Textile Export Basics Quiz: IEC, LUT, FOB, CIF and More

Registrations

• IEC (Importer Exporter Code): issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). You need it to export goods from India.
• LUT (Letter of Undertaking): filed on the GST portal so a registered exporter can export without paying IGST, instead of paying it and claiming a refund.
• Export promotion councils such as AEPC (Apparel Export Promotion Council) for garments support exporters with information, fairs and certificates.

Price terms (Incoterms)

• FOB (Free On Board): the seller delivers the goods loaded on the ship at the port of shipment; from there the buyer pays freight and takes the risk.
• CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight): the seller also pays the sea freight and insurance up to the destination port.

Documents

• Commercial invoice and packing list: what is shipped, its value and how it is packed.
• Shipping bill: the export declaration filed with Indian customs.
• Bill of lading: issued by the shipping line as a receipt for the goods; it is also a document of title. For air cargo the equivalent is the airway bill.
• Certificate of origin: shows where the goods were made, needed for some buyers and for trade-agreement duty benefits.

Codes

The HS code is the international product classification; its first six digits are the same worldwide. India uses eight-digit ITC-HS codes for trade. Your GST HSN code is based on the same system: look it up in the HSN finder.

Incentives

Schemes such as RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) and RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies, for apparel and made-ups) refund taxes built into the cost of exported goods. Rates and coverage change, so check the current notification with your CA or customs broker.

Find export forwarders in the transporter finder. Export rules change; treat this as a starting point, not legal advice.