Export promotion councils and the RCMC

Export promotion councils (EPCs) are organisations of exporters, set up to promote and develop India's exports. Each one looks after a group of products or services: there is one for readymade garments, one for engineering goods, one for services, and so on. DGFT recognises them as registering authorities, which register exporters as members.

Commodity boards, such as the Spices Board, the Tea Board and the Coffee Board, and export development authorities, such as APEDA for farm and processed foods and MPEDA for marine products, do the same job for their products. DGFT lists every council, board and authority, with the products each covers, in Appendix 2T. FIEO, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, is on the list too, for exporters no council covers.

When a council admits you as a member, it gives you a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate, or RCMC. It shows that you are registered as an exporter with the council for your product. These rules decide which council issues it:

• Apply to the council for your main line of business, the product you mainly export.
• If no council covers your product, or you export many products and have not settled on a main one, you can get the RCMC from FIEO.
• To be registered as a manufacturer exporter, give the council proof that you make the goods.
• Not exporting yet? You can join a council as an associate member.
• A spice exporter's registration with the Spices Board, and a coir exporter's with the Coir Board, count as an RCMC.

Under para 2.57 of the Foreign Trade Policy, you must give an RCMC when you apply for an authorisation to import or export under the policy, or for any other benefit or concession under it, unless the policy exempts you. Two exceptions are written in: an authorisation for an item that ITC(HS) lists as restricted, and any export consignment worth ₹10,000 FOB or less.

So the RCMC is not a condition for every shipment. It is your way into the Foreign Trade Policy's schemes and authorisations, such as an Advance Authorisation, which lets you import inputs that go into your export product without duty, or an EPCG authorisation, which lets you import capital goods at zero customs duty against an export obligation. Exporters who plan to use them usually get an RCMC early.

1. 1Make sure your IEC is active and your IEC profile on DGFT is up to date.
2. 2Keep a digital signature token or Aadhaar e-sign ready.
3. 3Apply through e-RCMC on dgft.gov.in, choosing the council for your main product. The application form is ANF-2C. The same e-RCMC service handles renewals and amendments later.
4. 4Once the council admits you, you get the RCMC, and it is recorded in your IEC profile on DGFT with your other registrations. Anyone can view a firm's RCMC details on DGFT with its IEC and the first three letters of its name.
5. 5If your ownership, constitution, name or address changes, tell the council within one month.

A council can de-register a member that breaks the conditions of registration, after a show cause notice and a fair chance to reply. You can appeal to DGFT within 45 days.