RCMC Registration (Export Promotion Councils)

No, not for every shipment. Under paragraph 2.57(a) of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, you need an RCMC when you apply for an authorisation to import or export, or for any other benefit or concession under the policy, unless specifically exempted. Exporters of APEDA scheduled products are different: Section 12 of the APEDA Act requires them to register within one month of exporting. If you plan to claim benefits, get the RCMC early.

The council for your main line of business. You declare that line in the application, and you apply to the export promotion council or commodity board that relates to it. Agricultural and processed food in the APEDA Schedule goes to APEDA. Multi-product exporters can take their RCMC from FIEO, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. We review your products and HS codes and recommend one registering authority before you pay any fee.

On the DGFT portal, through its e-RCMC module. DGFT’s page lists 26 export promotion councils and 9 commodity boards authorised to issue e-RCMCs. The move followed DGFT Trade Notice 35/2021-22 dated 24 February 2022; APEDA, for example, began issuing through the DGFT portal on 17 July 2023. You log in with your IEC, pick the registering authority, upload documents and pay the fee. We do this for you.

Five financial years. An RCMC is deemed valid from 1 April of the licensing year in which it is issued and runs for five financial years ending 31 March. A certificate issued in October 2026 is therefore valid until 31 March 2031, even though it was issued mid-year. After that, you renew it. We diarise the date so you are never caught without a valid certificate.

It depends on the council, because each one charges its own membership fee. APEDA, for example, charges ₹5,000 plus 18% GST, a total of ₹5,900, for five years. Its renewal costs the same ₹5,900, and it amends an issued RCMC without any fee. We confirm your council’s current fee before you apply, and quote our professional fee separately.

Three things on the DGFT side: an active Import Export Code, an updated IEC profile, and a digital signature token or Aadhaar e-signature linked to your login. The council may then ask for its own documents. APEDA, for instance, wants a signed and sealed IEC copy, and manufacturers also show proof of manufacturing. If any of the three DGFT prerequisites is missing, we sort it out first.

No. The IEC is your Import Export Code, issued by DGFT, and it is the prerequisite for an RCMC. The RCMC is your registration with an export promotion council or commodity board, and it is what the Foreign Trade Policy asks for when you claim an authorisation or benefit. You need the IEC first, then the RCMC. We can handle both in one sequence.

It lapses after 31 March of its fifth financial year, and you need to renew it. Until you renew, applications for authorisations and benefits under the FTP cannot rely on it. For APEDA, renewal costs ₹5,900, the same as a fresh registration. We remind you ahead of 31 March and file the renewal in time, so the gap never opens.

Any authorisation to import or export under the FTP, except for items listed as ‘Restricted’ in ITC(HS), and any other benefit or concession under the policy, unless specifically exempted. That covers authorisations under the duty exemption and remission schemes in Chapter 4 and the EPCG scheme in Chapter 5. If you are planning a capital goods import under EPCG, the RCMC comes first. We check the scheme rules for you.