Filing of LUT on GST Portal

Exporters and SEZ suppliers in India can ship goods or services without paying IGST upfront by filing a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) in Form GST RFD-11. The LUT is an annual undertaking to the Government, valid for the financial year in which it is filed. In 2026, with India's services and merchandise exports continuing to grow, every export-oriented business should file the LUT promptly at the start of each FY to keep working-capital efficient.

Why file an LUT?

Under Rule 96A of the CGST Rules, exports of goods or services and supplies to SEZ developers/units can be made on payment of IGST (and claim refund) or without payment of IGST by furnishing a bond or LUT. The LUT route is preferred because it avoids the cash outflow of paying IGST upfront, which would then have to be claimed back as a refund — a process that can take several weeks to months.

Who is eligible to file LUT?

• Any registered person who intends to export goods or services without payment of IGST.
• Any registered person making zero-rated supplies to SEZ developers or SEZ units.
• Earlier eligibility restrictions (e.g., status holder or exporter with foreign inward remittance of at least ₹1 crore) were removed by Notification 37/2017-CT. Today, any registered exporter is eligible, except those prosecuted under any GST law for an amount of ₹250 lakh or more — they must file a bond with bank guarantee instead.

Step-by-step LUT filing on GST portal

1. Log in to gst.gov.in with your GSTIN credentials.
2. Navigate to Services → User Services → Furnish Letter of Undertaking (LUT).
3. Select the financial year for which LUT is being filed (e.g., FY 2026-27).
4. Upload the previous year's LUT if applicable; tick the three declarations regarding compliance with IGST refund timelines, no prosecution under GST/IGST, and the consequences of non-compliance.
5. Enter the name, address, and occupation of two independent witnesses.
6. Sign using DSC (mandatory for companies and LLPs) or EVC (for proprietors/partnerships).
7. Download the ARN acknowledgement and the auto-generated LUT certificate.

Validity and renewal

The LUT is valid for one financial year from the date of filing. A fresh LUT must be filed at the beginning of every FY — ideally on or before 31 March of the previous FY so that exports from 1 April are covered without disruption. If you miss filing the LUT at the start, any export made in the gap period without IGST payment becomes irregular, and IGST plus interest may need to be paid retrospectively.

Consequences of breach

• Failure to receive export remittance within nine months of the invoice date (for goods) or fifteen months (for services) leads to liability to pay IGST with interest at 18% from the date of invoice.
• Repeated breach can lead to withdrawal of LUT facility, requiring exports under bond with bank guarantee.
• Prosecution under Section 132 can be triggered in extreme cases of misuse.

Common errors to avoid

1. Filing LUT in March for the next FY but marking the wrong financial year on the portal.
2. Forgetting to file LUT before raising the first export invoice of the new FY.
3. Using the same LUT certificate beyond its FY validity — each FY is a fresh filing.
4. Not preserving the witness details, which are sometimes asked for during refund processing.

Common LUT filing mistakes to avoid

Even experienced exporters trip up on the LUT for predictable reasons: filing late (after the new FY has begun and the first export invoice is raised), choosing the wrong FY in the dropdown, forgetting to add two witness details (mandatory), failing to sign with DSC for companies/LLPs and instead trying EVC, and not downloading the LUT certificate for the bank-records folder. Another frequent mistake: ignoring the three declarations on the form — particularly the IGST refund timeline declaration — and later finding that the LUT is questioned because realisation of export proceeds was delayed beyond nine months. Set an internal protocol: 1 April every year is LUT day, two witnesses are pre-identified, DSC is checked for validity, and the certificate is filed in the FY's tax folder. For multi-GSTIN entities, file LUT for each registration separately on the portal. Lastly, link your bank's FIRC system to your export sales report — this evidences receipt of forex within nine months and protects the LUT route from challenge.

Conclusion

Filing LUT is a five-minute online activity that unlocks zero-rated exports without an IGST cash outflow. In 2026, treat 1 April as your LUT day — file early, download the certificate, and store it with the export documentation. The cost of forgetting is real: IGST cash blocked for weeks, plus possible interest on the misclassified shipments.