Trade internationally

1. Classify the transaction

Distinguish goods, software and other services. Identify the supplier, recipient, origin, destination and payment arrangement.

Prepare a transaction brief showing what is supplied, who contracts, who delivers and who pays. For goods, include specifications, materials, intended use and the proposed movement. For services, describe the actual work, delivery method and acceptance evidence rather than relying only on an invoice description such as “consulting”.

Keep the commercial description consistent across the order, invoice and supporting records. Use the product-classification guide for goods questions and the export-of-services guide for the separate GST assessment.

2. Check product and trade requirements

Review classification, restrictions and sector permissions. For goods, an IEC is one part of the preparation, not an approval for every product.

DGFT’s Foreign Trade Policy distinguishes ordinary goods trading from exports of services or technology: for the latter, it requires an IEC when claiming Foreign Trade Policy benefits. Check the transaction and any exempt category before treating an IEC as universally necessary. An IEC shares the applicant’s PAN but is separately issued through the DGFT application process.

Once an IEC is held, assign responsibility for its annual electronic update or confirmation during April–June, including when details have not changed. Keep that task separate from shipment permissions, GST treatment and bank reporting.

DGFT Foreign Trade Policy 2023, chapter 2, paragraph 2.05 — consulted 1 October 2026. Check subsequent amendments and the current product classification for the proposed trade.

3. Align shipping and invoicing records

Coordinate invoice, packing, transport or delivery evidence with the bank and broker requirements. Record who supplies each document.

• Agree the document list for the actual transaction with the parties handling shipment, banking and compliance; goods and services do not use identical evidence.
• Cross-check parties, addresses, quantities, currency and references across the order and invoice.
• For a goods movement, reconcile the packing and transport details with the commercial record and keep subsequent corrections traceable.
• For services, retain the agreement, scope, delivery records and customer acceptance or other relevant performance evidence.
• Index the final documents by transaction so the finance team can retrieve them when allocating payment or answering a query.

4. Reconcile payment and reporting

Match receipts or payments to invoices and track deductions, shortfalls and open items. Review any claimed trade benefit against its own conditions.

Maintain a reconciliation showing invoice currency and amount, bank reference, amount received or paid, identified charges, credit adjustments and the remaining balance. Keep exchange-rate accounting differences distinguishable from an unpaid commercial amount. Assign open balances to a person who can obtain the customer, supplier or bank explanation.

Use the export-proceeds guide for the applicable reporting and realisation questions. Record requests for clarification and follow-up evidence alongside the transaction rather than treating a bank credit as the end of every workstream.

Bring these facts to the first discussion

• Product specifications or service contract
• Buyer and supplier details
• Shipment, delivery and payment terms

Watch the dependency

A payment covering several export invoices needs an allocation trail. Preserve the link instead of relying only on the total bank credit.

Example: a customer pays two invoices together and deducts an agreed credit. Keep the remittance advice, allocate the receipt across both invoices, and link the credit to its supporting record. If the allocation is uncertain, leave the difference visible for resolution rather than marking both invoices settled.

How responsibilities are agreed

You confirm business facts and approve decisions. Kosha’s engagement identifies the documents, coordination and filings included, together with any specialist adviser or authority dependency. The service links below explain the relevant workstreams and their limits.