Export e-BRC / EDPMS Realisation Alerts

In short

• The rule. Indian exporters must bring the full export value into India within the period allowed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations. The period this site uses is in the box below.
• Who tracks it. Your bank (the authorised dealer, or "AD bank") tracks every shipping bill in the RBI's Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS). A shipping bill not matched with money received shows as outstanding, and the bank will ask you about it.
• Why it matters beyond FEMA.
  • It can hold up GST refunds.
  • It can make you pay back an IGST refund already received.
  • It can make IGST payable on exports made under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT).
  • Where proceeds stay unrealised for a long time, it can restrict how you are paid for future exports.

The law behind it

The FEMA rules

• The current rules are the Foreign Exchange Management (Export of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, as amended. They were notified by the RBI as FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB.
• The period to realise depends on the date of export, so check which version applies to each shipment. The period this site uses is in the box below.
• Under these regulations, the AD bank can extend the period, and must publish its own policy for doing so.
• Where proceeds stay unrealised well past the due date, further exports may need full advance payment or a letter of credit.

The GST link

• IGST refund on exports. If you exported with payment of IGST and got a refund, section 16(3) of the IGST Act and rule 96B of the CGST Rules apply. If the proceeds are not realised within the FEMA period, including any extension, you must deposit the refund back. If you do not, it is recovered.
• Exports under LUT. Rule 96A applies. For goods, you must pay IGST if the goods are not exported within the time in the rule. For services, you must pay IGST if payment is not received within the time in the rule. In both cases interest is added.
• Zero-rating. The box below summarises the zero-rated export rule this site uses.

e-BRC

• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) now receives inward remittance data from banks electronically.
• Exporters can generate electronic bank realisation certificates (e-BRCs) on the DGFT platform. These are often needed for export incentives and as GST evidence.

Why ecommerce exporters receive it

• Small shipments, high volume. Cross-border marketplace and own-website sellers ship many low-value parcels through courier or postal export. Each one creates a shipping bill or postal bill of export that must be matched to money received.
• Money arrives netted and pooled. Marketplaces and payment aggregators pay out after deducting fees, returns and currency costs, often for many orders at once. The amount received does not match any single shipping bill, so EDPMS shows bills as unpaid.
• Returns and refunds abroad. A returned or refunded order still has a shipping bill. Until the bill is closed or reduced through your bank, it looks unrealised.
• The wrong bank or IEC. Payouts land in an account that is not linked to the Importer Exporter Code (IEC) on the shipping bills. Or the payment aggregator's remittance details do not carry the shipping bill reference.

Step-by-step: when the bank or DGFT flags an outstanding bill

1. Get the outstanding list. Ask your AD bank for the list of outstanding shipping bills, with bill number, date, value and due date. Also download the realisation status from the DGFT platform.
2. Match each bill. For each shipping bill, find:
   • the order(s) it covered;
   • the marketplace or aggregator payout that paid for it;
   • the inward remittance message (IRM) or foreign inward remittance certificate (FIRC) for that payout.
3. Sort the bills into four groups:
   • Realised but not linked. Ask the bank to link the remittance to the bill. Give it the payout statement as evidence.
   • Realised short. The marketplace deducted fees, or the order was partly refunded. Ask the bank to reduce the bill value or write off the short amount under its published policy, with the marketplace's statement as evidence.
   • Not realised: the goods were returned or not delivered. Give the bank the return or reimport evidence so it can close or reduce the bill.
   • Not realised and still due. Follow up with the buyer or marketplace. If the due date is near, ask the bank for an extension before it passes, with reasons.
4. Deal with GST at the same time.
   • Exported with IGST and refunded. For bills that will not be realised within the period, plan to deposit the refund back under rule 96B.
   • Exported under LUT. For services not paid for in time, pay the IGST with interest under rule 96A.
   • Keep the challans.
5. Keep the e-BRC record up to date. Once the bank links a remittance, check it appears on the DGFT platform against the right bill.

Documents to gather

• The shipping bills or postal bills of export, and the commercial invoices.
• Marketplace and payment-aggregator payout statements, at order level.
• IRMs/FIRCs and bank statements for the export collection account.
• Return and refund reports, plus reimport documents where goods came back.
• The bank's outstanding list, and any extension or write-off approvals.
• GST: LUT acknowledgement, IGST refund records, and any rule 96A/96B payments.

How to word the request to the bank

Shipping bills [numbers] for [value] were realised through [marketplace/aggregator] payouts dated [dates]. The payouts are net of fees of [amount] and refunds of [amount] for returned orders. The order-level payout statements and the remittance references are attached. We request that the remittances be linked to these bills, and that the short-realised amount be written off or the bill value reduced under your policy, with the returned orders closed on the basis of the attached return evidence.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for the due date to pass. An extension or write-off is easier to get before the due date than after it.
• Ignoring the GST side. An export that is unrealised under FEMA can also cost you the IGST refund, or IGST under LUT, with interest.
• Receiving export payouts in a different account. Use an account linked to your IEC. Unlinked receipts are the hardest to match.
• Letting small bills pile up. Hundreds of small open bills make you look like a non-compliant exporter, even when each one is explainable.

Preventing it next time

• Reconcile shipping bills every month. Use the order-level payout statements from each marketplace or aggregator.
• Make sure the bill reference travels with the payout. Ask each payment aggregator to carry the shipping bill or invoice reference in its remittance data.
• Close returns as they happen. Process returns and refunds with the bank each month, not at year end.
• Choose LUT or IGST deliberately. Check how each route affects cash flow and what happens if realisation is late. The export LUT vs IGST calculator below compares them.

When to take professional help

Take help when:

• many bills are past their due date;
• you have been placed on a caution list;
• a GST refund is being recovered.

Talk to your AD bank early. Most issues are resolved through its published policy, without formal proceedings.