The short version
You no longer apply to your bank for a BRC and wait. Instead your bank reports the money to DGFT, and you certify the link between that money and your shipments yourself.
The single most common reason an exporter cannot generate an eBRC: the bank has not yet uploaded the Inward Remittance Message (IRM) to DGFT. Until it appears in the DGFT repository, there is nothing to certify. No software can bypass this.
The sequence
- Money arrives at your AD bank from the buyer.
- Your AD bank uploads the IRM to DGFT, containing the amount, currency, date and remitter details.
- The IRM appears in your DGFT account, unutilised and waiting.
- You map it to one or more shipping bills or invoices — this is the self-certification step.
- The eBRC is generated against that mapping and becomes available for your incentive and compliance filings.
Why exporters get stuck
- No IRM yet. Chase your bank, not DGFT. Ask them to confirm the IRM has been transmitted.
- Partial payments. One shipment paid in two instalments produces two IRMs. Both must be mapped, and the amounts must reconcile against the invoice value.
- One payment covering several shipments. A single IRM can be split across multiple shipping bills — but you have to allocate it correctly, and errors here are hard to unwind.
- Currency and value mismatch. If the realised amount differs from the invoice value because of bank charges or exchange differences, the shortfall needs explaining.
Practical advice
Keep the shipping bill number, invoice number and expected amount together in one place from the day the shipment sails. When the IRM lands, mapping takes a minute. When those details are scattered across email and spreadsheets, it takes an afternoon and invites mistakes.