## What is Export Declaration Form (EDF)? Freelancer's guide From 1 October 2026, every Indian freelancer, agency and software exporter who gets paid by clients abroad files a monthly [Export Declaration Form](https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_FemaNotifications.aspx) with their bank. Before this date, most service providers filed nothing. Software exporters filed SOFTEX. Both of those arrangements have ended. We cover what the EDF is, who it applies to, how to file it, and what changes for you from this month. ## What is the EDF? The [Export Declaration Form](https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/pdfs/NRAR23R16012026_AN.pdf) is a declaration to the RBI that you have exported something and expect to be paid for it. It is required under the [Foreign Exchange Management Act](https://rbi.org.in/scripts/Bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=5083), the same law that governs every rupee entering India from abroad. Until September 2026 the EDF existed only for goods. A shipment went out, a shipping bill was filed with customs, and the EDF went with it. Services had no equivalent. Money arrived in a bank account with an invoice attached, and the RBI had no reliable way to confirm the export was declared or that the payment was received in full. The new regulation, FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, notified on 13 January 2026 and effective from 1 October 2026, brings goods, software and services under one form. ### What the EDF does * **Opens a tracking entry:** every EDF you file creates an entry in EDPMS, the RBI's Export Data Processing and Monitoring System, against your PAN. * **Stays open until you are paid:** when your client's payment arrives, your bank matches it to the entry and closes it. * **Feeds your e-BRC:** once the entry closes, the Bank Realisation Certificate can be generated on the DGFT portal. That certificate is what proves your export payment was received. ### What changed on 1 October 2026 * **One form for everyone:** goods, software and services all use the EDF. SOFTEX is retired for software exports made on or after 1 October. * **Service exporters file for the first time:** designers, consultants, marketers, writers, developers and agencies who never filed anything with the RBI now have a monthly obligation. * **Monthly, not per transaction:** you club every invoice raised in a month into one EDF. The deadline is 30 days from the end of the invoice month. * **Your bank can certify software exports:** STPI certification is no longer mandatory. Your AD bank can do it. Some banks may still route through STPI, so ask yours. * **Payment must arrive within 9 months:** the realisation period for services is 9 months from the invoice date, or 12 months if you invoice in rupees. This was set by the 22 September 2026 amendment, FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB. Earlier drafts said 15 and 18 months. Those numbers no longer apply. * **Every service payment is tracked:** banks now generate an Inward Remittance Message for every service purpose code. A payment with no matching EDF shows up as an unmatched entry. ## Does this apply to you? Yes, if you receive payment from outside India for work you did. There is no minimum amount and no exemption for individuals. ### Individual freelancer, no GST, under ₹20 lakh a year This is the group most affected, because you have likely never filed anything with the RBI. Not having GST registration does not exempt you. GST and FEMA are separate systems. Ask your bank how they want an individual to file, keep every invoice and FIRA sorted by month, and have one conversation with a CA about the monthly routine. ### Designer, video editor, architect The regulation defines software broadly. Any computer programme, database, drawing, design, audio or video file counts. If you send designs or edited video abroad, you are a software exporter under this rule, with the stricter deadline below. ### Agency or registered company You already have a CA and an invoicing process. Make sure your CA has moved off the old SOFTEX workflow, and confirm with your bank whether they will certify your exports directly or still want STPI in the loop. ### Goods and e-commerce sellers Nothing new. Your shipping bill through customs continues to serve as the EDF. ## How to file EDF 1. **Raise invoices as usual:** each one needs a number, date, currency, amount and your client's name, address and country. 2. **Tag each service with its SAC code:** SAC is the services version of HSN. It is mandatory on the form and most freelancers do not have it ready. Ask your CA once and keep the list. 3. **Compile the month into one EDF:** fill Part 1 (General Information) and Part 2B (Export Value of Services). Leave the goods fields blank. 4. **Sign and submit to your AD bank:** the bank where your export payment finally settles, which is not always the bank named on your FIRA. Software exporters can also file through STPI, which forwards it to the bank. 5. **Your bank enters it in EDPMS:** within 5 working days, opening an entry against your PAN. 6. **Get paid:** the bank matches the payment to the entry and closes it once the full value is received. ### The deadline | Invoice date | Month closes | EDF due | | :---- | :---- | :---- | | 3 October 2026 | 31 October 2026 | 30 November 2026 | | 22 October 2026 | 31 October 2026 | 30 November 2026 | | 14 November 2026 | 30 November 2026 | 30 December 2026 | ### Services vs software * **Non-software services** (consulting, marketing, content, research): file within 30 days of month end, or earlier, on or before the date you receive payment. * **Software** (development, SaaS, designs, drawings, audio, video): strictly within 30 days of month end. No payment-date option. If you need more time, your bank can grant an extension on a written request with reasons. ## What goes in the EDF form ### Part 1, General Information * **Type of export:** tick Service. * **PAN:** mandatory. The EDPMS entry sits against it. * **GSTIN and IEC:** on the form, not mandatory for services. * **AD code and bank name:** the bank where your payment settles. * **Mode of delivery:** Internet covers most service exports. * **Shipping bill and port fields:** goods only. Leave blank. ### Part 2B, Export Value of Services One row per invoice. * **SAC code:** mandatory. * **Description of services:** plain language, matching the SAC code. * **Contract number and date:** optional. * **Net realisable value:** what you expect to receive after deductions, not always the gross invoice amount. The sample form is at the end of the [RBI notification](https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/NRAR23R16012026C1272B8B66944ED5A53741840B973363.PDF). ## EDF vs FIRA vs e-BRC These get mixed up. They are three different documents at three different stages. * **EDF:** declares the export and its value. Filed by you, before or around the time of payment. * **FIRA:** proves a specific foreign payment landed in your account. Issued by the bank when money arrives. * **e-BRC:** certifies that the export proceeds were realised. Generated on the DGFT portal after the EDPMS entry closes. A FIRA is not an EDF. Receiving the payment and declaring the export are separate steps. ### What happens if you skip it The EDPMS entry stays open against your PAN. Because an IRM is now generated for every service payment, the mismatch is visible to your bank, which has to follow up until it is regularised. Beyond that, an open entry blocks your e-BRC, which blocks GST refunds tied to that export and access to export incentive schemes. FEMA contraventions carry a penalty of up to three times the amount involved, or up to ₹2 lakh where it cannot be quantified, plus ₹5,000 for each day it continues. Treat it the way you treat GST or advance tax. A monthly reminder, not an optional extra. ### Common mistakes * **Counting 30 days from the invoice date:** count from the end of the invoice month. * **Filing one EDF per invoice:** club the month into one form. * **No SAC code ready:** map every service you sell to a SAC code now. * **Filing with the bank on your FIRA:** file with the bank where the payment finally settles. * **Treating FIRA as the EDF:** they are different documents. * **Assuming you are "services" when you are "software":** designs and video count as software. * **Skipping it because payment already arrived:** the declaration is still required. ## How DashX helps One thing to be clear about. No payment platform files the EDF for you. The declaration is yours to file or to hand to your CA, and it goes to your AD bank. What a platform can do is make the paperwork behind it clean. [DashX](https://dashx.xyz/) operates through RBI-authorised AD Category I banks (JP Morgan and HDFC) and PA-CB licensed partners. Every payment you receive, by bank transfer or in USDC and USDT, comes with: * **A FIRA issued through the AD bank:** the proof of payment your bank matches against the EDPMS entry. * **The RBI purpose code assigned automatically:** the same classification the IRM carries. * **A dashboard you can export by month:** client, invoice, currency, amount, date. That is most of Part 2B. * **Nothing held by DashX:** funds settle into your own Indian bank account. This article explains the framework. SAC classification and how the EDF fits with your other filings is a conversation for your CA. Get documented international payments without the headache. [Try DashX](https://gateway.dashx.xyz/login?redirect=%2F).