LUT requirements for exporters

Confirm the transaction and route first

Identify whether the supplies are goods, services or supplies to an SEZ, and assess the relevant zero-rating conditions. A foreign customer or foreign-currency invoice alone does not answer every export question. Establish the supplier, recipient, place of supply and supporting facts.

Check current eligibility for furnishing a Letter of Undertaking rather than a bond, including applicable exclusions. Archived early-GST guidance can describe superseded eligibility conditions, so use the operative notification and rules for the actual year.

Prepare the LUT filing record

Form GST RFD-11 is the LUT filing form. Check the GSTIN, financial year, signatory authority, declarations and any supporting details required by the current portal workflow. Retain the final submitted form and acknowledgement.

Set a financial-year review before continuing supplies under the without-payment route. Do not assume a previous year’s filing automatically covers the next year. Keep the LUT record linked to the invoices and returns for the period it concerns.

Keep the transaction evidence

• Customer agreement and the actual supply description.
• Export invoices and the relevant return reporting.
• Goods: shipment and customs evidence appropriate to the transaction.
• Services: recipient and place-of-supply analysis, delivery evidence and payment records.
• SEZ supplies: evidence supporting the applicable authorised-operations treatment.
• LUT acknowledgement, any bond documentation and correspondence with the authority.

Monitor the conditions after filing

Rule 96A links the without-payment route to fulfilment of the relevant export or receipt conditions. Maintain an invoice-level tracker for shipment or service-payment milestones and assess any extension or consequence under the applicable provisions. A filed LUT does not remove this follow-up work.

For example, an overseas service invoice remains unpaid beyond the expected collection date. Record collection efforts, identify the governing GST and foreign-exchange requirements separately and obtain advice before assuming that a commercial extension also extends a statutory period.

Reconcile returns and any refund claim

Match invoices and notes to outward-supply reporting and preserve explanations for timing or value differences. Keep receipt records connected to individual invoices where practical. Separate domestic supplies from export supplies rather than treating all revenue from an overseas group as one category.

If a refund of accumulated credit is sought, assess that claim’s eligibility and documents independently. The LUT acknowledgement is one part of the file; it is not a substitute for the refund computation, credit eligibility or underlying supply evidence.

Address missing or incorrect filings transparently

If the wrong year was selected, a filing was missed or the business cannot find its acknowledgement, first establish the facts and portal history. Preserve the actual dates and assess the available correction or relief route. Do not backdate records or represent a later filing as having occurred earlier.

Where the business is ineligible for the LUT route or has failed a condition, review the applicable bond, tax, interest or other consequences with the relevant adviser. The correct action depends on the facts and operative provision, not a generic promise of automatic condonation.

Prepare for an exporter review

Bring GST registration details, prior LUTs, export contracts, invoices, shipment or service evidence, receipt records and returns. Include any overdue amounts or department communication.

Kosha.Services can organise the annual filing checklist and invoice tracker, reconcile the records and coordinate review of exceptions. Confirm the current eligibility instrument and transaction conditions before relying on the without-payment route.