About Export Promotion Council Registration

RCMC Registration cum Membership Certificate from relevant Export Promotion Council for export incentives. Forms handled: RCMC application, FIEO membership, Council-specific membership. Legal basis: Foreign Trade Policy 2023.

Glossary

Plain-English glossary for this service

Product code mapping

Alignment between the Council's product mandate and the HS chapter of the export consignment.

AEPC

Apparel Export Promotion Council, the registering authority for readymade garments.

SHEFEXIL

Shellac & Forest Products Export Promotion Council — RCMC body for shellac, lac, bone meal, ossein, gelatin, gum karaya, mahua oil, sandalwood oil and forest-floor minor produce under HS Chapters 05, 13 and 14. Niche council with ~600 members; annual subscription ₹14,160.

Manufacturer exporter

An exporter who manufactures the goods exported, requiring evidence of industrial registration.

Suspension

Temporary withdrawal of membership privileges, pending compliance.

SHEFEXIL

Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council, registering authority for minor forest produce.

Rubber Board

Statutory body acting as a registering authority for natural rubber and rubber products.

RoDTEP

Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products, the residual-duty refund scheme that replaced MEIS from 1st January 2021.

MPEDA

Marine Products Export Development Authority, the registering authority for marine produce.

Sports Goods Council

Sports Goods Export Promotion Council.

Foreign Trade Policy

Quinquennial policy instrument notified under Section 5 of the parent Act, currently the policy of 2023.

Synthetic and Rayon Council

Registering authority for manmade and blended textiles.

Statutory Basis

Operative provisions cited on this page

Every claim on this page can be traced back to a section or rule below.

FTDR Act, 1992 - s.3

Power to regulate foreign trade

Empowers the Central Government to make provisions for development and regulation of foreign trade by facilitating imports and increasing exports.

FTDR Act, 1992 - s.5

Foreign Trade Policy

Authorises notification of the Foreign Trade Policy by the Centre, the instrument that mandates RCMC for exporters seeking benefits.

FTDR Act, 1992 - s.7

Importer-Exporter Code

Requires every importer-exporter to obtain an IEC, the precondition for any EPC enrolment.

FTDR Act, 1992 - s.8

Suspension or cancellation of IEC

Provides for suspension or cancellation of IEC where an exporter contravenes policy obligations, including misuse of RCMC.

FTDR Act, 1992 - s.11

Penalty for contravention

Prescribes penalty for contravention; relevant where RCMC is procured by misrepresentation of product line.

FTP 2023 - Para 2.94

RCMC requirement and registering authorities

Lays the substantive RCMC requirement, identifying registering authorities and the conditions of registration for export benefits.

FTP 2023 - Chapter 2 (RCMC)

Validity of RCMC (five financial years)

Specifies the validity, five financial years from 1st April of the licensing year of issuance, and the renewal obligation.

FTP 2023 - Appendix 2T

List of Export Promotion Councils and Boards

Enumerates the recognised registering authorities, currently 33 Councils plus commodity boards and development authorities, with their product mandates.

Forms Library

Forms used in this engagement

Application for issue or modification or renewal of RCMC

Reference list of registering authorities for selection of the correct EPC

Underlying identity used to populate ANF 2C through API call

Self-attestation indicating manufacturer or merchant exporter status

Authorisation by the company to designate a signatory and bind the entity to Council obligations

Equivalent of board resolution for firms and LLPs

Evidence of payment of admission and annual fees to the Council

Establishes the AD Code linked bank account for export remittances

Confirms indirect-tax footprint of the exporter

Identity proof of the legal person

Industrial licence, MSME Udyam, or factory licence where status of manufacturer exporter is claimed

Authentication on the e-RCMC module of the DGFT portal

Statutory Deadlines

Compliance deadlines that matter

Miss any of these and the next consequence kicks in automatically.

Trigger event	Days	Form	Consequence
	—		Without enrolment, the shipping bill cannot be flagged for RoDTEP or Advance Authorisation transmission.
	—		Lapse interrupts entitlement to chapter benefits.
	—		EPC may suspend membership for stale particulars.
	—		Shipping bills filed under an unmapped HS code shall fail scrutiny.
RCMC validity expires at end of 5th financial year from year of issue	1825 days	ANF-2C renewal application to issuing EPC	RCMC lapses on 31 March of expiry year; all subsequent shipping bills filed without valid RCMC are ineligible for RoDTEP, RoSCTL and other FTP incentives; scrips already in pipeline frozen at DGFT scrutiny
EPC annual subscription / FIEO membership fee due for next financial year	365 days	EPC subscription remittance + ANF-2C amendment (if turnover slab changes)	Lapse of RCMC retroactively from non-payment date; shipping bills filed during lapsed window face RoDTEP scrip reversal with 18% interest; restoration requires late fee + DGFT representation under FTP Para 2.59 condonation
Change in directors / partners / proprietor or constitution of the exporter entity	30 days	Intimation letter to EPC with board resolution + MGT-7 + DIR-12 / partnership deed amendment	EPC may suspend RCMC for non-intimation beyond 30 days; DGFT cross-verification with EPC records flags constitution mismatch at Advance Authorisation, EPCG and scrip-issue stages; restoration retroactive only on payment of late intimation fee
Change in registered office / additional place of business of the exporter	30 days	Intimation letter to EPC with revised utility bill / lease deed + IEC modification with DGFT	RCMC address mismatch with IEC blocks online RoDTEP claim filing on DGFT portal; shipping-bill data feed rejects the GSTIN-PAN-RCMC triplet validation
RoDTEP scrip claim window after shipping bill clearance	90 days	Online claim through DGFT RoDTEP module + shipping bill EDI feed	Claim lapses if not filed within 90 days from let-export-order date on the shipping bill; no condonation generally; scrip value written off
RoSCTL scrip claim under apparel-and-made-ups scheme	90 days	Online claim through DGFT RoSCTL module; AEPC RCMC mandatory	Scrip claim rejected beyond 90 days from let-export-order; condonation only under FTP HoP Para 9.02 in genuine cases with EPC certification and DGFT RA discretion

Comparison

FIEO RCMC vs Product Council RCMC

Aspect	FIEO RCMC	Product Council RCMC
Statutory anchor	Federation of Indian Export Organisations is the apex body authorised to issue RCMC for multi-product exporters under Paragraph 2.55 of Foreign Trade Policy 2023	Notified product-specific Export Promotion Councils such as APEDA, MPEDA, EEPC, Pharmexcil issue RCMC under Paragraph 2.56 for exporters of corresponding scheduled products
Scheme eligibility gateway	Sufficient for MEIS legacy claims, RoDTEP, RoSCTL, Advance Authorisation, EPCG and SEIS provided exporter is a multi-product or non-scheduled-product exporter	Mandatory where the product is on a notified council's schedule — e.g., engineering goods through EEPC, marine products through MPEDA, processed food through APEDA, pharmaceuticals through Pharmexcil
Product mapping rule	Exporter must apply to the council having jurisdiction over that product as per Appendix 2T of Handbook of Procedures 2023; cross-council application is rejected on jurisdiction	Exporter may opt for FIEO unless the dominant export commodity is exclusively scheduled with a product council, in which case the product council prevails per Paragraph 2.56(b)
Government fee	₹3,500 plus 18% GST for one-time issuance; annual subscription separate as per FIEO bye-laws	₹3,000 to ₹15,000 depending on council, with separate annual membership fee; APEDA Paragraph 7 of APEDA (Registration of Exporters) Rules 1986 prescribes scheduled-product fee
Validity tenure	RCMC valid for 5 financial years from 1 April of issuance year to 31 March of fifth year under Paragraph 2.58 of Foreign Trade Policy 2023	Application 30 days before expiry under Paragraph 2.59; lapse blocks scrip claims and ICEGATE benefit credits until renewal completes
Manufacturer vs Merchant exporter	Must furnish Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum or Udyam Registration, factory licence and capacity disclosure under Appendix 2F of Handbook; eligible for Advance Authorisation and EPCG on own production capacity	Must furnish IEC, GSTIN and supplier-tie-up declaration under Paragraph 2.46; entitled to RoDTEP and RoSCTL but ineligible for EPCG on imported capital goods used by third parties
Scrip transferability	Transferable through ICEGATE Scrip Transfer module under CBIC Notification 76/2021-Customs (NT); valid for 2 years from issuance against Paragraph 4.55 of FTP 2023	Freely transferable under Paragraph 3.02 of erstwhile FTP 2015-20 read with Spentex Industries ratio; pending claims subject to CBIC scrutiny under Notification 11/2020-Customs
Forum for grievance	Section 13 of FT(D&R) Act 1992 provides appeal before DGFT against orders of Regional Authority including denial of RCMC endorsement or scrip claim within 45 days	Section 14 of FT(D&R) Act 1992 provides revision before Central Government against DGFT order within 45 days; Article 226 writ before Madras High Court available for arbitrary scrip denial
Annual return / declaration	Annual return on export performance under Paragraph 2.60 of HBP and FIEO subscription renewal each year	Council-specific annual statistical returns (e.g., APEDA Form RX-1, MPEDA Form II); failure to file blocks RCMC validity though not the certificate itself
Status holder linkage	Application for One/Two/Three/Four/Five Star Export House under Paragraph 1.27 of FTP 2023 requires valid RCMC for the entire 4-year reckoning window	Status Holder gets self-certification, exemption from bank guarantee for EPCG, and priority adjudication of refund claims by Customs
Modification trigger	Addition of a new scheduled product requires modification to RCMC under Paragraph 2.57 of HBP within 30 days; failure invalidates scrip claim on the new product	Conversion of proprietorship to LLP / private limited, merger or demerger requires fresh RCMC in successor's name with surrender of predecessor RCMC under Paragraph 2.57(b)
RoDTEP claims procedure	Exporter must declare RoDTEP intent in shipping bill under CBIC Circular 41/2021-Customs; ICEGATE auto-credits e-scrip on EGM filing and let-export order subject to valid RCMC linkage	Risk-management-system flagged claims face manual verification by Customs proper officer under Section 17 of Customs Act; Canon India v Commissioner of Customs SC 2021 ratio on jurisdiction of proper officer applies to assessment reopening