EDF for service exporters from 1 October 2026

The answer

From 1 October 2026, every exporter of services from India – including freelancers, sole proprietors, one-person companies and software firms – must file an Export Declaration Form (EDF) with their Authorised Dealer bank. It is due within 30 days from the end of the invoicing month. One EDF can cover all overseas clients billed in that month. The SOFTEX form is discontinued.

Before and after: the export compliance flow

SOFTEX vs EDF: what changes on 1 October 2026

The process, in numbered steps

What the Indian exporter does

1. Raise the overseas invoice in a freely convertible currency (or INR through an RBI-permitted channel). Keep a signed SOW or contract on file.
2. Confirm your category with your CA or bank: “software” (broad – computer programes, databases, drawings, designs, audio/video signals, information on any non-physical medium) or “services other than software”.
3. Collect payment through your AD bank or a regulated payment provider that settles into it. Note the purpose code assigned by the remitter or the provider.
4. At the end of each month, compile every export invoice raised that month.
5. File one EDF with your AD bank within 30 days from the end of that month. Software exporters may file with STPI instead; SEZ units file with the SEZ Development Commissioner.
6. Match each invoice to its FIRA when payment lands. For any invoice up to ₹10 lakh, the EDPMS entry can be closed on your own declaration (batched quarterly is allowed).

What the foreign payer does

1. Pays the invoice to the Indian exporter’s AD bank account or the account held by their regulated payment provider, using SWIFT, ACH/wire, or the provider’s rails.
2. Sends payment as a normal commercial remittance for services. No form or Indian-side registration is required from the payer.
3. Provides a payment reference (invoice number in the memo/reference field) so the exporter and the AD bank can match it to the right EDF entry in EDPMS.

Documents to keep, and the purpose code

For every export invoice, hold the following on file. Your AD bank may ask for them at filing or when it reconciles EDPMS.

• Invoice – with your GSTIN if registered, the client’s name and address, and the export value in the invoicing currency.
• SOW or contract – the scope, deliverables and payment terms.
• Remitter details – the paying party’s legal name and country. Third-party payments are permitted if your bank is satisfied with the bona fides.
• FIRA (Foreign Inward Remittance Advice) – the bank’s proof that convertible foreign exchange was received. From your payment provider if it is an RBI-authorized PA-CB; otherwise from the AD bank.
• EDF reference – the monthly filing your bank has recorded in EDPMS.

Purpose code

RBI purpose codes classify the reason for the remittance. For software and IT-services exports, the codes commonly used are P0802 (software implementation/consultancy, other than those covered in SOFTEX) and P0807 (off-site software exports). Other service categories have their own codes – for example, business consulting, design or marketing services fall under their respective P08xx codes. The remitter or your payment provider assigns the code at the time of the remittance; confirm the correct one for your service type with your bank so the FIRA and EDPMS entry match.

How the ₹10 lakh threshold applies across invoice bands

The ₹10 lakh (or foreign-currency equivalent) invoice line in Regulation 4 is the practical divide. At an illustrative rate of ~₹88 to the US dollar, that is about US$11,300. Filing obligations are the same across all three bands below – one EDF per month covering every invoice, filed with the AD bank within 30 days from the end of the invoice month. What differs is how the EDPMS entry is closed after payment lands.

The steps above are the same regardless of tool – but how much friction each one takes depends entirely on the channel you picked in Step 1. A collection account built specifically for this flow (which is what Remit Circle is) gives you local receiving details so clients pay like a local, converts near the mid-market rate instead of a marked-up one, and generates the FIRA automatically per payment – so Steps 3, 4 and 5 mostly take care of themselves. Worth comparing against whatever you’re currently using, on a real invoice.

The rules that apply, band by band

• All three invoices in the same calendar month are covered by one EDF, filed with the AD bank within 30 days from the end of that month.
• For the $5,000 invoice (and any other invoice up to ₹10 lakh), the EDPMS entry can be closed on the exporter’s own declaration under Regulation 4. Declarations can be submitted quarterly for bulk closure.
• For the $12,000 and $50,000 invoices, the AD bank matches each FIRA to the EDF entry and marks it off in EDPMS in the standard way.
• From 1 October 2026, each invoice must be realised within 15 months of the invoice date under Regulation 5, or 18 months if invoiced and/or settled in INR through an RBI-permitted channel.
• Extensions beyond these windows are at the AD bank’s discretion where the exporter cites reasons and the bank is satisfied.