RFD-11
The LUT form
Filed online, approved fast
Form RFD-11 · Rule 96A, CGST Rules
LUT Filing — Export Without Paying a Rupee of IGST Upfront
An LUT turns every export zero-rated. We file RFD-11 fast, renew it before the 31 March cliff every year, and set up the ITC refund route so your working capital stays yours.
- RFD-11 filed online with DSC/EVC
- Zero IGST on exports under the LUT route
- Standing renewal before every 31 March
- SEZ, goods, services and SaaS models handled
- ITC refund route set up alongside
TRUSTED BY EXPORTERS
Zero-rated exports filed for businesses across India
₹0
IGST on your exports
Ship at zero tax under LUT
31 March
Validity cliff
Every LUT dies with the financial year
1 FY
Validity period
Renew before the new year's first export
What is a Letter of Undertaking (LUT)?
A Letter of Undertaking (LUT) is a declaration filed in Form GST RFD-11 under Rule 96A of the CGST Rules, by which an exporter undertakes to complete zero-rated supplies without payment of IGST — valid for one financial year and renewable before 31 March each year.
The LUT decision is pure working-capital math. Without an LUT, every export ships only after you pay IGST out of pocket and then chase a refund for weeks — your cash sleeping in a government ledger. With an LUT, the same export ships at zero tax, and your accumulated input credit becomes refundable separately. Eligibility is broad: any registered exporter of goods or services, including SEZ suppliers, who has not been prosecuted for tax evasion exceeding ₹2.5 crore.
The catch nobody manages: validity dies every 31 March regardless of when you filed — an April export against last year's LUT is an export without an LUT, which means IGST liability with interest. Renewal is a calendar discipline, and we own the calendar.
THE LUT SERVICE SET
Four LUT services — explained
From a first filing to a lapsed-LUT rescue, here is how each LUT service actually works.
LUT Registration
First-time LUT filing for new exporters: eligibility confirmed (no ₹2.5-crore evasion prosecution), RFD-11 prepared with witness details, filed with DSC/EVC, and the acknowledgment archived where your shipping team can actually find it. Your first zero-tax export becomes possible the same week.
LUT Renewal
The 31 March cliff is absolute: last year's LUT covers nothing in the new financial year. We renew before the deadline every year as a standing service, confirm the fresh ARN, and update your export documentation — so April shipments never sail unprotected.
LUT for Exporters
Goods exporters, service exporters, SaaS companies billing abroad, and SEZ suppliers each face different documentation downstream (shipping bills vs FIRC/BRC). We align the LUT with your export model and the refund route that follows it, so the whole zero-rated chain holds.
LUT Application Support
Filed it yourself and hit a rejection, a witness-detail error, or a portal validation failure? Or exported in April before renewing? We repair defective filings, regularize gap periods, and rebuild the compliance trail before a notice arrives.
WHEN AN LUT MATTERS
Real situations where the LUT pays for itself
The LUT is a working-capital decision triggered by a real export moment. Here are the ones we see most.
When
First international client signed
The issue
Invoice ready but charging them IGST makes you uncompetitive
We do
LUT filed; invoice goes out zero-rated and clean
When
April 4th, shipment at port
The issue
LUT expired March 31 — nobody renewed it
We do
Emergency renewal plus gap-period regularization
When
SaaS billing US clients monthly
The issue
Paying IGST and waiting on refunds is strangling cash flow
We do
LUT route established; ITC refund cycle set up alongside
When
Supplying an SEZ unit
The issue
Unsure whether SEZ supplies need IGST or qualify zero-rated
We do
Zero-rated under LUT, with endorsed-invoice documentation
THE LAW BEHIND IT
The zero-rated machinery under Rule 96A
An LUT is a simple form sitting on top of strict export logic. The four moving parts decide whether your export is genuinely tax-free.
RFD-11 — the undertaking
The exporter undertakes to export within the prescribed time or pay IGST with interest. The form is the legal promise that makes zero-rated supply possible without a bond.
The two export routes compared
LUT means no tax outflow; the IGST-payment route means pay-then-refund. Working-capital-sensitive businesses choose LUT. Budget 2026 removed the minimum threshold for export refunds — even small accumulated credits under LUT are now claimable, making the LUT route stronger for small exporters and freelancers than ever.
The FY validity cliff — 31 March, no grace
An LUT covers exactly one financial year and expires on 31 March with no grace period. Any export in the new year before renewal is unprotected.
The consequence chain
Export without a valid LUT becomes a taxable export: IGST plus 18% interest, and the refund route compromised. The cost of a missed renewal lands on the very next shipment.
HOW WE FILE IT
From eligibility check to a calendared renewal — step by step
LUT filing is fast, but the value is in the renewal discipline that keeps every following year covered.
- 1
Eligibility check
Step 1We confirm registration status, prosecution history, and any prior LUT record so the filing qualifies cleanly.
- 2
Prepare RFD-11
Step 2We draft the undertaking text with two witnesses and their addresses, signed off by the authorized signatory.
- 3
File on the portal
Step 3The LUT is filed with DSC or EVC and the ARN is generated, confirming the zero-rated route is live.
- 4
Archive and integrate
Step 4The acknowledgment is archived and shared with your shipping and invoicing workflow so every export references the LUT.
- 5
Lock the renewal
Step 5The renewal is locked into our compliance calendar for the following 31 March, so the new financial year is never exposed.
LUT DOCUMENTATION
Documents required to file and protect your LUT
- GSTIN credentials and login
- IEC certificate
- Authorized signatory KYC
- DSC of the signatory
- Two witness names and addresses
- Previous LUT / ARN if renewing
- Authorized signatory details
- Sample export invoices
- Shipping bills for goods
- FIRC / BRC trail for services
The LUT itself is quick to file, but the export evidence is what unlocks the ITC refund that the LUT route makes possible. We assemble both so the zero-rated chain holds end to end.
TRANSPARENT PRICING
LUT filing pricing
New filing, annual renewal, or the bundle that pairs the LUT with your ITC refund cycle.
Essential
First-time RFD-11 for new exporters — eligibility confirmed, filed, ARN delivered.
₹1,499 / filing
- Eligibility and prosecution-history check
- RFD-11 prepared with witness details
- Filed with DSC/EVC, ARN generated
- Acknowledgment archived for your team
Complete
New LUT with invoice alignment and the standing renewal locked in for next year.
₹2,499 / filing
- Everything in Essential
- Standing renewal locked to the calendar
- Invoice format aligned to the LUT
- ITC refund route mapped alongside
Filing under an LUT is only half the working-capital play — your accumulated input credit becomes refundable separately, and Budget 2026 removed the minimum threshold so even small claims qualify. Pair it with our GST Refund Services > to recover the ITC the LUT route frees up.
WHY LUTS GO WRONG — HANDLED
The five ways an LUT leaves you exposed
An LUT that lapses or misfiles turns a tax-free export into a taxable one. These are the failure modes we engineer out.
The risk
Missed renewal
April exports become taxable with interest because nobody renewed before 31 March.
How we handle it
We run a standing-renewal calendar so the new financial year is always covered.
The risk
Witness detail errors
The filing is rejected on validation when witness details are incomplete or inconsistent.
How we handle it
We pre-check every witness and signatory detail before the RFD-11 goes in.
The risk
LUT assumed to cover old exports
Gap periods between a lapse and a refile remain exposed to IGST liability.
How we handle it
We regularize gap periods explicitly so no shipment is left uncovered.
The risk
Zero-rated invoice without LUT reference
Buyers dispute and audits flag invoices that don't cite the LUT properly.
How we handle it
We align your invoice format to the LUT so the zero-rated claim holds up.
The risk
LUT filed, refunds never claimed
ITC piles up unrecovered while the export route works but the refund never runs.
How we handle it
We activate the refund route alongside — the working-capital double-play.
FAQ
LUT Filing FAQs
Clear answers on RFD-11, who can file, validity and renewal, SEZ and SaaS exports, LUT vs Bond, and ITC refunds.
Fast answersExpert support
- A Letter of Undertaking (LUT) is a declaration filed in Form GST RFD-11 under Rule 96A of the CGST Rules, by which an exporter undertakes to complete zero-rated supplies without payment of IGST. It is valid for one financial year and renewable before 31 March each year.
- Form GST RFD-11 is the form on which a Letter of Undertaking is filed online. Through it the exporter undertakes to export within the prescribed time, allowing zero-rated supply without paying IGST upfront.
- Any registered exporter of goods or services, including SEZ suppliers, can file an LUT — provided they have not been prosecuted for tax evasion exceeding ₹2.5 crore. The LUT replaces the earlier requirement of furnishing a bond with bank guarantee for most exporters.
- An LUT is valid for one financial year, from the date of filing until 31 March of that year. It does not roll over — a fresh LUT must be filed for each new financial year regardless of when the previous one was filed.
- The LUT must be renewed before 31 March, ahead of the new financial year's first export. An April shipment against last year's LUT is treated as an export without an LUT, attracting IGST with interest.
- Exporting without a valid LUT makes the supply a taxable export: IGST becomes payable with 18% interest, and the refund route is compromised. The fix is to regularize the gap period and file or renew the LUT before a notice arrives.
- Yes. Service exporters and SaaS companies billing overseas clients are making zero-rated supplies and benefit from an LUT to invoice without IGST. The downstream evidence differs — FIRC or BRC trails rather than shipping bills — but the LUT route applies.
- Supplies to an SEZ unit or developer are zero-rated and can be made under an LUT without paying IGST. The invoices must be endorsed appropriately, and the LUT keeps the supply tax-free instead of routing through pay-then-refund.
- An LUT is a simple online undertaking available to most exporters, while a Bond — usually backed by a bank guarantee — is required only for exporters who do not qualify for the LUT, such as those prosecuted for evasion above ₹2.5 crore. The LUT is faster and carries no bank-guarantee cost.
- Under the LUT route you export at zero tax and claim accumulated ITC as a refund separately. Under the IGST-payment route you pay IGST on the export and claim it back later. The LUT route keeps your working capital free instead of parked in a government ledger.
- Yes. Exporting under an LUT means your accumulated input tax credit becomes refundable. Budget 2026 removed the minimum threshold for export refunds, so even small accumulated credits under LUT are now claimable — making the route stronger for small exporters and freelancers than ever.
- An LUT is usually rejected for a witness-detail error, an eligibility mismatch, or a portal validation failure. We repair the defective filing, correct the details, and refile so your zero-rated exports are covered without a gap.
- No. Budget 2026 removed the minimum threshold for export refunds, so small accumulated ITC claims that previously fell below the floor are now refundable. Exporters using the LUT route can recover even modest credit balances.
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For Exporters
Stop lending the government your working capital. File your LUT.
Same-day RFD-11 filing, a renewal locked to every 31 March, and the ITC refund route set up alongside.
Filing, renewal, gap-period rescue, refund route — fully handled