The EximLabh Brief

Can Your Courier Export Still Claim RoDTEP Under the New E-Commerce Framework?

The benefit is real, but the exporter-of-record rule decides who actually gets paid

The question Can a shipment moving through the new inventory-based cross-border e-commerce framework still claim RoDTEP or Duty Drawback, and who actually gets the money? ## What changed DGFT operationalised the Inventory-based Cross-border E-Commerce Export Framework under FTP 2023 through Notification No. 27/2026-27 dated August 5, 2026, read with Public Notice No. 25/2026-27 of the same date. The PIB release accompanying the framework confirms that export benefits, including RoDTEP and Duty Drawback, have been extended to courier and e-commerce export modes. RoDTEP itself has been extended to December 31, 2026 at unchanged rates under DGFT Notification No. 41/2026-27. The headline is real. The eligibility is not automatic. ## The exporter-of-record problem Under the new framework, the e-commerce entity is the exporter-of-record. RoDTEP is claimed by the exporter named on the shipping bill. If an MSME or manufacturer supplies goods into an export-only inventory pool, that MSME is not the exporter-of-record and cannot claim RoDTEP directly. The benefit accrues to the e-commerce entity, which may or may not pass it through contractually. This is a supply-agreement issue, not a customs filing issue. It must be resolved before goods enter the inventory pool. ## Three compliance traps RoDTEP and Drawback are mutually exclusive. Both cannot be claimed on the same shipping-bill inputs. The exporter must compare the exact RoDTEP rate, including any value cap per unit, against the Drawback rate for the same item, then elect the higher confirmed benefit at the shipping-bill stage. For low-value e-commerce consignments, the RoDTEP value cap per unit may render the rebate negligible. Drawback may be more favourable, or vice versa. The election is not retrospective. The FTP Chapter 4 exclusion list still applies. RoDTEP is not available where electronic documentation in ICEGATE is not generated, for products manufactured or exported availing Notification No. 32/1997-Customs, for supplies to SEZ/FTWZ units, and for other enumerated categories. Courier and e-commerce shipments that bypass ICEGATE shipping bills may fall outside RoDTEP unless the specific CBIC extension notification covers that mode. Postal mode is a separate instrument. CBIC extended RoDTEP to postal shipments from January 15, 2026. Do not assume that postal-mode extension automatically covers inventory-based e-commerce shipments routed through courier aggregators. The two extensions may remain separate instruments with separate filing requirements. ## What to confirm before goods move, Confirm in writing with the e-commerce entity whether RoDTEP or Drawback will be claimed on shipments containing your goods, at what rate, and whether any portion of the benefit will be passed through.