- AD bankAuthorised dealer (Category-I) bankA bank RBI allows to deal in foreign exchange. Your export earnings and import payments go through it, and it reports them to RBI.
- AIDCAgriculture Infrastructure and Development CessA cess on a list of imported goods, such as gold and some edible oils. Where it applies, the basic customs duty is usually lowered to match.
- Air waybillAWBThe airline's receipt and contract for carrying goods by air. Unlike a bill of lading it is not a title document: the airline releases the goods to the consignee named on it.
- Anti-dumping dutyADDAn extra duty on a product from named countries, and sometimes named exporters, sold below its normal price. It covers only the goods and parties named in the notification.
- Assessable valueThe value customs charges duty on: usually the CIF value, converted to rupees at the customs exchange rate.
- BCDBasic customs dutyThe main import duty in India. Each 8-digit code has its own rate, usually a percentage of the assessable value. Rates come from the Customs Tariff Act and CBIC notifications.
- Bill of entryThe customs declaration an importer files to bring goods into India.
- Bill of ladingB/LThe document the shipping line issues when it takes goods to carry by sea: a receipt, the contract of carriage, and usually title to the goods. The buyer normally hands in an original to collect the goods.
- BISBureau of Indian StandardsIndia's national standards body. It writes Indian Standards and licenses or registers makers to use its Standard Mark, such as the ISI mark, which is compulsory, imports included, for any product a quality control order covers.
- CBICCentral Board of Indirect Taxes and CustomsThe Finance Ministry body that runs customs and GST. It publishes duty notifications and the customs exchange rates.
- CBLRCustoms Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018The CBIC rules on who may work as a customs broker, how the licence exam is held, and what a broker must and must not do. NACIN, CBIC's training academy, holds the written and oral exam under them.
- Certificate of originA document that proves where goods were made. You need it to claim a lower duty under a trade agreement.
- CFSContainer freight stationA customs area attached to a port, airport or ICD, set up to take load off the port. Containers are packed and unpacked and goods examined there, while the papers are assessed at the parent customs house.
- CHACustom house agent, now officially a customs brokerA person licensed by Indian Customs to file bills of entry and shipping bills and deal with customs for importers and exporters. The law now calls them customs brokers, but most traders still say CHA.
- ChapterThe first 2 digits of an HS code: a broad family of goods, such as 61 for knitted clothing.
- CIFCost, insurance and freightThe price of the goods plus shipping and insurance up to the Indian port. Indian customs works out import duty on this value.
- Commercial invoiceThe seller's final bill for the goods shipped: what was sold, how much, at what price and on which Incoterm. Customs and banks work from it, so it must match the packing list and the transport document.
- Countervailing dutyCVDAn extra duty that cancels out a subsidy a foreign government gave the exporter. Older Indian papers also used "CVD" for the additional customs duty that IGST replaced in 2017.
- Customs exchange rateThe rupee rate CBIC fixes for each currency, usually twice a month. Customs uses the rate in force on the day your bill of entry or shipping bill is filed.
- D/ADocuments against acceptanceLike D/P, but the buyer's bank releases the documents when the buyer accepts a bill of exchange, a promise to pay on a set later date. You carry the risk that the buyer does not pay then.
- D/PDocuments against paymentYour bank sends the shipping documents to the buyer's bank, which hands them over only when the buyer pays. The banks follow ICC's URC 522 rules but do not promise that the buyer will pay.
- DGCI&SDirectorate General of Commercial Intelligence and StatisticsThe office that publishes India's official monthly import and export figures.
- DGFTDirectorate General of Foreign TradeThe Commerce Ministry office that sets India's import and export policy and issues IECs and licences.
- DGTRDirectorate General of Trade RemediesThe office that investigates dumping, subsidies and import surges and recommends anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard duty.
- Duty drawbackDBKA refund of the customs duty paid on imported inputs used to make goods you export, or on imported goods sent back out. Most exporters claim it on the shipping bill at a fixed rate per product, the all industry rate.
- EDPMSExport Data Processing and Monitoring SystemRBI's system that records each export against your bank and keeps it open until the bank marks it paid. If one stays unpaid a year past its deadline, later exports need full advance payment or an irrevocable letter of credit.
- Exact codeOfficial name: tariff lineThe full 8-digit code India uses. Indian duty and import-export rules are set at this level.
- FCLFull container loadA whole container booked by one shipper for its own goods, paid per container whether it is full or not.
- FOBFree on boardThe price of the goods once loaded on the ship at the port of export, without freight or insurance. Export values are usually given FOB.
- FTAFree trade agreementA deal between countries that lowers or removes duty on goods made in the partner country. You usually need a certificate of origin to claim it.
- GSP and DCTSSchemes under which richer countries charge developing countries lower or no duty. GSP is the name the EU and others use; the UK's scheme is called DCTS. Which Indian goods qualify differs by country and product.
- HS codeHarmonized System codeThe number that identifies a product in world trade. The first 6 digits are the same in every country; India adds 2 more for its 8-digit codes.
- ICDInland container depotA customs station away from the sea port, often called a dry port. Containers are cleared there and the bill of entry or shipping bill is filed and assessed, just as at a port.
- ICEGATEIndian Customs Electronic GatewayThe customs website where bills of entry and shipping bills are filed and where the latest exchange rates appear.
- IECImporter Exporter CodeThe 10-character number from DGFT that a business needs to import into or export from India.
- IGSTIntegrated GSTGST charged on imports, worked out on the assessable value plus basic customs duty and surcharge. A GST-registered importer can usually claim it back as input tax credit.
- IncotermsCurrent edition: Incoterms® 2020The International Chamber of Commerce's 11 three-letter trade terms, such as EXW, FOB and CIF. The one in your contract says who pays for freight and other costs, and where the risk passes from seller to buyer.
- ITC(HS)DGFT's list that says, for each 8-digit code, whether India lets it be imported or exported freely, only with a licence, only through state trading enterprises, or not at all.
- Landed costWhat the goods cost once they reach India: the assessable value plus customs duties and IGST. It leaves out port, clearing and transport charges.
- LCLLess than container loadA shipment too small for a whole container, so it shares one with other shippers' goods. It is usually packed and unpacked at a container freight station, and you pay by volume or weight.
- LEILegal Entity IdentifierA 20-character code that identifies a company in financial transactions worldwide. Having one or not says nothing about whether a company is risky.
- Let Export OrderLEOCustoms' order that allows exported goods to be loaded on the ship or plane. It comes once customs is satisfied with the shipping bill and, if it checks them, the goods.
- Letter of creditLC, also called a documentary creditA bank's promise, made for the buyer, to pay the seller once the seller presents documents that meet the credit's terms. Most are issued under the International Chamber of Commerce's UCP 600 rules.
- LUTLetter of undertaking (Form GST RFD-11)An undertaking a GST-registered exporter files on the GST portal for each financial year, before exporting, so it can export goods or services without paying IGST.
- MFN rateMost-favoured-nation rateThe standard duty a country charges goods from other WTO members when no trade agreement or special scheme gives a lower rate.
- Out of chargeOOCCustoms' order that lets imported goods leave the port, airport or ICD. It comes once the duty is paid and any examination is done; after it, you can take the goods away.
- Packing listA list of what is in each package of a shipment, with quantities, weights and sizes. DGFT makes it a mandatory document for every import and export, and a combined commercial invoice cum packing list is also accepted.
- Preferential rateA duty lower than the MFN rate, given to goods from a particular country under a trade agreement or scheme, if the goods meet its rules of origin.
- Product familyOfficial name: headingThe first 4 digits, such as 6109 for T-shirts, singlets and vests.
- Product typeOfficial name: subheadingThe first 6 digits. They are the same worldwide, so foreign duty and trade figures are compared at this level.
- Proforma invoiceA first invoice the seller sends before shipping, setting out the goods, price and terms so the buyer can confirm the order, pay an advance or open a letter of credit. It is not the invoice customs clears the goods on.
- Purpose codeA short RBI code you give your bank with each payment to or from abroad, saying what it is for. Codes starting with P are for money coming in and S for money going out, such as S0102 for paying an import invoice.
- QCOQuality control orderA government order that makes BIS certification compulsory for a product. Once it is in force, the product cannot be made, imported or sold in India without the BIS Standard Mark, except as the order itself exempts.
- RCMCRegistration-cum-Membership CertificateProof that you are a member of the export promotion council or commodity board for your main product, or of FIEO if none covers it. You need it to apply for most authorisations and benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy.
- RoDTEPRemission of Duties and Taxes on Exported ProductsA scheme that refunds central, state and local duties and taxes built into exported goods that no other scheme refunds. You claim it on the shipping bill and receive an e-scrip on ICEGATE, used to pay basic customs duty or passed to another IEC holder.
- RUCRegistro Único de ContribuyentesPeru's tax ID for businesses, similar to a PAN in India.
- Rules of originThe conditions goods must meet to count as made in a country, such as enough local processing or local content.
- Safeguard dutyA temporary extra duty when a sudden surge of imports seriously harms Indian producers. It usually applies to imports from all countries, with some exceptions.
- Sanctions listA government list of people, companies, ships and aircraft you may not deal with, or may deal with only under a licence. We check UN, US and UK lists.
- Section 301A US trade law that lets the US add extra duties on a country's goods when it finds that country's trade practices unfair. It is best known for extra duties on many Chinese goods.
- Shipping billThe customs declaration an exporter files to send goods out of India.
- STEState trading enterpriseAn organisation named by the government as the only one allowed to import or export certain goods, such as some farm products.
- SUNATPeru's tax and customs agency. It publishes Peru's import declarations, which is where the buyer names come from.
- SWSSocial Welfare SurchargeAn extra charge on imports, usually 10% of the basic customs duty, not of the goods' value. Some goods pay less or none.
Trade Academy is education, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules and rates change by notification: check the live source, or ask a licensed customs broker, before you act.