Export Registrations in India — RCMC, APEDA, ICEGATE, AEO, Spices Board and AGMARK: Order, Documents, Validity

Quick answer: A new exporter needs, in this order: PAN and GST, the Import Export Code from DGFT, an AD code registered with the bank at each port, an ICEGATE login on the customs portal (valid IEC and a Class 3 digital signature are mandatory), and an RCMC from the export promotion council or commodity board for the product. The RCMC is valid for five financial years, from 1 April of the year it is issued to 31 March of the fifth year, and its fee is fixed by each council, not by DGFT. Exporters of scheduled agricultural and processed-food products register with APEDA, and spice exporters with the Spices Board. Frequent traders can add AEO status: tiers T1 and T2 are valid three years and T3 five years, and T3 can only follow two years as a T2 holder.

Last verified 5 October 2026 — rules on this page checked against the current notifications. We update it the day a rule changes.

The sequence a new exporter follows

RCMC — who issues it, what it costs, how long it lasts

• What it is: Registration-cum-Membership Certificate — proof that you are a registered exporter of a product line with the council or board named for it in the Foreign Trade Policy; it is needed to claim benefits under the policy
• Which body: by main product — APEDA for agricultural and processed foods, MPEDA for marine products, and councils such as engineering, apparel, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and services; if your goods fall under several, you declare the main line of business
• Validity: deemed valid from 1 April of the licensing year in which it is issued and runs for five financial years ending 31 March, unless the body specifies otherwise (DGFT e-RCMC page)
• Fee: set by each council and by turnover band; there is no single government rate, so we quote it from the council's current schedule
• Application: online through DGFT's e-RCMC system to the council or board, with IEC, GST certificate, PAN, bank certificate and, for service exporters, export data certified by a chartered accountant

APEDA, Spices Board and AGMARK

• APEDA: exporters of the scheduled agricultural and processed-food products register with APEDA and hold its RCMC; this is a legal requirement under the APEDA Act for those products, not only a way to claim benefits
• Spices Board: exporters of spices register with the Spices Board under its governing Act
• AGMARK: the certification mark for agricultural commodities graded under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act; it is voluntary unless a statute or order makes it compulsory for a specific commodity, and it is a separate system from FSSAI — see FSSAI

AEO — Authorised Economic Operator

Applicants need a record of customs activity (three financial years in the CBIC scheme document, relaxed for MSMEs). The application is filed on CBIC's AEO portal; no government fee is charged for any tier, and the cost lies in documentation, security upgrades and the site audit.

What we do

• Registration stack in the right order — IEC, AD code, ICEGATE with DSC, RCMC, APEDA/Spices Board — and renewal calendar for RCMC cycles
• AEO readiness gap analysis, Annexure drafting and site-audit preparation
• Export incentives that follow: Advance Authorisation and EPCG, LUT and GST refunds, remittance forms

Dates, forms and thresholds are quoted from the governing Act, rules and official portals; where a figure changes by notification or year, the page says so and we confirm it at filing rather than estimate.

Export claims: RoDTEP to 31 December 2026, RoSCTL, duty drawback, SION and EODC.