was built to hand that money back. For many exporters, knowing how to claim it properly is the line between a profitable order and one that barely breaks even. 

Here's what the scheme actually covers, how the refund gets calculated, how the money reaches you, and what's changed over the past year or so. 

What RoDTEP — Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products — came into force in January 2021, replacing the older Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). The WTO had ruled MEIS a prohibited export subsidy, so the government redesigned the benefit as a tax remission rather than an incentive, which keeps it on the right side of trade rules. 

It's worth being clear on how this differs from duty drawback, because exporters mix the two up constantly. Drawback refunds customs duty paid on imported inputs. RoDTEP from June 2025 onward, so the start date matters if that's your situation. 

Each HS code carries a percentage rate, applied to the FOB value of the shipment, usually somewhere between 0.3% and 4.3%. Many lines also carry a rupee cap per unit — per kilogram or per piece, depending on the product. You get whichever figure is lower. 

Say a bicycle-parts exporter in Ludhiana ships a consignment worth ?20 lakh FOB, and her HS code carries a 1.2% rate with no cap. That's ?24,000 back. But if she'd shipped 1,000 units and her HS code's cap worked out to ?22,000 per item across that quantity, ?22,000 is what she'd actually get, not ?24,000. This is why getting the HS code right at the full 8-digit level matters so much — it's not a formality, it's the number that decides your payout. 

Getting Paid 

RoDTEP in the shipping bill at the time of filing. There's no retroactive claim. If it's missed on the bill, it's gone. 

What's Changed Recently 

oDTEP has moved around a fair amount over the last year, so treating it as fixed is a mistake. 

Following the Finance Act 2025 changes to the tariff schedule, DGFT revised Appendix 4R from 1 May 2025, and separately extended coverage to SEZ, EOU, and Advance Authorisation exporters under Appendix 4RE from 1 June 2025. 

In February 2026, rates and caps across most HS codes were cut by half — Chapters 1 to 24 were spared — but that cut lasted less than a month. DGFT Notification No. 66/2025-26 restored the original rates for shipments made between 23 February and 31 March 2026. Then, in Notification No. 74/2025-26, the scheme was extended for a further six months, through 30 September 2026, at those restored, unchanged rates — not reduced ones, despite some confusion floating around on this point. 

Then in May 2026, DGFT reworked the schedules again to line up with the amended Customs Tariff Act: 142 new tariff lines added, 50 removed, two descriptions tweaked. 

Separately, CBIC issued a circular in April 2026 clarifying when <span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW203776019 BCX0" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text; background-position: 0px 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; background-image: url(" data:image="" svg+xml;base64,phn2zyb4bwxucz0iahr0cdovl3d3dy53my5vcmcvmjawmc9zdmciihdpzhropsi1iibozwlnahq9ijqipjxnigzpbgw9im5vbmuiigzpbgwtcnvszt0izxzlbm9kzci+phbhdgggc3ryb2tlpsijruiwmdawiibkpsjnmcazyzeumjugmcaxlji1ltigmi41ltjtmy43nsazidugmyivpjxwyxroigq9ik0widbonxy0sdb6ii8+pc9npjwvc3znpg="=&quot;);" border-bottom:="" 1px="" solid="" transparent;"="">RoDTEP benefits survive a short-realisation of export proceeds — relevant if you rely on ECGC insurance to cover shortfalls, since RBI's usual write-off rules now carry some exceptions here. 

The takeaway: RoDTEP schedules get revised more than once a year, and not always on a predictable calendar. Check the current rate before you quote a price. Don't work off what you checked six months ago. 

What Exporters Should Actually Do 

Check the HS code every time, not once a year. Cross-reference it against the current Appendix 4R or 4RE and against the Customs Tariff Schedule — the two don't always agree, and a customs broker working off outdated data can quietly apply the wrong rate. 

Confirm which category you fall under. Regular DTA exporter or SEZ/EOU/AA exporter — the applicable appendix and start dates differ, so don't assume 4R terms apply if you're the latter. 

Build the RoDTEP declaration into your shipping bill process as a standing step, not something you remember to do occasionally. There's no going back and fixing a missed claim. 

Think about what you'll actually do with the e-scrips. If you import regularly, use them against your own BCD. If you don't, plan to sell them — factor in that a transfer usually costs something in fees or discount. 

If you export garments or made-ups, check RoSCTL before defaulting to RoDTEP. RoSCTL rates for textiles and apparel are typically much higher for the same product, so most apparel exporters are better off there. 

Keep your export-proceeds paperwork tight, especially if you use ECGC to cover any shortfall — the April 2026 circular adds conditions worth knowing before you assume a short-realised shipment is automatically safe. 

Bottom Line 

RoDTEP sits alongside duty drawback and RoSCTL as one of the main levers Indian exporters have to recover tax costs that would otherwise just sit inside their price. What you actually get back depends almost entirely on getting the HS code and the timing right, and given how often the schedules have shifted over the past year, that's not a one-time check — it needs to happen every time you quote a price. Exporters who build this into routine pricing tend to hold their margins. Those who don't usually find out the hard way, when a competitor's quote comes in lower for reasons that have nothing to do with their actual production cost.