RCMC and APEDA registration for exporters

DGFT asks for your RCMC before it grants a licence such as EPCG or Advance Authorisation. Exporters of the food and farm goods on APEDA's list must register with APEDA. We prepare and file both. You sign.

Registration-cum-Membership Certificate
RCMC issuedReady for your licence applications

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Do you need an RCMC or APEDA registration?

It depends on what you want to do. Pick the case closest to yours.

What do you want to do?

You need an RCMC

DGFT asks for it when you apply for a licence or benefit under trade policy. That covers EPCG and Advance Authorisation. You take it from the council for your main products.

See the EPCG licence

You need a council or board registration

Merchant exporters can buy goods for export at a lower GST rate. To get it you must be registered with an export promotion council or a commodity board. Your RCMC shows it. Without it your supplier charges the full rate.

You need APEDA registration for goods on its list

The APEDA Act asks everyone who exports these goods to register. That goes for merchants and manufacturers alike. The registration is also your RCMC. Spices, tea and coffee are not on APEDA's list. Their exporters register with their own boards instead. Seafood exporters register with MPEDA. Food exporters need an FSSAI licence too.

See the FSSAI licence

Not just to ship, for most goods

For most goods you need an RCMC only for licences and benefits under trade policy. A merchant exporter also needs one for the lower GST rate. Duty drawback and the other refunds on exports need none. Some goods need a board registration by law before they leave. Food and farm goods on APEDA's list need APEDA's. Spices need the Spices Board's. Tea and coffee need their own boards' too.

No RCMC for that consignment under trade policy

Trade policy no longer asks for an RCMC on an export consignment up to a set value. That holds however you send it. Larger consignments follow the usual rule. You still need an RCMC to apply for a licence such as EPCG. You still need a council or board registration for the lower GST rate. Goods that need a board registration by law still need it, such as food on APEDA's list and spices.

Start with your IEC

An RCMC sits on your IEC, so the IEC comes first. You need an RCMC before you apply for a licence such as EPCG, even before your first export. Your council takes new exporters as associate members. We prepare and file both.

IEC registration
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What you need before you apply

You apply on the DGFT portal from the login that holds your IEC. Have these in place first.

  1. PAN
  2. An active IECIEC
  3. Digital signature or Aadhaar e-signSignature
  4. RCMC or APEDA registrationRCMC

The papers your council asks for

Your IEC

Active and up to date. The portal reads your business details from it.

Your export products

The goods you export and your main line of business. They decide your council.

Your category

Merchant, manufacturer or service provider. You tick each that applies.

For manufacturers

Proof that you manufacture, such as your Udyam registration. APEDA also takes an FSSAI licence. For some goods the proof comes from a state department.

Your past exports

Some councils ask for your CA's certificate of last year's exports. They set their yearly fee by it.

GST certificate

If you are registered for GST. Some councils ask for it.

How we get your RCMC or APEDA registration

We prepare and file it on the DGFT portal. You sign where the law asks you to.

  1. We match your main products to the council or board that covers them. Food on APEDA's list goes to APEDA. Products no council covers go to FIEO.

  2. We fill in the e-RCMC form from your IEC. Then we add your papers.

  3. You sign with your digital signature or Aadhaar e-sign. You pay the council's fee online on the portal.

  4. Your council checks the file. If it asks for more we answer it.

  5. Your council issues it on the DGFT portal. It is linked to your IEC there.

  6. We quote it on each licence application we file for you with DGFT, such as EPCG or an advance licence.

How we keep your RCMC live

An RCMC runs for a set term. Some councils also want a fee every year. We track both.

  • Renewal

    Before it runs out

    We file your renewal on the DGFT portal before your RCMC lapses. APEDA registration renews the same way.

  • Yearly subscription

    Each year at some councils

    Some councils charge a subscription each year. Your membership lapses if it goes unpaid. We remind you before it falls due.

  • Changes

    When things change

    Tell your council soon after you change your name, address, owners or legal form. We file the change for you.

  • Export returns

    As your council asks

    When you join you agree to send your council returns of your exports, nil ones included. APEDA's law asks its registered exporters for returns too. We prepare them from your shipping bills.

  • IEC update

    Every year

    Your RCMC rests on your IEC. We file the IEC's yearly update so DGFT keeps it active.

  • Status check

    Before each application

    We check that your RCMC is live and covers the right products before we file a licence application.

Where RCMC and APEDA registrations go wrong

Most of the trouble comes from the wrong council or a date nobody watched.

  • What goes wrong: You join a council that does not cover your main products. Your licence application then runs into questions.

    What we do: We match your products to the right council before we file.

  • What goes wrong: A food exporter joins FIEO for a product on APEDA's list. The APEDA registration the law asks for is still missing.

    What we do: We check your products against APEDA's list first.

  • What goes wrong: The first food export goes out and nobody registers with APEDA in time.

    What we do: We file your application before your first export.

  • What goes wrong: The yearly subscription or the renewal lapses. A licence application stalls on it.

    What we do: We track both and remind you before each falls due.

  • What goes wrong: You register as a merchant but you manufacture. Or the other way round.

    What we do: We file it in the right category with proof that you manufacture.

  • What goes wrong: You pay for an RCMC you do not need. You only wanted drawback or to ship a small consignment.

    What we do: We tell you first whether you need one at all.

Where our warehouses come in

Your RCMC names no site. We come in when your goods move.

  • Goods from several suppliers

    We gather goods from your suppliers into one export order at our warehouse. You get a receipt for each supplier's goods when you buy at the lower GST rate for merchant exporters.

  • Food held for export

    Your packaged food waits in our FSSAI licensed food warehouses. We pack each export order there.

  • Cleared by our own team

    Our customs team clears your goods at the port. Our own DGFT team handles your RCMC and licences. So your licences and shipping bills match.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Still have a question?

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What is the full form of RCMC?
Registration-cum-Membership Certificate. It shows you are a member of the export promotion council, commodity board or FIEO that covers your main products. DGFT asks for it before it grants a licence or benefit under the Foreign Trade Policy.
Is RCMC mandatory for export?
Not to ship most goods. You need it when you apply for a licence or other benefit under the Foreign Trade Policy, such as EPCG or Advance Authorisation. A merchant exporter also needs it to buy at the lower GST rate. Duty drawback and the other refunds on exports need none. Nor does an export consignment up to a set value. Some goods are different. Their exporters must register with a board by law. Food and farm goods on APEDA's list need APEDA. Spices need the Spices Board, whose registration also counts as an RCMC. Tea and coffee need their own boards.
Is RCMC mandatory for a merchant exporter?
Yes, for trade policy licences and benefits. It also matters for the lower GST rate on goods you buy for export. That rate needs you to be registered with an export promotion council or commodity board. You register in the merchant category. If you also manufacture you register as both.
Is RCMC needed for import?
Not to import. You need it only when you apply for a licence or benefit under trade policy. That includes an advance licence or EPCG to import without duty. A DGFT licence to import or export a restricted item does not need one.
Is RCMC and IEC the same?
No. Your IEC is your code from DGFT to import or export at all. Your RCMC shows you belong to an export council or board. You need the IEC first. You need the RCMC for trade policy licences and benefits and for the lower GST rate for merchant exporters. Exporters of some goods, such as food on APEDA's list and spices, must register with a board by law.
Which export promotion council should I join?
The one that covers your main line of business. For example engineering goods go to the engineering council. Garments go to the apparel council. FIEO gives the RCMC when no council covers your product. It also takes exporters of many products whose main line is not settled yet. Exporters of many products with their head office in the North East can go to the shellac and forest products council. Units in an SEZ and export oriented units have a council of their own. Service exporters go to the services council. Food and farm goods on APEDA's list go to APEDA.
How long is RCMC valid?
For a set term that counts from the start of the financial year it is issued in. Your council can set a different end date. Then you renew it on the DGFT portal. Some councils also charge a subscription every year. Their membership lapses at the end of the financial year if it goes unpaid.
What documents are required for RCMC?
Your IEC, which the portal reads your details from. Your export products and your main line of business. Manufacturers add proof that they manufacture, such as their Udyam registration. Some councils also ask for your GST certificate and a CA's certificate of last year's exports. A merchant exporter applying to APEDA needs only its IEC.
How do I get an RCMC online?
You apply under e-RCMC on the DGFT portal from the login that holds your IEC. You pick your council and products and add your papers. Next you pay the council's fee online. You sign with your digital signature or Aadhaar e-sign. The council checks the file and issues the RCMC there. We prepare and file it with you.
Is APEDA registration mandatory for export?
Yes, for products on APEDA's list. The APEDA Act asks everyone who exports them to register, merchant or manufacturer. The law gives you a short window after your first export. APEDA can extend it. We file your APEDA application before you ship. A food exporter also needs an FSSAI licence.
Which products need APEDA registration?
Fruits and vegetables and what is made from them. Meat, poultry and dairy products. Biscuits, bakery goods, sweets, cocoa and chocolate. Honey, jaggery and sugar products. Drinks with or without alcohol. Rice and other cereals and their products. Groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts. Pickles, chutneys and papads. Guar gum, flowers and herbal and medicinal plants. Cashew nuts and their products. De-oiled rice bran. Spices, tea and coffee go to their own boards. Seafood goes to MPEDA.
Is APEDA and RCMC the same?
For products on APEDA's list, yes. APEDA issues your registration as an RCMC on the DGFT portal. One registration covers both the APEDA Act and trade policy. For other products you take your RCMC from your council or FIEO. APEDA registers exporters only, so importers do not need it.