Do You Need RoDTEP Benefits? A Practical Starting Point
Embedded taxes paid on electricity, transport, mandi fees, state cesses, and other non-refundable levies in your export cost structure are what RoDTEP is designed to offset, at notified rates — but the benefit reaches you only if your RoDTEP claim is computed correctly, filed on schedule, and backed by robust documentation. RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) replaced the earlier MEIS scheme effective 1 January 2021 under the Foreign Trade Policy framework, and its administration sits at the intersection of DGFT, Customs, and the GST architecture.
Understanding the Service
RoDTEP — Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products — is an export incentive scheme notified by the Government of India under the Foreign Trade Policy framework, effective from 1 January 2021. It replaced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and was designed in response to an adverse WTO ruling that found MEIS to be a prohibited export subsidy. RoDTEP is structured as a remission — not a subsidy — because it is explicitly calibrated to offset only the embedded taxes and levies that are genuinely incurred in the export production process but are not otherwise refunded under any other mechanism (such as customs duty drawback or GST input tax credit and refunds).
For the full scope, current process and what PNPC includes, see the dedicated RoDTEP Benefits service page.
Is This Relevant to Your Business?
- You are a manufacturer-exporter or merchant exporter making physical exports of goods (not services) classified under ITC-HS codes that appear in the RoDTEP Schedule with a non-zero rate — covering a wide range of sectors including textiles, engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agro-products, and consumer goods
- Your export production process involves genuine embedded costs of electricity duties, state fuel taxes, mandi fees, environment cesses, or stamp duties — and these are not already being recovered through GST ITC refunds or Customs Duty Drawback
- You ship goods from Indian ports or ICDs and file Shipping Bills under Customs that support an IGST refund or Drawback claim — the same Shipping Bill is the basis for the RoDTEP claim and the infrastructure already exists
- You are currently claiming RoDTEP but without a systematic rate verification process — the risk that incorrect ITC-HS mapping results in under-claiming (leaving money on the table) or over-claiming (triggering recovery demand) is material in both directions
What This Doesn't Cover
- Your exports are of services — RoDTEP is limited to goods exports, services exports are not eligible for RoDTEP scrips, and the earlier Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) has been discontinued
- Your exports are made by an Advance Authorisation holder, an EOU or an SEZ unit and you expect the ordinary DTA rates: such exports are covered only at the separate rates and value caps notified in Appendix 4RE, not the Appendix 4R schedule, so confirm which schedule and conditions apply before claiming
- Your product's ITC-HS code is currently in the RoDTEP Schedule at a zero rate or is excluded from the Schedule entirely — in which case there is no current benefit available, though the schedule may be revised
Questions We're Actually Asked
What is RoDTEP and how does it differ from MEIS?
RoDTEP — Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products — replaced the MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) effective 1 January 2021. MEIS provided a fixed percentage benefit on FOB value as a general export incentive — it was ruled a prohibited export subsidy by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DS541 — India — Export Related Measures). RoDTEP was redesigned as a remission-based scheme: it only compensates exporters for actual embedded taxes that are genuinely incurred in the production and export process but not otherwise recoverable under GST or Customs Drawback. The claim mechanism is also integrated with Customs: RoDTEP is claimed in the Shipping Bill and the benefit is issued as transferable electronic duty credit scrips through the ICEGATE system. The RoDTEP rates are set by an inter-ministerial committee based on actual tax incidence studies — not on FOB value as a proxy for export support.
Who is eligible to claim RoDTEP?
RoDTEP is available to exporters making physical exports of eligible goods under a Shipping Bill filed with Indian Customs (ICEGATE). The exporter must have a valid IEC (Importer Exporter Code), be registered for GST, and export products whose ITC-HS code appears in the RoDTEP schedule at a non-zero rate (Appendix 4R for DTA exports; Appendix 4RE for exports by Advance Authorisation holders, EOUs and SEZ units). Both manufacturer-exporters (who produce the goods they export) and merchant exporters (who buy and export goods produced by third parties) are eligible. Service exporters are not eligible for RoDTEP.
How is the RoDTEP benefit amount calculated?
The RoDTEP benefit is calculated as a percentage of the FOB (Free On Board) value of the exported goods at the item level in the Shipping Bill. The applicable percentage is the rate specified in the RoDTEP schedule (Appendix 4R, or Appendix 4RE for AA/EOU/SEZ exports) for the ITC-HS code of the export product, and for many items the benefit is also subject to a per-unit value cap. Where a Shipping Bill contains multiple products with different ITC-HS codes, each line item is computed separately using the applicable rate for that product's HS code. The aggregate across all eligible line items is the total scroll value. The scheme is time-bound: DGFT has been extending it in stages, most recently to 30 September 2026 at existing rates and value caps (Notification 74/2025-26), so confirm the current validity and rates with DGFT before relying on them.
Getting This Right From the Start
Speak with a PNPC Chartered Accountant who manages export incentive compliance as a core practice — not as a side service. We will review your current Shipping Bills, identify whether your RoDTEP declarations are correctly filed, quantify any unclaimed entitlement, and put in place a systematic compliance process that captures every rupee the scheme authorises on every shipment going forward.
PNPC Global has advised Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad businesses since 1986. Explore the full Registrations & Licences practice for related services, or go straight to the RoDTEP Benefits page for specifics.
Rates, thresholds and filing dates are set by the relevant authority and revised periodically. Treat anything numeric here as "ask PNPC for the current figure," not as a quoted fact.