IEC code (Importer-Exporter Code): how to apply, update and print it

IEC registration: fee and what you need

The IEC fee is ₹500: DGFT's Appendix 2K lists “Application for Importer Exporter Code /Id Card — Five Hundred” (checked 22 Oct 2026). To apply you need a PAN, a bank account in the firm's name and a valid address, and DGFT may verify the address physically.

Sources: DGFT Appendix 2K and the IEC Profile Management page, checked 22 Oct 2026.

Who needs it: anyone exporting or importing goods, unless the person falls in an exempt category listed in para 2.07 of DGFT's Handbook of Procedures. A services exporter needs an IEC to claim Foreign Trade Policy benefits (FTP 2023, Chapter 2, para 2.05). A seller who ships only within India through Meesho or Flipkart is not exporting, so the rule does not reach those sales.

How to apply for IEC code online

Everything happens on dgft.gov.in under IEC Profile Management (checked 22 Oct 2026). DGFT publishes no fixed processing time on these pages, so we give none.

1. 1

   Open Apply for IEC

   On dgft.gov.in IEC Profile Management, choose “Apply for IEC”.

   You should see: DGFT should show the online IEC application.

   

2. 2

   Fill the application

   Enter the firm's PAN, bank account (in the firm's name) and address details.

   You should see: DGFT should move you to the fee payment.

3. 3

   Pay the ₹500 fee

   Pay the user charge of ₹500 listed in Appendix 2K.

   You should see: DGFT should confirm the payment on the application.

4. 4

   Submit

   Submit the application. The IEC DGFT allots is your PAN; DGFT issues it on this application.

   You should see: An IEC equal to your 10-character PAN.

5. 5

   Print the IEC certificate

   Back in IEC Profile Management, choose “Print IEC”.

   You should see: A certificate with the firm name, address, IEC number, date of issue and branch details; new ones carry a QR code to verify online.

IEC status, view and print: what we checked on DGFT

To print your IEC certificate, choose Print IEC under IEC Profile Management on dgft.gov.in; the certificate shows the firm name, address, IEC number, date of issue and branches, and new certificates carry a QR code that verifies them online. We read the IEC options listed on the DGFT site on 22 Oct 2026:

Stuck on any of these? The DGFT page prints helplines 1800-572-1550 and 1800-111-550.

Source: DGFT IEC Profile Management and View Any IEC pages, checked 22 Oct 2026. Logged-out pages only.

IEC renewal and update: mistakes that deactivate your code

An IEC has no separate renewal, but it must be updated online every year between April and June, even when nothing has changed; an IEC not updated in that window is de-activated, and updating it activates it again (FTP 2023 para 2.05(d)–(e), checked 22 Oct 2026). Picture a Surat saree proprietor who took an IEC two years ago for one export order and never logged in again: her code is inactive until she does the update.

• Believing “IEC has lifetime validity”. The yearly April–June update is what keeps it valid.
• Expecting a new number. The IEC number is your PAN; DGFT issues it on application, but you will not get a different number.
• Paying an agent an “IEC licence fee”. The DGFT charge is ₹500 under Appendix 2K.
• Searching for an “import export license”. That search usually means the IEC: the code without which no goods may be exported or imported unless exempted.

Selling in India first: where IEC fits

IEC matters on the day you ship goods out of India or bring them in. Until then, the paperwork for marketplace selling is GST registration if it applies to you, the right HSN code for each product (see the HSN code pages), and, if you want the MSME record, Udyam registration. Brand owners planning their own label should read the trademark registration guide. More guides sit under tools for marketplace sellers.