Getting started

Set Up

First, you must have a business setup. It is recommended you should do a Private Limited Company Registration with an attractive name and logo that should suit your business.

Get a PAN card for your business.

Once you have received the required registration, its mandatory to issue a PAN card by the Income Tax Department.

Open a current account

After getting your business registration and PAN card, you need to open a current bank account with any commercial bank.

Get the Import Export Code (IEC) issued

This is the most important requirements to get your import & export business started. It is required in all cases except in case of restricted or prohibited goods or services.

Import Export Code (IEC) registration can be done by applying directly online at the DGFT website.

Documents Required for Import Export Code (IEC):

1. Personal PAN card or Company PAN card

2. Copy of a canceled cheque of the business' current account

3. Applicant’s photograph.

It is mandatory to have a PAN card to get an IEC code and only one IEC is allotted for per PAN card.

Obtaining the Registration cum Membership Certificate (RCMC)

After getting the IEC, you need to obtain an RCMC, granted by the concerned Export Promotion Councils to get authorisation for import and export.

There are about 26 export promotion councils from where you can get the RCMC issued.

After obtaining the IEC and RCMC issued, you can set up your import and export business in India. The issued IEC and RCMC is valid for all branches or business premises all over India, and it usually takes only five to seven days to get all the registrations done.

Opportunities available for exporters

It is necessary to interact with other parts of the world because import and export of goods & services is an integral part of the country's economy. As mentioned above, after getting in import and export, there are many sectors one can explore. Some of these as mentioned below:

1. The internet acts like a bridge for the exporters to export their products to customers sitting thousands of kilometers away.

2. Exploring online marketplaces You might have heard about Alibaba.com, Amazon.com, Aliexpress.com, and many other online marketplaces that allow an exporter to enlist as a vendor on their websites and let them connect with customers across the globe.

3. Exploring international markets as each country has their unique resources that can be exported, and it needs to import certain resources. You have to explore what you can export to the needy country and in exchange what you can Import from that country.

For example, if you want to trade in agricultural equipments, you can go to Brazil, which is the best country in producing agricultural equipments. China is famous for electronic equipments, India’s most exported products in 2015 were precious stones and gems, which accounted for a total of 12.7 percent exports.

Exploring the Product Opportunities

It doesn't mean that if you are exporting the Indian-made product across the globe, you can’t import a high demand item from abroad to India. There are many product opportunities that one can look into. Following are some of them:

Leather Products: India has held a very strong position from many years in exporting leather products like handbags, wallets, toys, belts. A large number of small and medium-sized companies are doing this business successfully.

Tobacco Import: A huge part of the revenue comes from the export of tobacco for the Government of India, and this tobacco also becomes the major part of the import of Indian economy.

Medical Appliances: India is now emerging into a major supplier of medical appliances in the world, and because of the reliability and quality, manufacturers are establishing a good reputation. Some of the exported medical appliances from India are gauzes, gloves, face masks, bandages, and much more.

Conclusion

While coming up with an idea will cost you nothing, executing and materializing is what will create a successful business. Import & export of goods and services is always going to be an encouraging business but before starting a business its registration is must and for all your registration needs who can be the best than us Afleo.com. We have a team of 100+ professionals who are dedicated to helping Startups and Entrepreneurs easily start and grow their business.