To check an IEC code, use the status enquiry on the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) portal, or the equivalent IE code status check on the customs ICEGATE portal, and enter the code or the PAN. It shows whether the code exists and is active. It does not show whether the business can make your product.
The IEC (Importer-Exporter Code) is a ten-character registration that an Indian business needs for most commercial exports. It is linked to the business's PAN, so it is a good identity cross-check. Details of the portals below were true as of October 2026, but menu names and login rules change, so follow the live site.
How to look it up
Ask the supplier for the IEC number and the legal name it is registered under. Then try one of these routes:
- DGFT portal: look for the option to view IEC status. In our reading of current guidance it does not need a login, but check the live page.
- ICEGATE (customs): look for the check IE code or BIN status option. Depending on the route, it may ask you to sign in.
- Cross-check the PAN: the PAN on the IEC should match the PAN embedded in the supplier's GSTIN, which sits in characters three to twelve.
What the statuses mean
Results are usually described as active, deactivated or rejected, and some guides mention a received-but-not-yet-approved state. Each deserves a different response.
Active with the right name is what you want. Deactivated may be innocent, since DGFT has required exporters to update their IEC details annually and a missed update can lead to deactivation. Ask the supplier to explain and show it fixed. A code that cannot be found, or belongs to a different name, is a serious mismatch.
What an IEC does not prove
An IEC is easy to get. It does not prove the holder owns a factory, has any export experience, or is financially sound. Traders, brokers and brand-new businesses all hold IECs. Some agents hold one as well; we do, as a registered business.
Treat the IEC as one box ticked, and remember that a trader, a broker and a factory can all pass it equally well. The question that separates them is covered in trader versus manufacturer. Apply the same caution to claims made on trade-platform profiles, which are not government records. Pair it with a GST check, a company-register check where relevant and a physical visit. How to verify an Indian exporter shows how the checks fit together.
A short routine for every new supplier
Run the check before any money moves, and keep a dated screenshot or printout. If the status later changes, you will know what it was when you started.
Then ask the supplier, in writing, to confirm that the name on the IEC is the name that will appear on the commercial invoice and the shipping bill. Exporters sometimes ship under a related firm's code, which is not necessarily illegal but changes who you are dealing with, and who answers if a shipment is rejected.
If the supplier says the IEC is being renewed, updated or reissued, ask for the acknowledgement in writing and check again in a few days. Honest delays exist. An excuse that never resolves does not.
Commodity registrations are separate
Some products need additional registrations, such as membership of a commodity export body, a food licence or a product-specific certificate. These vary by product and change. Ask the supplier which apply to your goods, then check each with the issuing body or ask your customs broker.
Next step
We hold an IEC and Udyam registration ourselves, and we check the same records for any supplier we propose to you. If you want a supplier checked before you pay, book a free sourcing review. Our guide to what registrations an Indian agent should have applies the same checks to agents.