DGFT Portal vs ebrc.in: Which Way to File
There is no wrong door: the certificate that comes out is the same DGFT issued eBRC either way. What differs is everything around it, who does the repetitive work, what a mistake costs, and how the filing fits the systems your business already runs. This is the comparison, stated only in terms you can verify.
The part that does not differ
Both routes end in the same document: a DGFT issued eBRC against your IEC, generated from the same IRMs your bank reported. DGFT is and remains the issuing authority either way; ebrc.in changes who does the repetitive work, never who issues the certificate. Nothing about the certificate's validity, its use in claims, or its standing in an audit depends on which route produced it. If anyone tells you otherwise, they are selling too hard.
The comparison, dimension by dimension
| Dimension | DGFT portal | ebrc.in |
|---|---|---|
| The workflow | Portal session each time: log in, open Repositories, select, self certify | Connect DGFT once; file from the app, a spreadsheet, or the API |
| Remittances | You look them up in the repository | They arrive on their own, with status and unused balance visible |
| Volume | One filing at a time | Bulk from one pre-filled Excel template, validated row by row |
| Shipping bill data | Typed in by you | Upload the shipping bill or invoice; the filing data is extracted from the document |
| Errors | Surface after submission | Validation runs before anything is filed; errors name the row and field |
| Rehearsal | Live from the first click | Test mode sandbox; nothing binding until you switch to Live |
| Integration | A website | REST API: onboarding, IRM refresh, generation, status polling, PDF download, document data extraction |
| Getting started | Register on the portal | Self-serve: the eBRC exporter app is free at any volume, with no certificate limit and no paid tier for exporters, and no card at sign-up. Platforms get sandbox API keys, with no contract until production volume |
| Many entities | One IEC per login | One account holds multiple exporter entities, each with its own DGFT connection |
| Price | Free | Free at any volume, with no certificate limit and no paid tier for exporters, and no card at sign-up. The eBRC API is a separate product with its own published limits, and they never apply here |
Which one fits your desk
- A few certificates a year. The eBRC exporter app. Filing rarely is exactly when validation before submission, a rehearsal in Test mode and a ledger you can still search two years later are worth the most, and it is free at any volume with no certificate limit. If you would rather do the steps yourself, that is a real preference and the portal serves it well: it is the official route, and the walkthrough covers it end to end.
- Filing every week, or clearing backlogs at claim time. The repetition is the cost: every certificate is another session, another lookup, another declaration. This is the desk the bulk workflow was built for, and where the workspace pays for its five minute setup every week after; an account is free.
- Platforms, ERPs and export software filing for others. The portal cannot be embedded; an API can. Certificates as a feature of your product is exactly this case, with sandbox keys, request IDs and status polling, documented at the API docs.
The honest caveats
ebrc.in needs your DGFT account connected once, which takes about five minutes. What that connection buys is standing: from then on your remittances arrive on their own, filings are checked before they are submitted, and every certificate stays in a searchable ledger with its PDF, its number and an Excel export. The routes also combine: the portal remains available regardless of how you usually file, and the routes guide covers switching between them.
Frequently asked questions
Is the certificate from ebrc.in different from the portal's?
No. Both are DGFT issued eBRCs generated from the same bank-reported IRMs. The difference is the workflow around the certificate, not the certificate.
When is the DGFT portal the right choice?
When you would rather work in the official system directly, or would rather not connect an account to anything. Both are good reasons. The portal is official, free, fully capable at every volume, and DGFT remains the issuing authority whichever route you file through. Volume settles nothing here, because both handle two certificates or two hundred. What the free eBRC exporter app adds is validation before a filing is submitted, a Test mode to rehearse in, remittances that arrive on their own, and a searchable record of every certificate afterwards.
When does ebrc.in earn its place?
When filings recur: remittances arriving on their own, bulk Excel filing, pre-submission validation, and a certificate usually back in about two hours turn a recurring chore into minutes. And when eBRCs must happen inside another product, the API is the route the portal cannot offer.
Can I use both?
Yes. The DGFT portal remains available to you regardless of how you usually file, and an eBRC exporter app reads from the same IRMs your bank reports.