The four non-negotiable basics
Regardless of what product you're trading, you cannot legally export or import without all four of these:
- Company registration (any structure — proprietorship, partnership, LLP, Pvt Ltd)
- Business bank account
- GST registration
- IEC (Import Export Code) — issued by DGFT (dgft.gov.in), usually same-day, for a modest government fee
Without all four, you cannot sell or import anything commercially.
Worth getting even though it's not mandatory
MSME/Udyam certificate — free, and can be self-generated online in a couple of minutes. It carries real government benefits (subsidies, priority schemes) — there's no real downside to getting one even if your business doesn't strictly need it to trade.
RCMC — the certificate you register with an Export Promotion Council to get
Registering with an Export Promotion Council (EPC) or commodity board means applying for an RCMC — the Registration-Cum-Membership Certificate. RCMC is the actual document name; when someone asks "how do I register with an export council," the concrete answer is "apply for an RCMC from the right council." The right council depends on product category — EPCH for handicrafts, APEDA for agricultural and processed food products, the Spices Board for spices, or FIEO for products with no dedicated council. An RCMC is mandatory to access most government export incentive schemes and duty-benefit programs; some schemes will not process a claim at all without a valid RCMC on file.
To get an RCMC: identify the correct council for your product category (a product can fall under more than one; register with the most specific match), go to that council's own website, and apply with your IEC, company registration/incorporation proof, PAN, GST registration, and any product-specific certification the council asks for. There's usually a membership fee, and the RCMC needs periodic renewal — treat it as a recurring compliance item, not a one-time task. Do this early: several other schemes and even some overseas buyers' vendor-onboarding checklists ask for a valid RCMC, so having it ready avoids a delay later.
Beyond the basics: it depends entirely on what you're selling
Once the four basics are in place, further documentation is sector- and product-specific:
- Food products: FSSAI license, plus the destination country's own food-safety approval (e.g., FDA clearance for goods headed to the US).
- Pharmaceuticals/medicine: clinical trial documentation, destination-market drug regulatory approval (e.g., FDA).
- Supplements/nutraceuticals: relevant nutraceutical or pharmaceutical-grade certifications.
- Organic claims: a genuine organic certification — don't claim "organic" without one.
- General quality/origin proof: ISO certification, GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) certification, country-of-origin certificate, phytosanitary certificate (for plant/agri-based goods), and any market-specific certificate the destination country requires (e.g., Halal certification for certain markets).
Why this matters more than people think
Buyers in developed markets (Europe, US, etc.) weight documentation and specification heavily. Without the right paperwork — correct product specification, moisture content documented, appropriate certification — many buyers simply won't purchase, regardless of how good your price is. Getting documentation right isn't red tape to route around; it's often the actual deciding factor in whether a serious buyer buys from you at all.
Practical note
IEC registration is fast and cheap enough that there's no reason to delay starting because of it — get it done online, or have a CA handle it alongside your GST setup, and focus your own time on sourcing and sales.