Import–export glossary
36 terms buyers and exporters meet when trading with India, in plain English.
Indian registrations
- AD code
- Authorised Dealer code issued by an exporter's bank and registered with each customs port on ICEGATE. Customs will not process a shipping bill without it, and export incentives are credited against it.
- e-BRC
- Electronic Bank Realisation Certificate: the bank's confirmation, transmitted to DGFT, that export proceeds have been received. Several incentives depend on it.
- GST LUT
- Letter of Undertaking filed by an exporter so exports can be made without paying IGST (zero-rated supply), instead of paying and claiming a refund.
- IEC (Importer–Exporter Code)
- Ten-digit code issued by DGFT, linked to the business PAN, required for almost every import and export from India. It must be updated online every year.
- RCMC
- Registration-cum-Membership Certificate from the export promotion council or commodity board for the product (for example APEDA, Spices Board, EPCH). Needed to claim many export benefits.
Payment
- Advance payment (TT)
- The buyer pays by telegraphic (bank) transfer before shipment, in full or in part. Lowest risk for the seller; common for first orders and small lots.
- Documents against payment / acceptance (D/P, D/A)
- Documentary collections through banks. Under D/P the buyer gets the shipping documents only on payment; under D/A on accepting a bill of exchange payable later. Cheaper than a letter of credit but without a bank's payment guarantee.
- Letter of credit (LC)
- The buyer's bank undertakes to pay the seller when compliant documents are presented. Sight LCs pay on presentation; usance LCs pay after an agreed period. Discrepancies in documents are the usual cause of delays.
Documents
- Bill of entry
- The import declaration filed with Indian customs on ICEGATE. Duty is assessed and paid against it before goods are released.
- Bill of lading (B/L)
- Issued by the shipping line or its agent: a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and, when negotiable, a document of title. An original or a telex/seaway release is needed to collect the cargo.
- Certificate of origin (CoO)
- Certifies the country where goods were produced. A preferential certificate under a trade agreement (for example UAE CEPA, Australia ECTA or the India–UK CETA) is what lets the buyer claim a reduced duty; a non-preferential one only proves origin.
- Fumigation / ISPM-15
- Treatment of wooden packaging (and some cargo) against pests. ISPM-15 is the international standard for wood packaging; a fumigation certificate is required by many destinations for agri cargo.
- Health certificate
- Certificate from India's Export Inspection Council (or another designated body) required by many destinations for food, marine and animal products.
- Packing list
- Item-by-item list of what is in each package, with weights and dimensions. Customs and the buyer's warehouse both rely on it.
- Phytosanitary certificate
- Issued by India's Plant Quarantine authority to certify that plants and plant products meet the importing country's pest requirements.
- Shipping bill
- The export declaration filed with Indian customs on ICEGATE. Goods may be loaded only after customs gives 'let export order'.
Duties
- Basic customs duty (BCD)
- India's base import duty, charged as a percentage of the assessable (customs) value. The rate depends on the 8-digit tariff line and any exemption notification or trade agreement.Landed cost calculator →
- IGST on imports
- Integrated GST charged at customs on the sum of assessable value, basic customs duty and surcharge. A GST-registered importer can normally claim it back as input tax credit.Landed cost calculator →
Incoterms
- CFR (Cost and Freight)
- The seller pays ocean freight to the destination port; risk passes to the buyer when goods are loaded at the port of shipment. The buyer arranges insurance.Incoterms explained →
- CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight)
- As CFR, plus the seller buys minimum marine insurance to the destination port. Risk still passes on loading. The most common term for Indian sea exports.Incoterms explained →
- DAP (Delivered at Place)
- The seller delivers to a named place in the destination country, ready for unloading. The buyer handles import clearance and pays duties.
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)
- The seller delivers cleared for import with duties and taxes paid. Rare in B2B trade from India because it needs an importer of record in the destination.
- EXW (Ex Works)
- The seller makes goods available at its own premises; the buyer handles everything else, including Indian export clearance — which is why it is awkward for foreign buyers.
- FCA (Free Carrier)
- The seller clears goods for export and hands them to the buyer's carrier at a named place, often an inland container depot. Better suited to containers than FOB.
- FOB (Free On Board)
- The seller clears goods for export and loads them on the vessel the buyer nominates; risk passes on loading. The buyer pays ocean freight and insurance.Incoterms explained →
- Incoterms
- The International Chamber of Commerce's standard delivery terms (current version 2020) that define who pays for and bears the risk of each leg of a shipment.All 11 Incoterms →
Logistics
- CHA / customs broker
- A Customs Broker licensed under India's Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations (still widely called CHA) who files shipping bills and bills of entry and represents the trader before customs.
- Container (20' / 40' / 40' HC)
- Standard shipping containers of roughly 33, 67 and 76 cubic metres internal volume. Dense cargo (rice, stone, tiles) fills a 20' by weight; light cargo (makhana, furniture) fills a 40' high cube by volume.Container guide →
- Demurrage and detention
- Demurrage is charged by the terminal or line while a container stays in the port beyond free days; detention is charged for keeping the line's container outside the port too long. Both usually trace back to late documents.
- FCL / LCL
- Full Container Load (one shipper's goods fill the container) versus Less than Container Load (cargo is consolidated with other shippers'). FCL is cheaper per unit and safer for food.
- Transit time
- Days at sea between the port of loading and the port of discharge. Door-to-door time also includes stuffing, export clearance, transshipment and destination clearance.Indian ports and transit times →
Indian incentives
- Duty drawback
- Refund of customs and central excise duties paid on inputs used in exported goods, at rates notified per tariff item.
- RoDTEP
- Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products: a scheme refunding embedded taxes not otherwise refunded, as transferable e-scrips, at notified rates per tariff line.
Classification
- HS code
- The World Customs Organization's six-digit Harmonized System code for a product. India uses an eight-digit extension (ITC-HS); the destination uses its own national digits. It decides duty and many regulatory requirements.HS code finder →
Quality
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Independent check of quantity, quality, packing and marking before the container is sealed, by an agency such as SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek or the buyer's nominee.How we inspect →
General explanations, not legal or customs advice. Rules and rates change by notification; confirm with your broker.