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AD code, and when it applies
The AD code is usually the third thing somebody tells you about, after the IEC and the GSTIN, and it is the one people get stuck on because it comes from your bank rather than from a portal.
What it is
An Authorised Dealer code is issued by the bank branch that handles your export proceeds, and it ties your IEC to that account at the customs house your shipments leave from. It is a banking registration more than a tax one, which is why the questions people search are bank-shaped: the format, the fees, and how to get one from HDFC, SBI or ICICI specifically.
It belongs to the registered export route. If you are not exporting, it does not enter the picture.
The two ways a parcel leaves here
Everything on this page turns on which of these you are, so it is worth settling first. There are two, and we run both.
If your business is registered as an exporter
You have a GSTIN, an IEC and an AD code. Your parcel ships as your export: it goes under your own IEC, and you authorise our carrier to file the shipping bill (CSB-V) on your behalf. You pay the freight, and the commercial invoice carries your business.
If your business is not registered as an exporter
We call this the simple route, and it is the one most Instagram sellers, boutiques and small shops start on. On this route you do not export at all. Your customer abroad receives the parcel as their own, under our personal forwarding terms — the same terms any individual uses to send their own belongings home. You book the shipment here, put your own bill for the order inside the parcel, and send it to our warehouse. We weigh it, photograph it, and send your customer a link to pay the shipping. As soon as they pay, it goes, and they get tracking in your name.
So when do you need one with us
On the registered route, yes: your IEC and AD code are what let our carrier file the CSB-V shipping bill against your export. We ask for both when we approve the account, and we need them kept current.
On the simple route, no. There is no shipping bill in your name to file, because the parcel is your customer receiving their own goods. What we ask for instead is your bill for the order, inside the parcel, and an accurate description of the contents.
If you are getting one anyway
It is worth doing once rather than twice. The code is branch-specific, so register it at the branch you actually intend to receive export proceeds into rather than whichever branch is nearest.
Where to start
Open a business account and tell us what you sell. We call every new business on WhatsApp within a working day, usually to settle exactly the question this page is about, and you are on the right route before your first parcel moves.
Questions
Do I need an AD code to send an order abroad through India Rabbit?
Only on the registered export route, where it is needed alongside your IEC so the carrier can file the shipping bill. On the simple route there is no shipping bill in your name and no AD code is involved.
Can I export without an AD code?
If you are exporting under your own IEC, the AD code is part of that process. If you are on our simple route you are not the exporter, so the question does not arise for that parcel.
My bank is asking which branch to register. Does it matter?
It does, because the code is tied to the branch that handles your export proceeds. Register the branch you actually intend to use rather than the most convenient one, or you will do it twice.
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Send your next order
Open a business account and tell us what you sell. We call every new business within a working day, usually to settle exactly which route you are on.