INTRODUCTION:Any individual or a partnership firm or HUF or a private limited company or a public limited company that desires to enter into

export trade must follow guidelines provided by the foreign trade[Development and Regulations] Act,1992.Under the Act ,Director General Of Foreign Trade {DGFT} has been appointed to facilitate imports & augment exports. The act requires a person or organization to register itself with the DGFT. Registration of export business is compulsory with various authorities because it will deal in foreign exchange & also be eligible to enjoy the benefits & incentives provided by the government. Registered export businesses are easy to regulate.

REGISTRATION WITH VARIOUS AUTHORITIES:Deciding the nature of business:First of all, a newcomer in export business must decide the nature of business. His choice will be one of the following: Sole proprietary business Partnership Joint stock company

Selection of name of the firm:An exporter is free to choose the name for his firm provide it does not clash with another name already in exsistence.As far as possible, the selected name must suggest that the firm is engaged in export/import business.

Approval of firms name:Regional licensing authority of DGFT approves names of export firms .In case of export of readymade garments; the exporter must obtain approval from Apparel Expert Promotion Council {AEPC}. The exporter has to apply to AEPC in the prescribed application form for the clearance of the name. The exporter has to submit three names in order of preference. When one name is approved by AEPC registration of firm in that name with AEPC must be completed within three months. Once registration is completed the firm would become eligible to receive quota allocation for export of readymade garments to countries like USA, Canada, and Australia & European Union.

Opening of bank account:An exporter has to select a bank which undertakes to fulfill all banking formalities connected with negotiation of documents and realization of export proceeds. A current account is operated for export business. The bank must be authorized to deal in foreign exchange. The exporter must apply to the bank & get preshipment & post shipment credit limit fixed.

Registration with excise authorities:The exporters are exempted from payment of excise duty. They have two options: Either deposit excise duty at the time of clearance from factory & Later claim refund or open a Bond Account with Maritime Collector of Central Excise.

Registration with Export Promotion Council [EPC}:Every exporter is required to register his firm with the concerned council meant for his commodity e.g.: an exporter of textiles must register with the Textiles Exports Promotion Council. The concerned EPC issues the following three firms for the exporters convenience: Application for Registration Application for Membership Application for Registration-cum-Membership Certificates [RCMC]

Obtaining Membership of Chambers of Commerce:An exporter must become member of a regional chamber of commerce. Membership of such organization is useful for securing Certificate of Origin.

Obtaining GIR No./PAN:Income from exports is exempted from income tax, for which the exporter is required to register his firm with income Tax authorities. For this purpose, he has to first obtain General Index Registration [GIR No which is a temporary no allotted by the Income Tax authorities. Such GIR No is then replaced by the Permanent Account Number [PAN] is due course of time

Registration for Code no from DGFT:This is another formality which every exporter has to complete, without which he cannot export any commodity. The code NO is known as Importer-Exporter code [IEC] No. This code no is granted by Director General of Foreign Trade

Fill up ANF 2A Form:Our government has decided to maintain profile of exporters & importers. Hence they are required to fill up Aayaat Niryaat Form-ANF 2A with Regional Authority who will enter this information in their data base. This will do away with the need to ask for informations again & again

Registration for BIN:BIN stands for Business Identification Number. The exporters are required to obtain PAN based BIN from Directorate General of Foreign Trade before customs clearance of goods. The government has decided for BIN in order to bring common identification no. to all persons dealing with different regulatory agencies like customs department, central excise department, income tax, sales tax, DGFT, etc.

Registration with Sales Tax Authorities:Goods used for export trade are eligible for exemption from sales tax. The exporter must get himself registered with the Sales Tax Authorities of his sate. He must follow the procedure prescribed under Sales Tax Act applicable to his state.

Registration with VAT Authority:Value Added Tax [vat] is a tax on consumption. It is multi-point tax. It is levied & collected at the tim of production at each stage of exchange Goods manufactured or purchased from the domestic market meant for export purpose are fully exempted from VAT. The export firm is required to be registered with the VAT authority of the state concerned. Further it is required to comply with the given procedure to obtain exemption from the payment of VAT.

Registration with ECGC:An exporter must register with ECGC to cover political & commercial risks, to insure export realization, exchange rate risks etc.

Registration with IIFT & NPC:An exporter is also advised to become member of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade [IIFT] New Delhi, National Productivity Council [NPC] & local productivity council such as Bombay Productivity Council &FIEO

Filing Income Tax Returns:It is compulsory for the exporter to file income tax return annually. The return must include details of export-import made in the preceding year by 30th June of each year. The return is filed with the website www.nic.in/eximpol. if the annual return is not filed the IEC number shall be blocked till such time that the return is filed. In case the exporter has not under taken any transaction in the preceding year, his IEC number shall become inoperative for the next year w.e.f. 1st July. The Issuing Authority is empowered to reactivate IEC no. After receiving Rs 500 as fine.