How Small Businesses Can Start Exporting

Starting to export internationally used to require a dedicated import/export setup — a customs broker, a freight forwarder relationship, and significant upfront paperwork. Courier-mode export has changed that: a small business can start shipping internationally with a handful of one-time registrations and a normal courier account.

The one-time setup

1. Get an IEC (Import Export Code) from DGFT — mandatory for any commercial export, costs a flat ₹500, and typically takes 1–3 working days online. See IEC Code.
2. Confirm your GST registration covers exports — most exporters ship under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) to avoid paying IGST upfront on export sales.
3. Complete KYC with a courier partner that supports commercial international shipping. See KYC Requirements.
4. Understand CSB-V — the commercial shipping bill you'll use for every sale shipped internationally. See CSB-IV vs CSB-V.

What changes once you're set up

Once your IEC, GST/LUT, and courier KYC are in place, exporting a single order internationally is operationally similar to a domestic shipment — you create a commercial invoice, the courier files the CSB-V shipping bill electronically, and the parcel moves through the same courier network used for domestic deliveries, just routed internationally.

Common first-time mistakes to avoid

• Shipping a sale under CSB-IV to skip IEC/GST requirements — this is a compliance risk, not a shortcut; use CSB-V for anything commercial.
• Under-declaring value to reduce duty exposure for the buyer — this is a compliance risk on both ends and can trigger a customs hold that costs more time than the duty saved.
• Not checking destination-country restrictions before listing a product internationally — see Prohibited Items and Restricted Items.
• Not setting duty expectations with the buyer — especially for US-bound orders, since the 2025 suspension of the de-minimis exemption means every order now carries a duty assessment. See Customs Information for Shipping to USA.

Where to go from here

Once the one-time registrations are complete, the practical next steps are choosing a reliable courier partner (see How to Choose an International Courier) and pricing international shipping into your product listings accurately — see International Shipping for Ecommerce Sellers.