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Export invoice check

It runs in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.

Type in an export invoice under LUT, or finish the specimen, and see which of the ten lines it carries, the date the money must reach India by and, if your bank says you file, the date of its EDF.

Fig. 1
The ten lines, combed
Checked
13.10.2026
The specimen invoice’s 10 lines pulled through the q/b mark into a frame of 10 rows: 7 combed straight, 3 still loose (you, the endorsement, signature), as the check below finds them.

ChecksCGST rule 46

Checks 7 of 10.

add your GSTIN

Line 1, You: Add your GSTIN; an export invoice under LUT needs it.

Export of services under LUT, without payment of integrated tax

Specimeninvented names, numbers and amounts

Tax invoice

Invoice number46(b)

12 of 16 characters

Invoice date46(c)

Day, month, year. The arrow keys step it.

Yourule 46(a)

0 of 15 characters

The last cell is the check character.

Your client46

Place of supply46(n)

The service46(g), 46(h)

6 of 6 characters

The value46(j), 46(k)

The tax46(l), (m), (p)

The endorsement46 proviso

0 of 155 characters match rule 46

Signature46(q)

After sending

  1. Enter it in the register03 Invoices · the workbook
  2. Ask your bank, in writing, whether you file an EDF05 Getting paid · letter 10
  3. Diarise the day the money must arrive by06 Tax year · the calendar
  4. When it arrives, keep the FIRA with the invoice05 Getting paid · letter 9

Every file named above is in the Export Desk · ₹1,499

Look inside

The ten lines, in fullCGST rule 46

Two clocks start on the day you date it.

FEMA’s, run by the RBI through your bank, and GST’s, under rule 96A. They run for different lengths, and missing either costs money.

What changed on 1 October 2026
Invoiced in

For the invoice above, dated 15 October 2026. Change its date and every mark moves.

See the dates on a time line

For an invoice dated 15 October 2026: the EDF, if your bank says you file, by 30 November 2026; the money realised by 15 July 2027; and under GST rule 96A, about 30 October 2027.

The three facts behind these dates
  • Nine months From the invoice date; twelve for an invoice in rupees. Your bank can extend it.
  • The EDF An Export Declaration Form for each invoice month, filed with your bank within 30 days of the month’s end. On 7 October 2026 the RBI said individuals with contracts of a personal nature are not included, and that FAQs will follow; ask your bank in writing whether you file.
  • Rule 96A If the money hasn’t arrived, IGST falls due about one year and 15 days after the invoice date; ask your CA.

Dates from FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB and CGST rule 96A. Check with your bank and CA.

By hand · no tool needed

Checking an invoice by hand

Three steps, with the invoice and the ten lines side by side. The sources are listed below.

  1. Lay the invoice beside the ten lines and find each one on it.

  2. Read line 9 against its box, word for word. A shortened or older wording is not enough.

  3. Put two dates in your diary. The money must be in India within nine months of the invoice date, twelve for an invoice in rupees (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, regulation 5(1)). If your bank says you file, the EDF is due within 30 days of the end of the invoice month (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, regulation 3(2)).

    For the specimen, dated : the money by ; the EDF, if your bank says you file, by .

    Ask your bank in writing whether you file one; the RBI’s remarks of 7 October 2026 are set out above.

What it’s for

Type in an export invoice you have made, or are about to send, and the check goes through the ten lines rule 46 of the CGST Rules asks of an export invoice under an LUT (source 1). Each line comes back as right, as something to fix, or as a question for your CA or bank, with one plain sentence saying why. From the invoice date it also works out when the money is due in India and, if your bank says you file, when the EDF for that month falls due (source 2).

How it works

The ten lines

The check uses the same ten lines, in the same words and order, as the free page, the export invoice guide and the Export Desk. Some of them it can test exactly:

  • The endorsement, character for character against rule 46’s wording. A shortened form, an older wording, or the endorsement for an export with IGST paid is flagged, with the reason (source 1).
  • The invoice number: 16 characters at most, using only letters, digits, “-” and “/” (source 1).
  • Your GSTIN: its length and pattern, the state code it starts with, and its last character, the check character, against the other 14.
  • The SAC: four digits or six. Four are enough at an aggregate turnover of up to ₹5 crore in the previous financial year; above that, six (source 3).
  • The tax: IGST shown as nil, and “Tax payable on reverse charge: No” (source 1).
  • Your LUT’s financial year against the invoice date, because an LUT covers one financial year (source 4). An invoice dated before the LUT was filed is marked as a question for your CA.

Where the page alone can’t settle a line, such as a missing SAC or a missing ARN, the check marks it as a question for your CA rather than a mistake.

The dates

  • Money in India by: nine months from the invoice date, or twelve if the invoice is in rupees, under regulation 5(1) of the RBI’s FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, in force from 1 October 2026 (source 2). The check counts to the same date nine months later, or to the last day of that month when the date doesn’t exist in it: an invoice of 31 May 2027 gives 29 February 2028.
  • EDF by: 30 days after the end of the invoice month, under regulation 3(2); for services other than software, the regulation also allows filing on or before the day the payment arrives (source 2). The check shows this date as “if your bank says you file”. On 7 October 2026 the RBI said individuals with contracts of a personal nature are not included, and promised FAQs (source 5); none were published as at 12 October 2026 (source 6). Ask your bank in writing whether you file.
  • Invoices dated before 1 October 2026 are marked: the new regulations came into force on that day, so ask your bank which rules apply to them (source 2).

What it doesn’t do

  • It shows your invoice as you type, but it doesn’t save, download or send it. The editable invoice template is in the Export Desk.
  • It can’t confirm that a GSTIN is registered or that an ARN is genuine. It checks their form only.
  • It doesn’t choose your SAC or your exchange rate, or decide whether you file an EDF. Those are for your CA and your bank.
  • It is for an export of services under an LUT, by someone registered for GST. It doesn’t check a GST invoice to a client in India, an export with IGST paid, or a plain invoice from someone who isn’t registered.
  • It covers clients in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, invoiced in USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, SGD or AED. An invoice in rupees is marked as a question, because a service paid for in rupees counts as an export only where the RBI permits it (source 7).
  • It isn’t legal or tax advice, and it doesn’t replace your CA’s review.

What happens to what you type

Runs in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored. There is no account and no sign-up.

Sources

  1. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Rule 46, Tax invoice, CGST Rules, 2017, the CBIC’s own text in its tax information repository, with its amendments up to Notification No. 20/2024-Central Tax of 8 October 2024, including the export proviso and its endorsement. Primary source. Read on 13 October 2026.
  2. Reserve Bank of India. Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, as amended up to 22 September 2026. Regulations 3(2) and 5(1). Primary source. Read on 12 October 2026.
  3. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Notification No. 78/2020-Central Tax, 15 October 2020, a copy on the GST Council’s website. Primary source. Read on 12 October 2026.
  4. Goods and Services Tax Network. Furnishing of Letter of Undertaking for Export of Goods or Services, the GST portal’s user guide. Primary source. Read on 12 October 2026.
  5. Business Today. RBI clears the air on new forex reporting rules: Framework does not apply to individuals, 7 October 2026. Press report. Read on 12 October 2026.
  6. Reserve Bank of India. Frequently Asked Questions, the RBI’s index of FAQs; no entry on the EDF or the 2026 regulations. Primary source. Read on 12 October 2026.
  7. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. Circular No. 202/14/2023-GST, 27 October 2023, quoting the five conditions of an export of services in section 2(6) of the IGST Act. Primary source. Read on 12 October 2026.

Checked against official sources on 13 October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice; for your own situation, ask your CA or advocate.