Export Proceeds Realisation: A Tracker from Shipping Bill to eBRC

When you export goods or services, the foreign-exchange rules require the full export value to be realised and repatriated to India within a set period. Your authorised dealer (AD) bank tracks every shipping bill against inward remittances, and unrealised bills appear on its follow-up lists. Exporters who track this themselves avoid surprises — and keep their incentive and GST refund claims clean, since both depend on realisation records.

The rules in brief

• The RBI's Master Direction on export of goods and services sets the period for realisation, generally nine months from the date of export for most exporters. RBI has allowed temporary extensions for particular periods (for example, as relief measures in late 2025) — check the current direction and any extension with your AD bank. The tracker keeps the period as a setting.
• Goods exported must be declared on the shipping bill (or the softex form for software), with the export value.
• Proceeds come in through banking channels and are linked to the shipping bill by your AD bank; the bank issues an electronic bank realisation certificate (eBRC) or the realisation is reported electronically through the DGFT and customs systems.
• If you cannot realise within the period, the AD bank can grant extensions or allow write-offs within limits; beyond those, approval is needed. Act before the due date, not after.

Using the tracker

1. On settings, confirm the realisation period in months and the warning window.
2. For each shipping bill, enter the number, date of export, buyer, invoice value and currency. The due date calculates.
3. As money arrives, enter amounts realised and the FIRC or eBRC references. Outstanding and status update — Realised, Open, Due soon or Overdue.

Common problems

• Remittance not linked to the shipping bill: the buyer pays without the invoice reference, or the bank cannot match it. Send the bank the mapping as soon as money arrives.
• Short realisation: bank charges abroad, quality claims or discounts reduce what arrives. Record the reason and ask the bank to regularise it — reductions need to be justified.
• Multiple shipping bills paid together: give the bank the allocation by shipping bill.
• Advance received before shipment: link it to the shipping bill when you ship.

Why it matters beyond FEMA

• Export incentive claims (such as RoDTEP) and duty drawback can be recovered if proceeds are not realised.
• GST refunds on exports can be questioned where realisation is not shown for services, and for goods under certain conditions.
• Your bank's view of you as a credit risk for packing credit depends on a clean realisation record.

The monthly review

Once a month, filter the tracker to Due soon and Overdue, call the buyers, and talk to your AD bank about extensions before bills cross the due date. EXIMFlow tracks realisation against each shipment, imports the bank's eBRC files and links receipts to your books — see realisation in EXIMFlow and bank eBRC files.

Worked example (illustrative)

A shipping bill dated 20 June for US$25,000 has a realisation due date of 20 March under a nine-month period. The buyer pays US$10,000 in August, quoting the invoice. In January, with US$15,000 outstanding and the due date about two months away, the tracker marks it “Due soon” (with a 30-day warning it flips on 18 February). The exporter calls the buyer, gets a payment plan, and writes to the AD bank for an extension in February — before the bill becomes overdue.

Common mistakes

• Remittances arriving without an invoice reference.
• Short realisations not regularised.
• Extension requests made after the due date.
• Incentive claims filed without checking realisation.