What is CSB-V courier export?
Reviewed by CA Apurav GargLast reviewed
In short
CSB-V is the customs shipping bill used to export commercial goods through an authorised courier, which lets small ecommerce consignments be cleared and counted as exports.
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What CSB-V is
When goods leave India through an authorised courier, customs clearance is done electronically through the Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS), using courier shipping bills. Two of them matter to sellers:
- CSB-IV is for low-value non-commercial goods, such as samples and gifts. It does not carry export benefits.
- CSB-V is for commercial exports, including ecommerce orders. It records the exporter's details, so the shipment counts as an export for GST, for the RBI's export rules and for export benefits where they apply.
For a D2C brand or marketplace seller shipping individual orders abroad, CSB-V is usually the practical alternative to a full shipping bill through a freight forwarder.
What the exporter needs
- Import Export Code (IEC) from the DGFT.
- GSTIN, and an LUT for the year if exporting without paying IGST.
- Authorised dealer (AD) bank code registered with customs at the port where the courier files.
- An export invoice for each consignment, with the details the courier needs to file the CSB-V.
The courier files the CSB-V, but the exporter is responsible for the details on it. Check them.
GST on courier exports
Goods exported under CSB-V are zero-rated like any other export. The exporter can export under LUT and claim a refund of unused credit, or pay IGST and claim it back. The refund depends on the CSB-V data: the GSTIN, invoice numbers and values on it must match the GST return. Confirm with the courier which route it has recorded before the shipment leaves.
Limits
Courier exports have carried a value limit per consignment, and the limit has been changed more than once. Some goods cannot be exported through the courier route at all. Check the current rules with your courier before planning high-value shipments.
Payment
Export proceeds must be received within the time the Reserve Bank of India allows, whatever the route. For marketplace and website orders, the payment usually arrives through the marketplace or a cross-border payment aggregator, often netted of fees and in batches. Keep a record linking each payment to its CSB-V and invoice; the bank needs it to close each export in its records.
Example in rupees
A brand sells 400 orders a month to customers in the US and UK through its own website and a cross-border marketplace programme, each worth around ₹4,000:
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Invoice | An export invoice for each order, with the brand's GSTIN and the endorsement the GST rules require, "Supply meant for export under bond or letter of undertaking without payment of integrated tax" |
| Pickup | The authorised courier collects the parcels and files one CSB-V for each consignment through the customs Express Cargo Clearance System |
| Customs | Officers clear the consignments at the courier terminal; the CSB-V records the brand's IEC, GSTIN, invoice numbers and values |
| Payment | The customer's payment reaches the brand through the marketplace or a cross-border payment aggregator, in foreign currency |
| Records | The brand matches each CSB-V and invoice with the payment received, for the GST return, any refund claim and the RBI's export rules |
Exported this way, the ₹16,00,000 of monthly orders is an export of goods, zero-rated under GST. Sent as ordinary parcels without a CSB-V, the same orders would be hard to prove as exports. The figures are illustrative.
Legal reference: Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010, as amended; IGST Act, 2017: section 16
Related terms
Work it out for your business
Want help applying this to your own accounts?
We handle bookkeeping, GST and TDS for D2C and marketplace sellers, and can walk you through how this works in your business.
General information only, not professional advice. Rules and rates change — check the official source before you act.