Expert opinion · Exports

How to generate an eBRC on the DGFT portal, step by step

Short answer. To generate an eBRC yourself, sign in to the DGFT portal for your IEC, open Services › eBRC, pick the inward remittance message (IRM) your bank reported, link it to the Shipping Bill or services invoice it paid, enter the amount it settles and submit with the declaration. Many lines at once go in DGFT's bulk-upload file, or through DGFT's eBRC API with your own credential.

Banks still generate eBRCs for the exports they realise, but an exporter no longer has to wait for them. Once the bank has reported the receipt to DGFT, you can tie it to the export yourself in a few minutes.

CA Abhay JaiswalChartered Accountant · FEMA, RBI reporting and cross-border tax 6 min read Updated
  1. BankIRM reportedAmount, currency, purpose code
  2. YouIRM linkedTo the Shipping Bill or invoice
  3. YouAmount mappedAll of it, part, or several IRMs
  4. DGFTeBRC generatedNumber to download and use
From the bank's IRM to your eBRC

Key points

  • An eBRC is generated from an IRM: the bank's report to DGFT of a receipt for your IEC.
  • No IRM, no eBRC: if a receipt is missing on the portal, ask the bank to report it.
  • You can use part of an IRM, split one IRM across several bills, or club IRMs of the same currency, bank and account.
  • The bulk-upload file and DGFT's eBRC API follow the same rules as the portal screen.
  • Do not send a line twice while DGFT is processing it: a second eBRC for the same money can only be cancelled by DGFT.

Before you start

Every receipt your AD bank handles for an export is reported to DGFT's eBRC system as an inward remittance message (IRM): the IEC, the bank's reference, the date, the amount and currency, the purpose code and the bank's IFSC. You cannot change those particulars, so check them first. If a receipt is not on the portal, or carries the wrong purpose code, ask the bank to report or correct it.

Have the export ready: for goods, the Shipping Bill number, date, port, value and currency and the AD code on it; for services, the invoice number, date, value and currency, its SAC code and how the service was supplied. DGFT Trade Notice 12/2024-25 of 14 August 2024 opened eBRC generation to exporters; the IEC's primary user, or a user it has authorised, does it.

Step by step on the portal

  1. Sign in to the DGFT portal with the IEC's credentials.
  2. Open Services › eBRC. The receipts the banks reported for the IEC are listed as IRMs, each with the amount still free.
  3. Choose the IRM and check its amount, currency, date and purpose code against your records.
  4. Link it to the export it paid: the Shipping Bill for goods, or the invoice for services, with the SAC code and mode of supply.
  5. Enter the amount the IRM settles on that bill. It can be part of the IRM; one IRM can be split across several bills, and IRMs in the same currency, from the same bank and account, can be clubbed into one eBRC.
  6. Tick the declaration and submit. Note the request number DGFT gives.
  7. Download the eBRC once it is generated. The portal shows its utilisation for export benefits: available or utilised.

Many receipts: the bulk-upload file

For more than a handful of lines, DGFT's bulk-upload option takes the same lines in its prescribed template under Services › eBRC. The rules are the same as on the screen: the amount mapped cannot exceed the IRM's free balance, and the particulars must agree with the IRM and the export. Keep the file you uploaded with DGFT's answer, so you can see which lines were accepted.

A steady flow: DGFT's eBRC API

An exporter with many receipts a month can let its own software send the requests. The IEC's primary user generates an API credential on the portal under Services › eBRC › API Credential (it can be downloaded once), registers the outbound IP address the software calls from, and authorises any third-party user with a DSC or Aadhaar e-sign. The software then reads the IRMs, sends each request with the declaration, and collects the eBRC numbers when DGFT has processed them.

When a line is refused

  • More than the IRM's free balance. An earlier eBRC, or an outward remittance message (ORM) for a refund to the buyer, has already used part of it.
  • The export does not match. The Shipping Bill number, date, port or AD code differs from customs' record, or the invoice is not the one the receipt paid.
  • The IRM is under another IEC or carries a purpose code that is not an export of goods or services.
  • The line is already with DGFT. Check the earlier request's status before sending it again.

FxLayer's eBRC tracker builds one line per receipt from the records, checks each against these rules, sends them through DGFT's API with the declaration ticked by an owner or compliance user, or produces the bulk-upload file on any plan, and writes each eBRC number back onto its Shipping Bill or invoice.

Questions

An eBRC can only be generated from an IRM, and only the bank reports IRMs. Ask the bank to report the inward remittance to DGFT for your IEC, with the right purpose code, then link it.
Yes. Map part of the IRM to each bill; together they cannot exceed what the IRM has free. Several IRMs in the same currency, from the same bank and account, can also go into one eBRC.
Yes. Link the IRM to the services invoice instead of a Shipping Bill, with the SAC code and the mode of supply. From 1 October 2026 the same invoices also go on the monthly EDF to the bank.
Only DGFT can cancel an eBRC. Raise it with DGFT, and in future check a request's status before sending the same line again.

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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