How to Check an IEC Code on the DGFT Portal

A supplier sends you a quote with an IEC number printed at the bottom of the letterhead. It looks official, ten digits, sitting right next to the GST number. Most buyers glance at it and move on. But that number is checkable, in under a minute, on a government site, and the thirty seconds it takes can save you from wiring money to someone who isn't who they say they are.

This is a practical guide to doing exactly that: how to check an IEC code on the DGFT portal, what the record shows you, and how to read the result when it doesn't line up.

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What an IEC Actually Is

IEC stands for Import Export Code. It's a ten-digit identification number issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), the body under the Ministry of Commerce that governs India's foreign trade. The rule is simple: no entity can legally import goods into India or export goods out of it without a valid IEC. No IEC, no customs clearance.

Since the GST rollout, IEC has been brought in line with PAN. In practice this means an entity's IEC is generally tied to its PAN, which is why the same business identity threads through its tax registration and its trade registration. I won't over-claim the mechanics here, because the exact handling has shifted over the years and varies by entity type. The point that matters for you as a buyer: IEC is the registration that says a counterparty has the legal standing to import or export. It says nothing about whether they have the goods, the warehouse, or the honesty to deliver.

One thing worth being clear about up front: IEC only matters for entities that are actually importing or exporting. A domestic trader who sells you goods sourced inside India doesn't need one, and the absence of an IEC for that kind of supplier is not a red flag. You check IEC when the deal crosses a border.

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Why You'd Check Someone Else's IEC

The IEC number on a document is only as good as the entity it actually belongs to. And IEC records are public, which cuts both ways. It means you can verify a supplier's number. It also means a dishonest party can lift a genuine IEC belonging to some other company and print it on their own paperwork, betting that you'll see ten plausible digits and relax.

So the question is never "is this a real IEC number." Real IECs are everywhere. The question is "does this IEC belong to the entity I'm about to pay, and is the registration in good standing." That's what the lookup answers.

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How to Check an IEC on the DGFT Portal

The official site is dgft.gov.in. Everything below happens there, free, with no login required for a basic lookup.

1. Go to the DGFT website and look under the Services menu for the IEC-related options. DGFT periodically redesigns the portal, so the exact label may read "IEC Profile Management," "View Your IEC," or "Verify IEC / Print IEC." If you don't see it immediately, use the site search for "IEC" and follow the verification or print option.

1. Choose the lookup that lets you search by IEC number. You enter the ten-digit IEC the supplier gave you.

1. Some lookups also ask for the entity's PAN or a captcha. Enter what's requested. If the portal asks for an OTP sent to the IEC holder's registered mobile or email, that path is meant for the holder managing their own profile, not for third-party verification. For checking a counterparty, use the public view or print option that doesn't require the holder's OTP.

1. Submit. If the IEC exists, the portal returns the registered record.

Keep the supplier's quote, invoice, or letterhead open beside the screen. You're not just confirming the number is live, you're comparing the registered details against what the supplier has told you.

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What the IEC Record Shows You

A successful lookup typically returns the core identity attached to the IEC. The fields you care about most are:

• Entity name. The legal name the IEC is registered to. This is the single most important field, because it tells you who the number actually belongs to.
• Address. The registered address of the entity, often including the nature of the firm (proprietorship, partnership, private limited, LLP, and so on).
• Status. Whether the IEC is active or has been deactivated, suspended, or cancelled.

Exactly which fields are displayed, and how much detail, depends on the portal version and the lookup you used. But name, address, and status are the load-bearing pieces. Read them against the document in your hand.

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How to Read a Mismatch

This is where the actual judgement happens. A lookup that "works" isn't the goal. Understanding what the result means is.

The name on the IEC differs from the name on the invoice

This is the most common and most important discrepancy. The supplier's invoice says "Sunrise Exports," but the IEC record returns "Meridian Trading Co." Stop here.

Sometimes there's an innocent explanation. A firm may trade under a brand or shop name that differs from its registered legal name. A group may route exports through a sister entity. But sometimes it means the supplier has borrowed someone else's IEC. You cannot tell which from the IEC record alone. What you do is ask the supplier, directly, to explain the difference in writing, and you cross-check the name against their GST registration. If the GST entity name, the IEC entity name, and the invoicing name don't reconcile into one coherent story, treat the deal as unverified until they do.

For the GST side of that cross-check, the number lives on a different portal entirely. GSTIN is verified at gst.gov.in, not on DGFT. We walk through that in how to verify the GST number of a supplier, and the relationship between the two registrations is laid out in IEC vs GST: the difference for traders.

No result is found

You enter the IEC and the portal returns nothing. A few possibilities:

• The number was typed wrong. Re-enter it carefully, digit by digit.
• The IEC doesn't exist. The supplier handed you a number that was never issued.
• The portal is having a bad day. DGFT lookups do occasionally time out or error; try again later before concluding anything.

A genuinely non-existent IEC on a supplier who claims to import or export is a serious signal. It doesn't prove fraud on its own, but it removes the one piece of evidence that should have been trivially easy to provide.

The IEC shows as inactive, suspended, or cancelled

An IEC can be deactivated for several reasons, including the holder failing to complete the periodic update of their IEC details that DGFT requires. An inactive status doesn't automatically mean the entity is fraudulent. It can mean an otherwise real business has been sloppy with its compliance. But an inactive IEC cannot be used to clear goods, so for an active import or export deal it's a practical problem regardless of intent. Ask the supplier to reactivate and re-confirm before you commit.

Everything matches

Name lines up, address is plausible, status is active. Good. But understand precisely what you've confirmed: that this IEC is real, in good standing, and registered to the name on the document. You have not confirmed that the people emailing you control that entity, that the address is a real operating premises, or that there's any track record behind it. The IEC check is a gate, not a verdict.

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Where the IEC Check Fits

I want to be honest about the limits, because treating an IEC lookup as a full background check is exactly how people get burned. The IEC record is a thin slice of identity. It tells you the trade registration exists and who owns it. It says nothing about GST filing history, physical presence, fraud history, or whether the person in your inbox is connected to the registered entity at all.

So the IEC lookup is step one, run alongside the rest. The full sequence of checks a careful buyer runs before paying is laid out in our guide to how to verify an Indian supplier, and the broader question of separating genuine suppliers from fronts is covered in how to check if a supplier is genuine.

This is also the gap Vetrade is built to close. Instead of you toggling between the DGFT portal, the GST portal, and a dozen Google searches, you can verify a supplier and have the IEC, GST, address, and other identity signals pulled and cross-checked in roughly twenty seconds, free to start. The IEC lookup is one of those signals, not the whole picture, and the result tells you not just what checked out but what couldn't be confirmed.

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Quick Summary

• IEC is a ten-digit code issued by DGFT, required for any entity legally importing into or exporting out of India. It only matters when the deal crosses a border.
• Check it free on the DGFT portal at dgft.gov.in, under the IEC verification or print option. No login is needed for a basic lookup.
• The record's load-bearing fields are entity name, address, and status. Read them against the supplier's invoice or letterhead.
• A name mismatch is the most important warning sign. Get a written explanation and cross-check against the supplier's GST registration on gst.gov.in.
• No result means a mistyped or non-existent IEC. An inactive status means the number can't clear goods, whatever the reason.
• A clean IEC confirms the registration is real and who it belongs to. It does not confirm the goods, the premises, or that your contact controls the entity. Treat it as the first check, not the last.