Key takeaways
- A FIRC (today usually a FIRA) proves foreign money reached your Indian bank account; a BRC, now an e-BRC on the DGFT portal, proves that money was realised against a specific export.
- Banks stopped issuing physical FIRCs for export receipts in 2016 and issue a FIRA or e-FIRC instead.
- For a GST refund on exported services, a BRC or FIRC is accepted; for goods, proof of payment is not a condition.
- From 1 October 2026, export proceeds must be realised within 9 months, or 12 months if invoiced in rupees.
What is the difference between BRC and FIRC?
A FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) proves that foreign currency has reached your Indian bank account, while a BRC (Bank Realisation Certificate) proves that the payment has been realised against a specific export. A FIRC is about the money; a BRC ties that money to an export invoice, shipping bill or SOFTEX form.
BRC vs FIRC: core differences
| Basis | FIRC (now usually FIRA or e-FIRC) | BRC (now e-BRC) |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Proof that a foreign payment was credited to your account | Proof that an export was paid for |
| Scope | Any foreign receipt: services, freelance fees, advances, foreign investment | Export transactions only: goods, software and other services |
| Issuance | Issued by your bank or payment provider when the money arrives | Generated on DGFT after the payment is matched to the export invoice or shipping bill |
| Format | Physical FIRCs now mainly for foreign investment; export receipts get a FIRA or e-FIRC | Electronic only, as an e-BRC on the DGFT portal |
| Issued by | An authorised dealer bank, or a payment provider's partner bank | The DGFT system, from bank data; exporters self-certify it |
| Linked to | One inward payment and its purpose code | One or more export invoices or shipping bills |
| Used for | Proving any foreign receipt: bank records, income tax, audits, foreign investment reporting | Proving a specific export was paid: RoDTEP and other incentives, DGFT records |
| Rules | RBI and FEMA | DGFT, under the Foreign Trade Policy |
Put simply, a FIRC answers 'did the money arrive?' and a BRC answers 'was this export paid for?'. For each document on its own, see bank realisation certificate explained.
Example: one export, two documents
A Pune design agency invoices a US client $5,000 on 1 March for a website, under invoice INV-031. The client pays on 20 March.
| FIRA (proof of receipt) | e-BRC (proof of export payment) | |
|---|---|---|
| When | 20 March, when the bank credits the money | After the agency links the payment to INV-031 on DGFT |
| Key details | Sender, $5,000, rupee amount, exchange rate, purpose code P0802 | Invoice INV-031, $5,000 realised, mode of export (cross-border supply), GSTIN, QR code |
| Who produces it | The agency's bank or payment provider | The agency, by self-certifying the bank's payment record on DGFT |
| Used for | Shows the $5,000 reached India; kept for bank and income tax records | Shows INV-031 was paid; attached to a GST refund claim or an export benefit |
Is FIRC discontinued?
Not entirely. In 2016, banks stopped issuing physical FIRCs for export receipts, following guidance from the Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association of India, and RBI had banks report each receipt electronically as an e-FIRC in its export monitoring system, EDPMS. Physical FIRCs are still issued mainly for foreign investment inflows such as FDI, where a company needs the FIRC to report the investment to RBI in Form FC-GPR.
What exporters receive today is usually a FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice) from the bank or payment provider, one for each payment. It shows the sender, the foreign amount, the rupee amount, the exchange rate, the date and the purpose code. Many people still call it a FIRC, and it does the same job of proving receipt; see firc vs fira for how the two differ.
If your bank still asks for a written request before it issues a certificate, a firc request letter sets out the details it needs.
Which one do you need: BRC, FIRC or both?
Most service exporters need a FIRA for every payment and an e-BRC only when they claim a refund or an export benefit; goods exporters need an e-BRC; companies receiving foreign investment need a FIRC. BRC is not mandatory for every export.
| You are | What you need | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Freelancer or agency exporting services, no refund or incentive | A FIRA for each payment | Proves the money arrived for bank and income tax records |
| Service exporter claiming a GST refund | A FIRA or e-BRC matched to each invoice | The refund statement lists a BRC or FIRC against every invoice |
| Software exporter filing SOFTEX | A FIRA, plus an e-BRC linked to the SOFTEX form | Closes the software export and supports any refund |
| Goods exporter | An e-BRC for each shipping bill | Evidence for RoDTEP and for closing the shipping bill |
| Company receiving foreign investment | A FIRC | Needed to report the investment to RBI |
A few rules sit behind this table:
- Goods exporters: the e-BRC is the evidence DGFT relies on for RoDTEP, and the benefit can be recovered if the money never arrives.
- Software exporters: SOFTEX forms apply only to software and IT-enabled exports, and the e-BRC links the payment to the SOFTEX form; see softex form.
- Other service exporters, such as consultants, designers and agencies: no SOFTEX is needed and no rule requires a BRC for every payment.
- Service incentives: the SEIS scheme ended with 2020-21, so most service exporters no longer have a DGFT incentive that needs a BRC.
- Exports under a letter of undertaking (LUT): you pay no IGST only if the money arrives within the allowed period, so keep a FIRA or e-BRC for every invoice as proof.
- Since 1 May 2025, an e-BRC for services must state the mode of export, such as cross-border supply or consumption abroad.
Do you need a BRC or FIRC for a GST refund?
For exports of services, yes: a refund claim needs a statement of invoices with the matching BRC or FIRC, under Rule 89(2)(c) of the CGST Rules. For exports of goods, no: proof that the money arrived is not a condition of the refund.
| Refund case | Proof of payment needed |
|---|---|
| Services exported under LUT, refund of unused input tax credit | BRC or FIRC for each invoice |
| Services exported with IGST paid, refund of that IGST | BRC, FIRC or any other document showing the payment was received |
| Goods exported, with or without IGST | Not required; the shipping bill and invoice details are enough |
The refund is filed on the GST portal in Form RFD-01, not on the DGFT portal, so a BRC is evidence for the claim rather than the route for it. If you rely on FIRAs, match each one to its invoice before you file, because the officer checks that every invoice in the claim was paid; see firc for gst refund.
How do you get a FIRA and an e-BRC in 2026?
You get a FIRA from whoever receives the money for you, and you generate the e-BRC yourself on the DGFT portal from your bank's data. For the documents most service exporters handle day to day, see brc vs fira.
For a FIRA:
- Ask the payer to send the payment with the right purpose code, such as P0802 for software services.
- Your bank or payment provider credits the money and issues the FIRA, usually for each payment.
- Check the purpose code, amount and sender's name before you file it with the invoice.
For an e-BRC:
1. Your bank sends DGFT an inward remittance message (IRM) for the payment.
2. Log in to the DGFT portal and link that IRM to your invoice or shipping bill.
3. Self-certify the e-BRC; for services, choose the mode of export.
4. Since 13 January 2026, the e-BRC also shows your GSTIN, the GST invoice number and date, and a QR code that anyone can scan to verify it.
You can search and download your e-BRCs, including those your bank uploaded, from the e-BRC section of your DGFT account. If a payment's inward remittance message does not appear there, ask your bank to report it; and if you need an e-FIRC number, as some refund officers or other banks ask for, request it from the bank that received the money.
Link payments promptly. From 1 October 2026, export proceeds must be realised within 9 months of the shipment date for goods or the invoice date for services, or within 12 months if the export is invoiced or settled in rupees; see realisation and repatriation of export proceeds.
Payment platforms can remove the wait for a FIRA: Xflow, for example, issues an eFIRA within 24 hours for every international transaction.
Simplify your cross-border transactions along with a better rate.
What happens if you do not have a BRC or FIRC?
The money is still yours, but the claims that depend on proving it was received can fail. What goes wrong depends on what the document was needed for.
| Situation | What can happen |
|---|---|
| GST refund on exported services | The refund is held or rejected for the invoices without a BRC or FIRC |
| Services exported under LUT and not paid in time | IGST becomes payable on the invoice, with interest, until the money arrives (Rule 96A) |
| RoDTEP or another export benefit | The benefit can be refused or recovered if realisation cannot be shown |
| Goods shipping bills not realised | The bill stays outstanding in RBI's export monitoring system, your bank follows up, and repeat cases can put an exporter on RBI's caution list |
| Foreign investment received without a FIRC | The company cannot complete its FC-GPR filing with RBI |
Frequently asked questions
BRC stands for Bank Realisation Certificate and FIRC for Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate. Their current forms are the e-BRC on the DGFT portal and the FIRA or e-FIRC from your bank.
No rule requires a FIRC for every payment, but you need a FIRC, FIRA or BRC whenever you must prove an export was paid for, such as for a GST refund on services.
An e-FIRC is the bank's electronic record of the receipt, reported to RBI's export monitoring system. A FIRA is the advice the bank or payment provider gives you for that payment. Both prove the money arrived.
A FIRA covers one payment, while an e-BRC can link a payment to one or more invoices. If one payment settles several invoices, map it to each of them on DGFT.
Ask your bank to correct it quickly, because the purpose code decides how the payment is reported and whether it is treated as an export receipt.
Give your export bank the receiving bank's e-FIRC number or FIRA so it can match the payment to your export documents.
Usually not. A freelancer exporting services without an incentive claim normally works with FIRAs, and uses them for GST and income tax records.
Income tax rules do not name a FIRC, but a FIRC or FIRA is the simplest proof that foreign income was received, so keep one for every payment in case your return is questioned.
