RoDTEP Scheme (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products)

What is the RoDTEP scheme?

RoDTEP, the Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products, is a central export scheme notified by the Department of Commerce and administered on the customs side by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. RoDTEP took effect for exports from 1 January 2021 and replaced the earlier Merchandise Exports from India Scheme after MEIS was found to be inconsistent with WTO rules.

According to Para 4.54 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, the object of RoDTEP is to refund duties, taxes and levies at the central, state and local level that are borne on the exported product but are not refunded by any other mechanism. That includes prior-stage cumulative indirect taxes on goods and services used in production, and indirect taxes incurred in distributing the exported product. Familiar examples are VAT and excise on the diesel used to move raw material, electricity duty on power consumed by the factory, mandi tax on agricultural inputs and stamp duty on export documents.

RoDTEP is deliberately not a subsidy. The Foreign Trade Policy states that the rebate is not available for duties and taxes already exempted, remitted or credited elsewhere, so it does not overlap with GST refunds, duty drawback or Advance Authorisation.

Key features

• Rebate is a notified percentage of FOB value, fixed for each 8-digit HS code, with a per-unit value cap wherever notified.
• Rates for DTA exports sit in Appendix 4R; rates for exports by Advance Authorisation holders, EOUs and SEZ units sit in Appendix 4RE.
• Payment is made as a transferable duty credit e-scrip in an electronic ledger maintained by CBIC, usable only to pay Basic Customs Duty.
• The scheme runs inside an annual budget ceiling. Para 4.54 states that remission of arrears cannot be carried into the next financial year, which is why rates are revised or capped mid-year when the outlay runs tight.

Is RoDTEP open right now?

Yes, but on a rolling extension rather than an open-ended commitment. DGFT Notification No. 74/2025-26 dated 31 March 2026 extended RoDTEP for a further six months, covering exports from 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026, with the existing rates and value caps in Appendix 4R and 4RE continuing unchanged.

The scheme has been volatile in 2026. Rates on all products outside ITC (HS) Chapters 1 to 24 were cut to 50% of notified levels in February 2026 as a budget control measure, and were then restored to their earlier levels the following month. DGFT has since issued further housekeeping notifications, including Notification 15/2026-27 dated 30 April 2026 aligning the RoDTEP schedule with changes in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act. Exporters costing an order that ships after September 2026 should not assume today's rate will hold.

Who is eligible for RoDTEP and who cannot apply?

You can claim RoDTEP if:

• You hold a valid Importer Exporter Code (IEC) and export goods physically out of India.
• Your export item appears in Appendix 4R (for Domestic Tariff Area units) or Appendix 4RE (for Advance Authorisation holders, Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zone units).
• The shipping bill is filed electronically through ICEGATE EDI and carries the RoDTEP claim declaration at item level.
• Export proceeds are realised within the period allowed under FEMA, 1999.

Both manufacturer exporters and merchant exporters are eligible. There is no turnover floor, no MSME requirement and no separate registration with DGFT beyond the IEC.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, in these cases listed in Para 4.55 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023:

• Export of imported goods covered by Para 2.46 of the FTP, that is, re-export in the same form.
• Trans-shipment exports; goods originating in a third country and merely routed through India.
• Products subject to a minimum export price or an export duty.
• Products restricted or prohibited for export under Schedule 2 of the Export Policy in ITC (HS).
• Deemed exports, and supplies made by DTA units to SEZ or FTWZ units.
• Products manufactured wholly or partly in a warehouse under Section 65 of the Customs Act, 1962.
• Exports where electronic documentation in ICEGATE EDI has not been generated, including all exports from non-EDI ports.
• Goods taken into use after manufacture, and goods exported availing Customs Notification 32/1997.

Note the history on SEZ, EOU and Advance Authorisation exports: these were originally in the exclusion list, were later brought in by amendment, and now draw their rates from the separate Appendix 4RE schedule.

How much is the RoDTEP benefit?

There is no single figure. RoDTEP rates are set line by line at the 8-digit HS code level and are published as a percentage of FOB value, in most cases with a rupee value cap per unit of quantity. For a small number of items a fixed rupee rebate per unit is notified instead of a percentage.

The ceiling rates are determined by a committee in the Department of Revenue's Drawback Division, with representation from the Department of Commerce, DGFT and line ministries. Because the scheme operates within an annual budget, Para 4.54 allows the Department of Commerce to calibrate rates mid-year so projected remissions stay inside the approved outlay. That is exactly what happened in February 2026.

To find your own number, open the RoDTEP page on dgft.gov.in, download the current Appendix 4R or 4RE, and look up your 8-digit HS code. Do not rely on a figure quoted by a consultant or a rate table from an earlier financial year.

How to apply for RoDTEP

1. Get an IEC from dgft.gov.in if you do not already hold one, and register on the ICEGATE portal using the same IEC.
2. Declare the RoDTEP claim on the shipping bill at item level when the consignment is filed. This is the step exporters most often miss. A shipping bill filed without the RoDTEP declaration cannot be amended later to add the claim.
3. Let the shipping bill be processed by Customs. After the Export General Manifest is filed and the bill is treated as a claim, the system computes the admissible rebate against the notified rate and value cap.
4. Create a RoDTEP credit ledger account on ICEGATE using a Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate in the name of the IEC holder.
5. Select the processed shipping bills in the ledger and generate the e-scrip. Scrips are generated shipping-bill-wise and carry a validity period from the date of generation.
6. Use or transfer the scrip. Use it to pay Basic Customs Duty on your own imports, or transfer it to another IEC holder through the transfer option in the ICEGATE ledger.
7. File the RoDTEP Annual Return on the DGFT portal if your claims cross the notified threshold for the financial year.

There is no offline route. Para 4.55 explicitly makes exports from non-EDI ports ineligible, so the entire claim chain runs through ICEGATE.

How do I check my RoDTEP scrip status?

Log in to ICEGATE with your IEC credentials and open the RoDTEP credit ledger. The ledger shows every shipping bill flagged for RoDTEP, the amount computed, scrips already generated, scrips transferred out and the running balance. Where a shipping bill is missing from the list, the usual cause is that the RoDTEP declaration was not marked on the bill, or the EGM has not yet been filed.

The DGFT portal separately shows the status of your RoDTEP Annual Return under the RoDTEP services menu.

Why RoDTEP claims get rejected or blocked

• RoDTEP declaration not marked on the shipping bill. Irreversible for that consignment.
• Export from a non-EDI port, which is an outright exclusion.
• HS code not listed in the applicable Appendix 4R or 4RE, or listed with a nil rate.
• Value cap reached — the rebate is limited to the per-unit cap even when the percentage would give more.
• Digital Signature Certificate not registered on ICEGATE, so the ledger cannot be created and the scrip cannot be generated.
• Export proceeds not realised within the FEMA time limit, which makes the rebate recoverable.
• Annual Return not filed, which can hold up further scrip generation.

Records, audit and recovery

Para 4.57 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 requires exporters to keep records substantiating every RoDTEP claim. CBIC runs a Risk Management System that draws sample cases for physical verification of exporter records. Where a claim is found to be excessive or fraudulent, CBIC can suspend or withhold RoDTEP, recover the rebate and impose a penalty. Residual policy questions go to the RoDTEP Policy Committee, an inter-ministerial body chaired by the DGFT whose decisions are binding.

Where to get help with RoDTEP

• DGFT toll-free helpdesk: 1800-111-550 or 1800-572-1550
• DGFT EDI helpdesk email: dgftedi[at]nic[dot]in
• Portal: the RoDTEP page on dgft.gov.in carries the current guidelines, Appendix 4R, Appendix 4RE and the Annual Return FAQ
• ICEGATE helpdesk for scrip generation, ledger and DSC problems

DGFT warns exporters about spurious websites that imitate the DGFT site and collect money. Applications and IEC services should only be filed through dgft.gov.in, and scrips only through icegate.gov.in.