RoDTEP: how the scheme works and how to claim it

Updated 15 Oct 2026

This guide is for exporters of goods who want to claim RoDTEP on their shipments. It explains what the scheme pays back, how to claim it on the shipping bill, how the credit reaches your ICEGATE ledger and how you can use or sell it.

What RoDTEP pays back

The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme refunds taxes and levies that are built into the cost of your exported product but are not refunded under any other mechanism. Typical examples are duty on fuel used in manufacture and transport, electricity duty, mandi tax and stamp duty on export documents. It does not refund GST (you handle that through LUT or IGST refund) or customs duty on imported inputs (that is what duty drawback is for).

RoDTEP has run since 1 January 2021. The rates are set by the Department of Commerce and published by DGFT. After a series of short extensions, DGFT announced on 30 September 2026 that the scheme continues up to 31 December 2026 at the existing rates and value caps. Further continuation after that date has not been announced, so watch DGFT notifications and the Exportsmitra alerts.

Appendix 4R and Appendix 4RE

Rates are listed by 8-digit tariff line in two schedules on the DGFT website:

Appendix 4R covers normal exports from the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).
Appendix 4RE covers exports made under Advance Authorisation and exports by EOUs and SEZ units. Benefits for these categories were stopped for a period and restored from 1 June 2025.

Most rates are a percentage of the FOB value, typically between about 0.3% and 4%. Many lines also carry a value cap: a maximum rupee amount per unit of quantity (per kg, per piece and so on). You get the lower of the percentage amount and the capped amount. Some lines carry no rate at all.

The schedules are realigned when the customs tariff changes. With effect from 1 May 2026, DGFT Notification 15/2026-27 added 142 new tariff lines, deleted 50 and amended two descriptions in both appendices. If your product's tariff line changed in the Finance Act 2026, check the new line before you file. You can look up the RoDTEP rate for your heading on the HS Code Finder, but always confirm against the current DGFT appendix.

Who cannot claim

The scheme guidelines exclude a number of export categories. The main ones are:

deemed exports and supplies from the DTA to SEZ units;
goods imported and then re-exported, and trans-shipped goods;
goods subject to export duty or a minimum export price, and restricted or prohibited items;
used goods;
goods made in a customs bonded warehouse under Section 65 of the Customs Act, and exports from EHTP or BTP units;
products covered by RoSCTL (apparel and made-ups), which get that scheme instead.

Check the full list in the DGFT scheme guidelines and Chapter 4 of the Foreign Trade Policy before you rely on a claim. Courier exports (through the customs EDI system at courier terminals) became eligible from 12 September 2024, and electronic postal exports from 15 January 2026.

How to claim, step by step

Make sure your registrations are in place. You need a valid IEC, ICEGATE registration and your AD code registered at the port. Without ICEGATE access you cannot see or use your credit.
Classify correctly. The RoDTEP rate follows the 8-digit tariff item on the shipping bill. A wrong classification means a wrong rate, and possibly recovery later.
Claim on the shipping bill. For each item, your customs broker must mark the claim (the RODTEPY indicator) and file the declaration that you are not claiming the same benefit under another scheme. If the item is marked as not claimed, no RoDTEP accrues, and customs has said it cannot be added after the export general manifest is filed.
Let the system process it. After the let export order (LEO) and the export general manifest, customs processes the claim and generates a scroll with the approved amount. This then appears as credit in your electronic ledger on ICEGATE.
Generate the e-scrip. Log in to ICEGATE and combine credits from one or more scrolls into an e-scrip. If you do not do this within one year of the scroll, the system combines the credits port by port for you.
Use or transfer the e-scrip. See the next section.

Using and selling the e-scrip

An e-scrip can be used to pay basic customs duty on imports cleared through the customs EDI system. It cannot be used for IGST on imports or other levies. If you do not import, you can transfer the e-scrip to another IEC holder through ICEGATE, usually through a scrip broker who pays you a little under face value.

An e-scrip is valid for one year from the date it is generated. Unused credit lapses.
Transfer is all or nothing: you cannot split one e-scrip between buyers.
Transfer does not extend the validity.

Because the clock starts at generation, do not generate e-scrips long before you have a buyer or an import to use them on.

Annual RoDTEP Return

Exporters whose total RoDTEP claims in a financial year exceed ₹1 crore must file an Annual RoDTEP Return (Appendix 4RR) on the DGFT portal under paragraph 4.94 of the Handbook of Procedures. It reports the duties and taxes actually borne on the exported products. DGFT has extended the due dates several times and has allowed late filing with a composition fee; non-filing can lead to denial of benefits and blocking of scrips. Check the latest DGFT trade notice for your financial year.

Common mistakes

Forgetting the claim on the shipping bill. Give your customs broker standing written instructions to claim RoDTEP on every eligible line.
Using an old rate. The rate is the one in force on the LEO date. Rates can change at short notice: DGFT halved rates from 23 February 2026 and restored them from 23 March 2026.
Letting scrips lapse. Track the generation date of every e-scrip.
Ignoring realisation. If export proceeds are not realised within the time allowed under FEMA, the benefit can be recovered from you with interest.
Not keeping records. Keep the documents that support the taxes you have borne. They matter for the annual return and for any audit.

Related on Exportsmitra

Sources

Last checked 1 October 2026. Rules change: confirm with DGFT or your customs broker before you act.

Spotted something out of date? Tell us

Our guides are drafted with the help of AI and checked against official sources, but rules change often and mistakes can slip through. Please confirm with DGFT, CBIC, RBI, ECGC or your bank before you act. General information only, not legal or financial advice.