Expert opinion · Banking

EDPMS and IDPMS software: a checklist for exporters and importers

Short answer. Good EDPMS and IDPMS software reads the bank's outstanding list and your customs documents, matches every remittance to its Shipping Bill or Bill of Entry (part payments, advances and several bills per payment included), counts down to each due date, and writes the closure, extension and declaration letters the bank needs, with an audit trail. Check how it handles purpose codes, several banks and your ERP.

A spreadsheet tracks a dozen Shipping Bills well enough. It stops working when one payment settles five bills, an advance waits for goods, two banks hold your entries and the bank's list disagrees with yours. That is where software earns its place, if it does the right things.

CA Abhay JaiswalChartered Accountant · FEMA, RBI reporting and cross-border tax 7 min read Updated
  1. BankOutstanding list inEDPMS and IDPMS, file or API
  2. MatchMoney to documentsPart payments and advances
  3. DatesDue dates countedNine or twelve months, six for imports
  4. LettersRequests to the bankClosure, extension, declaration
  5. ClosedEntries clearedWith the audit trail kept
What the software should do every month

Key points

  • Only the AD bank closes EDPMS and IDPMS entries; the software's job is to know what is open, why, and what the bank needs.
  • It should compare the bank's outstanding list with your records, not only keep your own register.
  • Matching has to handle many-to-many payments, advances, set-offs, write-offs and short receipts.
  • The output that matters is the letter to the bank, with the references the bank needs.
  • Ask where the data is kept, who can change it, and whether you can take all of it out.

What the job is

EDPMS and IDPMS are RBI's systems, updated by your AD bank: one holds every Shipping Bill until the export proceeds are realised, the other every import payment and Bill of Entry until the two are matched. You do not log in to either. Your side of the work is to know which entries are open at the bank, why each is open, and to give the bank what it needs to close it before the due date. Software for this is a reconciliation and correspondence tool, built around the bank's view, not only yours.

The checklist

What it should doWhy it mattersAsk
Read the bank's outstanding listThe bank's list is what RBI sees; your register is notDoes it take the bank's EDPMS and IDPMS files, or fetch them through the bank's API, and show where they differ from my records?
Hold the customs documentsShipping Bills and Bills of Entry are what the entries are keyed byCan it import them in bulk, with port codes and AD codes, from customs data or my ERP?
Match money to documentsOne payment often settles several bills, and one bill several paymentsDoes it match part payments, advances (P0103, S0101) and set-offs, and keep the remainder open?
Count the due datesExports from 1 October 2026: nine months, twelve in rupees; imports normally six months from shipmentDoes it use calendar months, record bank extensions and warn me before the date?
Write the bank lettersThe letter is what closes the entryDoes it draft closure, AD-code transfer, reduction, extension and write-off requests, and the quarterly declaration for bills up to ₹10 lakh?
Check purpose codes and formsA wrong code or a missing Form A1 / A2 holds the paymentIs the purpose code chosen from RBI's list, never typed, and does it prepare Form A1, Form A2 and the Form 145 / 146 worksheet where they apply?
Cover several banks and entitiesEntries sit with the bank named on each documentCan one workspace hold several AD banks, accounts and, where needed, IECs?
Follow the eBRCIncentives and refunds wait on itDoes it show which realised exports still lack an eBRC, and help generate them on DGFT?
Connect to the ERPTyping invoices twice causes the mismatchesDoes it read invoices and receipts from my accounting system?
Keep an audit trailBanks and auditors ask who did what, and whenIs every change logged with the user, are roles separate, where is the data hosted, and can I export all of it?

Warning signs

  • It matches one payment to one bill only, so part payments and advances live in notes.
  • Due dates are counted in days rather than calendar months, or ignore the rupee-invoice rule.
  • Purpose codes are free text.
  • Letters are typed outside it, so the reference numbers on them drift from the records.
  • It never looks at the bank's list, so it cannot tell you why the bank thinks a bill is open.

An ERP module or a dedicated tool

An ERP keeps invoices and receipts well, but rarely the bank's view: the outstanding lists, AD codes, purpose codes, Form A1 / A2, extensions and the letters. A dedicated tool sits beside the ERP, reads from it, and does the regulatory side. Whichever you choose, run it on a month of real data, including the awkward cases, before you commit.

FxLayer is built for this side of the work: it reads the bank's outstanding list (or fetches it where the bank's API offers it), matches payments to documents across banks, counts each due date, prepares the bank letters and Form A1 / A2, tracks eBRCs, connects to the accounting system and logs every change. It is free to start, so the check above can be run on your own data.

Questions

No. EDPMS and IDPMS are RBI's systems, updated by the AD banks. Exporters and importers do not log in to them; the bank shares the outstanding list for your IEC, and many banks show it on their trade portals.
Your ERP holds the invoices and receipts, which the work depends on, but usually not the bank's outstanding lists, AD codes, purpose codes, extensions and letters. Most companies keep the ERP as the source and add a tool for the regulatory side.
A month of real data with a part payment, an advance, a short receipt and a bill under another bank's AD code. Check the result against the bank's list and read the letters it produces.

Sources

This article is general information on Indian foreign exchange and tax rules as they stood on the date shown. It is not legal or tax advice. Rules and limits change; confirm the current position with your AD bank, the relevant RBI Master Direction or your adviser before acting.

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