RoDTEP (the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) is the headline incentive for Indian exporters. It replaced the older MEIS in 2021. Most exporters know roughly what RoDTEP pays them. Fewer know the rate they think they are getting and the rate they actually receive can differ by a meaningful margin, purely because of HS classification depth.
The scheme is administered at 8 digits
HS (the Harmonized System) is a global six-digit product-classification standard. India's Customs Tariff extends it to eight digits for domestic use. The RoDTEP notification publishes rates at the 8-digit level. Two products that share a common 6-digit chapter heading can have different RoDTEP rates at 8 digits.
An example. Basmati rice falls under heading 1006.30. The 8-digit codes within: 10063010 for unboiled, 10063020 for parboiled (sella). Both are basmati. Both are rice. The published RoDTEP rate for parboiled sella in 2024-25 was 2.7%. The rate for unboiled was 1.8%. A 0.9-percentage-point difference on a USD 50,000 invoice is USD 450 per container. Over twenty containers a year, that is USD 9,000: for filing the correct 8-digit code rather than the broader 6-digit one.
Why exporters under-claim
Three reasons we see regularly.
First, the customs broker fills the Shipping Bill at HS-6. The ICEGATE form accepts 8 digits. The line-level interface defaults to the 6-digit code on the commercial invoice if no override is given. Exporters who hand the broker a 6-digit code on the invoice get a 6-digit Shipping Bill, and the lowest rate within that heading.
Second, the wrong sub-heading within a chapter. Some sub-headings within a 6-digit head have RoDTEP rates of zero. Misclassifying a 1.5%-rated product into a 0% sub-heading is invisible on the Shipping Bill. It just means no refund credit lands.
Third, products that straddle two headings. Dehydrated tomato powder can sit under 0712.90.05 (dehydrated vegetables, processed) or 2002.90.00 (tomatoes prepared, otherwise). Both are defensible. The first has a RoDTEP rate. The second often does not. A bilingual technical writer reading both notifications gets the higher one. A broker working off a spreadsheet gets the default.
What we do differently
Before any shipment leaves, we classify the product at 8 digits, cross-check against the live RoDTEP notification (the DGFT publishes amendments quarterly), and document the classification with a one-line rationale in the export file. If the classification is non-obvious (a borderline case like the tomato powder above) we attach the rationale to the Shipping Bill itself in the free-text field. This protects against post-shipment queries from DGFT or Customs.
Other 8-digit-only details that matter
- Country of origin claims under FTAs. Most FTA preferential rates are also published at 8 digits, not 6. The CECA, CEPA, AIFTA, and India-MERCOSUR agreements all rate-discriminate at 8.
- Anti-dumping and safeguard duties. Same. Notified at 8. A 6-digit declaration leaves the assessment officer to pick. They will not pick favourably.
- Statutory restrictions (DGFT export licence requirements). Several restricted categories are 8-digit-defined. A correct 8 saves you a notice.
The takeaway for buyers
If you are evaluating Indian export suppliers, ask: "What HS-8 code will appear on the Shipping Bill, and what is the current RoDTEP rate at that code?" An exporter who can answer both, in writing, before you place the order, is doing the work properly. Most cannot. The difference compounds across every shipment.
— Nitik · Darsavio EXIM