founder is in Singapore so we needed help with the Apostille for his director documents. The relationship manager handled the entire foreign-director workflow without us chasing. DIN, DSC and PAN/TAN all came together. Will recommend to every founder I meet.
Other portals quoted me ₹9,500 'all-inclusive' and then asked extra for AoA stamp duty. Here the calculator showed me Tamil Nadu stamp duty (₹520) upfront. Final cost matched the quote to the rupee. That's rare in this industry.
Whole process was clean — got name approval in 5 days, MoA review email arrived as promised. The eMudhra DSC was slightly delayed because of the video KYC re-attempt, but support called and resolved it the same evening. 4 stars only because of that one delay, otherwise easily 5.
Stamp duty in Gujarat is on the higher side because of the AoA percentage rule. Their team explained it patiently and even suggested keeping authorised capital at ₹1 lakh to save ~₹2,500. Tiny advice that mattered. Got my COI within 19 days end-to-end.
What sold me was that I paid ₹1,499 upfront and reviewed all the drafts before paying the balance. I made 2 changes to the MoA object clause and they redid it without complaining. This is how every legal service should work.
We are a D2C apparel brand and needed a watertight object clause covering both manufacturing and marketplace sales. The CA spent a full 25 minute call with me drafting it. Two MCA queries were resolved by their team without me even knowing. Incorporation certificate landed in 18 days.
Pro plan was worth the extra ₹1,000. They verified all my docs the same evening I uploaded. Telangana stamp duty was correctly calculated (we have the 0.15% AoA rule). MSME certificate also done as part of the package. Highly professional outfit.
I had zero idea about MCA, SPICe+, INC-32 — all of it. Their executive walked me through every form on a screen-share call. Even helped me pick the right NIC code for my consultancy business. Got the COI in 22 days. Thank you team!
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