What is Import/Export Business?

Import/Export Business also called as International trade is the exchange of

capital, goods, or services across international borders or territories. As the owner of an import export
company, you can work as a distributor by focusing on exporting and importing goods and services that
cannot be obtained on national soil or those that are cheaper when imported from other countries (e.g.,
Chinese electronics).

So basically you will be either importing/exporting two things

1. ‘Services ‘ (ex: Web designing, software development etc) “OR”

2. ‘Goods’ (ex:Fashion,electronic Products etc)

Import/Export of Services
If you are planning to start you business in importing/exporting your services offerings then following things
will be required for you to get started

 PAN Card of the Sole Proprietor – PAN Card in the individual’s name will be enough for filing tax
 Bank Account in the name of your Sole Proprietorship business
 If you are collecting tax either from the customers or your employees then a TAN is Must and complete
procedure to apply TAN is explained in simple terms here –http://www.startupfreak.com/how-to-get-tan-
number-in-india/
 If you are buying or selling taxable goods within a state, then VAT registration should be obtained. And if
you are buying or selling taxable good across different states then you have to obtain CST registration.
 Professional tax if hiring employees
 For exports of services, Indian service tax is not applicable. To avail this you need to keep all the FIRC
(Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates) which your bank will send you each time you receive money from
abroad into your account (if your bank does not send the FIRC automatically, you need to request your bank
to send you the same). The FIRCs will prove to the service tax authorities, that all your income was
generated from exports of services and hence the Indian service tax is not applicable.
 Import/Export of Goods
When you want to do international trade for Goods/Products then apart from all the above mentions
registrations you need to obtain a unique 10 digit Importer Exporter Codealso, without which you cannot
carry on the import and export activities. DGFT – Director General of Foreign Trade and Ministry of Commerce
in India are the two higher authorities that administered the process of issuing IE code to the respective
applicants.

Steps to Start Importing/Exporting your Products

1. Selection of Products and Target Market/Countries
Decide on the Products you will be trading and get the ITC-HS codes for your Products which you can get from
here http://www.dgft.org/itc_hs_code.html ITC-HS Codes or better known as Indian Trade Clarification based
on Harmonized System of Coding was adopted in India for import-export operations. Indian custom uses an
eight digit ITC-HS Codes to suit the national trade requirements. To help you decide with the best target
market for your Product you can refer to the Annual Statistics of Foreign Trade
here http://www.dailyexportimportdata.com/Menu/Frame.asp?Frame=Ftsa

2 . Obtain Importer Exporter Code (IEC)

More details here – http://dgft.gov.in/ Apply for it online here http://dgftcom.nic.in/ieconline.htm. Importer
Exporter Code Fees 250( Approx) It takes from 2 Days to 10 days to obtain you IE Code.

3. Other Registrations
 Once you get your Importer Exporter Code, you need to register your IEC and Authorized dealer code details
with the port through which you are exporting or importing. If you are going to export by sea, you need to
register with sea port customs and if export by air, with airport customs.
 If your product falls under excisable goods [Read What is Excise Duty], you need to register with nearest
central excise department to claim necessary export excise benefits under your goods exporting. The
registration has to be done within the jurisdiction where your shop is located.
 If you are manufacturer and exporter then many Government agencies support such export to boost Indian
economy and will assist you with all kinds of support including financial. You can obtain Registration Cum
Membership Certificate (RCMC) from Export Promotion councils.
 Register with Sales Tax Authorities
All the Best!