Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe

What is the Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme?

Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme is a component of the National SC-ST Hub (NSSH), a scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises implemented by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC). According to the National SC-ST Hub portal, the scheme reimburses 80% or Rs 20,000 (excluding GST and other applicable taxes), whichever is less, in a financial year to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe owned micro or small enterprise (MSE) on the annual membership subscription fee, one-time subscription charges or entry fee charged by various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs).

The intent is to make it cheaper for SC/ST enterprises to join Export Promotion Councils, which provide market access, buyer contacts and the Registration Cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) that Indian exporters need to claim benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy. It sits alongside the other reimbursement components of the National SC-ST Hub; testing fee, bank loan processing and bank guarantee charges reimbursement.

Why does Export Promotion Council membership matter?

An Export Promotion Council (EPC) is a body sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote exports of a particular product group, for example handicrafts, engineering goods, chemicals or textiles. To claim most benefits under India's Foreign Trade Policy, an exporter needs a Registration Cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) issued by the relevant EPC or Commodity Board. Membership also gives access to trade fairs, buyer contacts, market reports and delegations. Because the annual subscription and entry fees can be a real cost for a first-time SC/ST exporter, this reimbursement is designed to lower that barrier and encourage more SC/ST micro and small enterprises to enter export markets.

Who is eligible for the scheme?

You can apply if:

• Your enterprise is a micro or small enterprise with a valid Udyam Registration.
• The enterprise is owned by SC or ST entrepreneurs, for a partnership, LLP or private limited company, more than 51% of the shareholding is held by SC/ST entrepreneurs.
• You hold a valid Import Export Code (IEC) issued by DGFT.
• You have obtained a valid Registration Cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) from an Export Promotion Council and paid the membership or entry fee.

You cannot apply if:

• Your enterprise is not owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs, or SC/ST shareholding is 51% or less.
• You do not have an IEC or an RCMC from a recognised Export Promotion Council.
• The enterprise is not registered on Udyam as a micro or small enterprise.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the scheme

1. Obtain an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT and register with an Export Promotion Council to receive your RCMC, paying the applicable fee.
2. Go to the National SC-ST Hub portal at scsthub.in and register or log in to the Application Centre.
3. Select the Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme and choose Apply Online.
4. Fill in the form and upload the required documents, IEC, RCMC, the fee receipt with GST invoice showing the fee break-up, caste certificate(s) and a cancelled cheque.
5. Submit the application. NSSH offices verify the claim and the reimbursement is transferred to your bank account through PFMS.

How much benefit does the scheme provide?

The scheme reimburses 80% of the EPC membership/entry fee, subject to a maximum of Rs 20,000 (excluding GST and other applicable taxes), in a financial year: whichever of the two is less. For example, on a membership fee of Rs 15,000 the reimbursement is 80% (Rs 12,000), while on a fee of Rs 40,000 the reimbursement is capped at Rs 20,000. The enterprise must first pay the council in full and then claim.

Help and contact

• National SC-ST Hub / NSIC toll-free: 1800-11-1954
• Phone: 011-26926275
• Email: scsthub@nsic.co.in
• Portal: scsthub.in

For the list of approved Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards and Export Development Authorities whose membership fees qualify, refer to the "Approved EPCs/CBs/EDAs" list on the scheme page at scsthub.in.

How to check your application status

The Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme is applied for and tracked entirely through the National SC-ST Hub Application Centre on scsthub.in, so there is no separate offline tracking channel for the claim itself.

1. Go to scsthub.in and log in with the same credentials used to submit the claim.
2. Open the Application Centre or My Applications section of your dashboard, where every scheme claim you have submitted is listed with its current stage, such as submitted, under verification by the NSSH office, or disbursed.
3. Click on the Export Promotion Council Membership Reimbursement Scheme entry to see any remarks left by the verifying office, for example a request for a missing document or a query on the fee break-up.
4. If the portal shows no update for several weeks after submission, call the NSSH/NSIC toll-free number 1800-11-1954 or the landline 011-26926275, or write to scsthub@nsic.co.in, quoting your application/reference number from the portal.
5. Once the claim is approved, the reimbursement is credited directly to the bank account linked through PFMS; the portal status changes to disbursed and this can also be cross-checked against a credit entry in the account whose cancelled cheque was submitted with the claim.

Because disbursal happens through PFMS, an applicant who does not see a portal status update but also does not receive a credit within a reasonable time after approval should confirm that the bank account and IFSC details on file are correct, since a PFMS-side mismatch is a common cause of a stuck, approved claim.

Common reasons for rejection

• RCMC not yet issued or lapsed. The scheme reimburses a fee already paid against a valid, current Registration Cum Membership Certificate. A claim filed before the EPC has issued the RCMC, or with an RCMC that has expired and not been renewed, is rejected. Fix: apply only after the RCMC is in hand, and for a renewal claim attach both the current and the earlier RCMC.
• Claim filed after the 45-day window. The claim must be submitted within 45 days of receiving the RCMC from the Export Promotion Council. A claim filed later is turned down for being time-barred. Fix: start the online application as soon as the RCMC is received, not after other paperwork is ready, and keep the RCMC receipt date as proof of when the window opened.
• SC/ST shareholding not established or not above 51%. For a partnership, LLP or company, the claim is rejected if the caste certificates on file do not cover all partners/directors, or if the shareholding pattern submitted does not clearly show SC/ST entrepreneurs holding more than 51%. Fix: submit caste certificates for every partner or director and a shareholding document (such as the partnership deed or MoA/AoA extract) that states the percentages explicitly.
• Fee receipt does not separate the reimbursable component. The scheme reimburses the membership subscription, one-time subscription or entry fee, excluding GST and other taxes. A receipt or invoice that shows only a lump sum, without breaking out the fee from GST and other charges, is commonly sent back for clarification or rejected outright. Fix: request an EPC receipt/GST invoice that itemises the entrance fee, annual subscription and tax components separately.
• Payment not traceable to the applicant enterprise's account. If the cancelled cheque submitted belongs to an account different from the one that actually paid the EPC, or if the fee was paid in cash or from a personal account rather than the enterprise's current account, the claim is rejected for lack of a verifiable payment trail. Fix: pay the EPC fee from the enterprise's own bank account and submit the cancelled cheque of that same account.
• IEC or Udyam details mismatched or inactive. A claim is rejected when the IEC number, enterprise name or PAN on the RCMC and fee receipt do not match the Udyam Registration, or when the Udyam registration itself has lapsed or was filed under a different enterprise category (medium instead of micro or small). Fix: keep the enterprise name, PAN and IEC identical across Udyam, IEC and RCMC records, and confirm Udyam status is current before applying.
• Enterprise already availed reimbursement up to the annual cap. Since the benefit is capped per financial year, a second claim in the same year that would push the total reimbursement beyond Rs 20,000, or beyond 80% of that year's fees, is rejected for exceeding the entitlement. Fix: track how much of the annual cap has already been used before filing a second EPC membership claim in the same financial year.