The first-time exporter's guide to trading from India

Exporting out of India for the first time means clearing a stack of registrations before a single container moves: an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT, an AD Code registered with your bank and customs, and — depending on what you ship — category-specific licences or NOCs.

This guide walks through the order that actually works: IEC first, AD Code registration next, then RCMC if your product category needs one, and only then the first booking. Skipping ahead is the single most common reason a "ready to export" shipment sits at the port waiting on paperwork.

We also cover the documents a buyer and their bank will actually ask for — commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and the bill of lading — and the small formatting mistakes that trigger a bank's discrepancy notice on a letter of credit.

By the end, you should be able to walk from "we want to export" to a cleared shipment without the false starts that usually cost a first-timer two to three weeks.