IEC Code Verification: How to Check Your Import Export Code Status Online

IEC code verification is the process of confirming, on an official government portal, that an Importer Exporter Code (IEC) is genuine, active, and clear to use for trade. There are two free checks: the DGFT portal shows whether the code is registered and active at source, while ICEGATE shows its BIN status with Indian Customs. Both are public, need no login, and return a result in seconds, because one record can be live on one portal and not yet the other.

You verify to prove your own code is trade-ready before a shipment, or to check a buyer or supplier before you sign. It matters well beyond the port. Your bank references the IEC every time it processes an inward payment and issues a FIRA, and Customs references it on every shipping bill.

A garment exporter in Tiruppur whose code lapsed on 1 July learned this the hard way: a container sat at Chennai port and a client's payment stalled at the bank, both traced to the same deactivated IEC. Whether you collect money into receiving accounts or move physical goods, an active code keeps trade and payments flowing. Here is how each check works, what every status means, and how to fix a code that reads inactive.

The IEC is a unique 10-digit registration issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce. Since GST, the IEC number is the same as the entity's PAN, so one PAN maps to one IEC. Verification simply confirms that this code exists, sits in an active state, and is not flagged.

Two portals hold two different truths, which is why one check is rarely enough:

• DGFT is the issuing authority. It confirms whether the IEC exists and is active at source.
• ICEGATE, the customs EDI gateway, shows the BIN (Business Identification Number) status, which is what actually clears your shipping bills and bills of entry at the port.

A code can read Active on DGFT but not yet be live on ICEGATE, so exporters and importers usually check both. Traders claiming benefits such as export incentives or an RCMC registration will also find those schemes reference the same IEC, so keeping it verified has knock-on value.

Not every exporter is required to hold one, so it helps to know where you stand before you verify. As of July 2026, the general position is straightforward for goods and more nuanced for services.

Software and IT-enabled service firms frequently operate under an LUT for the export of services under GST and may not strictly need an IEC. That said, banks and the SOFTEX filing route can still ask for one, so many services exporters register anyway. Because this depends on your exact activity and the incentives you claim, confirm your own position with a chartered accountant or the DGFT portal rather than assuming.

The DGFT check is free, needs no login, and works for your own code or a counterparty's.

• Go to the DGFT portal at dgft.gov.in.
• Open the Services menu, then IEC, then View Any IEC Details.
• Enter the 10-digit IEC number and the first three characters of the registered firm's name.
• Solve the on-screen captcha and select Search.
• Read the result: business name, registered address, date of issue, active or inactive status, and any Denied Entity List (DEL) flag.

If the details match your records and the status reads Active, the code is valid at source. Verifying a counterparty shows only public registration details, not their financials, which is enough to confirm the business is a real, registered trader before you commit.

Two faster options exist for your own code. Newer IEC certificates carry a scannable QR code that authenticates the document on the spot, useful when a bank or an overseas buyer asks for evidence. Registered users can also log in to the IEC Profile Management dashboard to track their profile, confirm the annual-update status, and check shipping-bill details. If a login problem blocks you, a valid DSC for DGFT is often what the portal is asking for.

A Bengaluru IT services exporter about to onboard a new overseas client ran the View Any IEC check on the client's Indian sourcing partner in under a minute, confirmed the firm was active and not on the DEL, and only then signed.

ICEGATE tells you whether Customs will actually process your documents. This is the check most exporters miss, and the query behind the widely searched "iec bin status".

• Go to the ICEGATE portal at icegate.gov.in.
• From Services, select Check IE Code / BIN Status (no login needed).
• Enter your IEC number and select Submit.
• The result shows the BIN status and whether your IEC is registered with Customs.

The status you want is "Registered by DGFT and Accepted by ICEGATE". That confirms the code is synced end to end and ready for filing. A newly issued or newly updated IEC can take 24 to 48 hours to sync from DGFT to ICEGATE, so a short lag right after approval is normal, not an error.

A first-time engineering-goods exporter in Rajkot saw the IEC read Active on DGFT the day it was issued, but the customs broker could not file the shipping bill because ICEGATE still showed it as not registered. Nothing was wrong. The record synced overnight, and the bill went through the next morning. Checking both portals a day before the shipment, rather than on the day, avoids that scramble entirely.

Both checks are quick once you know where they live. Use this table to run them side by side.

The wording changes slightly between portals, but the outcomes map to a handful of states. Use this to read your result and decide the next step.

The DEL status is the one to treat seriously. A code on the Denied Entity List cannot trade until the flagged default, often an unmet export obligation or a pending penalty, is cleared with DGFT.

An IEC does not expire, but it is not permanent by default either. DGFT requires every holder to confirm or update the IEC profile once each financial year, between 1 April and 30 June, even when nothing about the business has changed (as of July 2026). This is the single most common reason a long-held code stops working.

• Confirming with no changes is free.
• Amending any detail costs a ₹200 fee (as of July 2026).
• Miss the 30 June window and DGFT deactivates the code shortly after. The Deactivated status is transmitted to ICEGATE, and Customs stops processing any shipping bill or bill of entry linked to it.

The relief is that reactivation is not a fresh application. Log in to the DGFT portal and complete the same annual update, even after the deadline. Once it is processed, the IEC reactivates automatically and the updated status flows back to Customs. The Tiruppur exporter above was trading again within a day of re-confirming the profile, with no penalty and no re-registration. Setting a recurring April reminder is the simplest way to avoid the problem.

An unverified or lapsed IEC does not sit quietly; it blocks trade on three fronts at once.

• Customs holds. Once the code reads Deactivated on ICEGATE, no shipping bill or bill of entry linked to it clears. Consignments stay held at the port until the code is live again.
• Payments freeze. Banks reference an active IEC to process inward export remittances and issue realisation documents. A lapsed code can stall a client's payment mid-settlement, as it did for the Tiruppur exporter.
• Schemes and refunds stall. Duty drawback, RoDTEP, and FIRC for GST refund claims tied to your exports can pause while the code is inactive.

None of this carries a fine on its own. The cost is delay, and delay on a live shipment or a pending payment is expensive enough. Completing the annual update clears all three at once. For services exporters, an EDPMS compliance trail also depends on the code staying clean.

Checking your own code is a pre-shipment safety habit. Verifying the firm on the other side of the deal is due diligence. Before you ship goods on credit or take on a new overseas buyer, a 30-second DGFT check confirms the entity is a registered, active trader at the address they gave you, and that it carries no DEL flag. It will not surface fraud on its own, but a firm with no valid IEC has no business claiming to import or export from India.

If verification shows no code exists, applying is a same-portal, online process.

• Register on dgft.gov.in with the entity's PAN, a valid mobile number, and email.
• Open Apply for IEC and complete the profile with business, bank, and address details.
• Upload the required proofs and pay the ₹500 government application fee (as of July 2026).
• Submit. The certificate is usually issued within one to two working days.

Once the IEC is live on DGFT, allow up to 48 hours for it to appear on ICEGATE before you file your first document. This is educational guidance, not legal or tax advice, so confirm the current fee and document list on the DGFT portal or with a professional before you apply.

A verified, active IEC is what lets Customs clear your goods and lets your bank process the money coming in. The next friction point is the inward payment itself, where a share of the value is often lost to poor exchange rates and where the paperwork proving realisation has to line up. Many exporters only discover this after they receive international payments in India bank account through a standard bank wire and see the deductions.

This is the layer Xflow works on for Indian exporters. You get virtual receiving accounts in currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, and AED, so overseas clients pay into local account details instead of routing an expensive international wire. Settlements convert at the mid-market rate, with no markup on the exchange itself, and land in your Indian account on a next business day (T+1) basis.

On compliance, Xflow generates an eFIRA automatically for each receipt, so the paperwork proving realisation and repatriation of export proceeds, which your bank and GST filings need, is produced without a separate request. The same evidence trail feeds the RBI purpose codes and the bank realisation certificate explained, both records your bank closes each remittance against. Xflow operates under a final RBI Payment Aggregator - Cross Border (PA-CB) authorisation for exports and imports (as of February 2026), with ISO 27001 and SOC 2 controls, so the money moves inside the regulated FEMA framework. The IEC gets your trade cleared; the payment rail decides how much of it you keep.

IEC verification is two quick, free checks: DGFT for the code at source, ICEGATE for its BIN status at Customs. Read the status against the tables above, and if a valid code suddenly stops, the annual April to June update is almost always the cause and the fix. This guide is educational and not a substitute for advice from a chartered accountant or the official DGFT and ICEGATE portals. Keep the code active, and the rest of the trade cycle, from customs clearance to getting paid, has one less thing to snag on.