DGFT DSC for Import and Export: IEC Work on the DGFT Portal

A DGFT DSC is a Class 3 signing certificate for import and export work on the DGFT portal. Companies, LLPs and other non-proprietorship firms use it for IEC-related work, and the certificate details must match the IEC and the authorised signatory. This post covers who needs one, what must match, how the registration works, and how renewal goes.

Who needs one

Companies applying for or modifying an IEC need a DGFT DSC. LLPs filing licence applications need one. Applicants for Advance Authorisation or EPCG authorisations sign with it. The certificate is for the signatory named on the DGFT profile, in the signatory’s own name or in the name of the firm. Proprietors can often use eSign instead, so a proprietorship may not need a DSC at all. If your firm works through a signatory, the certificate belongs to that person, and their name goes on the DGFT profile.

What must match

The PAN in the DSC must equal the PAN in the IEC. The signatory must be on the DGFT profile. The certificate is issued against a PAN, so the name on the certificate must match the IEC records. One certificate serves one signatory. The portal does not ask a separate class for DGFT, so a standard Class 3 signing certificate is what you need. You do not need a combo. If the IEC is in the firm’s name, the certificate is issued against the firm’s PAN and the signatory is named on it as the authorised person.

What you need before you apply

The certificate is issued against the signatory’s PAN, so the name on the certificate must match the IEC records. You need the signatory’s PAN card and Aadhaar card linked to the mobile, and the photo is captured in the Certifying Authority’s video KYC. For a non-proprietorship firm, the application also carries the IEC certificate, the authorisation letter, plus the board resolution if the signatory is not a director, and the authorised person’s ID proof. A proprietorship applies with the proprietor’s PAN and Aadhaar on the paperless path.

How to get it from us

Order and pay on the site, then send us your documents on WhatsApp, by email or at our Udaipur office. We fill and submit the application to the Certifying Authority for you. You then confirm your mobile and email with OTPs, complete the Aadhaar OTP and video KYC with the Certifying Authority, and a final eKYC OTP on your phone approves the application. We assist you through the KYC. The certificate is issued on a USB token, which reaches you by courier or can be picked up from the office. Application support is included in the price. Current prices are on the DGFT DSC product page.

How to register it on the portal

Once the certificate is on your token, you register it on the DGFT portal yourself. Go to My Dashboard, register the token and sign. Neither the registration nor the class carries to another portal. Each portal needs its own registration, and a portal that asks for encryption as well, such as ICEGATE, needs a combo certificate rather than this one.

Renewal

A DSC is issued for 1 to 3 years. After expiry, signing stops, so plan the reissue before the expiry date, especially if an IEC modification or a licence application is in progress. A certificate already on your token keeps working until it expires, so there is no gap if you plan ahead. After a reissue, register the new certificate on the DGFT portal again. Our DGFT DSC for import and export page covers the same registration steps in more detail.