What is the difference between FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC for service exporters?

Every time a foreign client pays an Indian freelancer, agency or IT company, someone eventually asks for proof: your GST officer, your chartered accountant, a bank, or DGFT. Three documents get mentioned, often interchangeably: FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC. They are related, and each has its own issuer and use.

This guide explains each one as of October 2026, who issues it, and what a service exporter should keep.¹²

What are FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC?

FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC are three records of foreign payment: the FIRC and FIRA come from the bank or payment provider, and the e-BRC is self-certified by the exporter on the DGFT portal.¹²⁶

What is a FIRC for a service exporter?

A Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) is a certificate from the Indian bank that received a foreign remittance for you. It confirms the amount in foreign currency, the rupee amount credited, the exchange rate, the remitter's name and country, the date and the purpose code. Banks have traditionally issued FIRCs on request, sometimes for a fee, and some still do for specific needs such as older transactions.

What is a FIRA for a service exporter?

A Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA) carries the same core details as a FIRC but is issued as an advice, often automatically and electronically. Many banks now issue an e-FIRA with each credit, and payment platforms issue FIRAs per transaction or for a period.

For example, PayPal India's FIRA page says a weekly digital FIRA has been available free since February 2026 (monthly before that), downloadable from Reports in the business account, with custom FIRAs available for a fee.⁶ Other platforms have their own cadence, so check what yours provides.

What is an e-BRC for a service exporter?

An electronic Bank Realisation Certificate (e-BRC) is a record on the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) portal that confirms you have received payment against an export of goods or services.¹ It used to be issued by banks; since DGFT's upgraded system (Trade Notice 33/2023-24 dated 10 November 2023), the exporter self-certifies it.¹²

Who needs a FIRC, FIRA or e-BRC?

Every service exporter needs a FIRA or FIRC for each receipt, and an e-BRC is needed mainly for Foreign Trade Policy benefits and by exporters who prefer it for GST refunds.²⁵

See GST on export of services, LUT filing, IEC code for freelancers and EDPMS for service exporters.

How do you generate an e-BRC on the DGFT portal?

You generate an e-BRC on the DGFT portal by linking your bank's inward remittance record to your invoice and self-certifying it, after registering and linking your IEC.¹²

1. Your bank sends an electronic Inward Remittance Message (IRM) to DGFT for each foreign remittance credited to your account. The bank does not need documents from you for this.²
2. The IRM becomes available to you on the DGFT portal, once you have registered and linked your IEC.²
3. You link the IRM to your invoice (or, for goods, the shipping bill), choose the SAC (Services Accounting Code) that corresponds to the purpose code, and self-certify the e-BRC.²
4. The e-BRC is then available under My Dashboard, Repositories, Bills Repository.²

Trade Notice 02/2025-26 dated 21 April 2025 added a mandatory "Mode of Export of Services" field for services e-BRCs. DGFT also offers bulk generation and an API.¹

How do FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC compare for service exporters?

FIRC and FIRA prove that money was credited from abroad, while the e-BRC proves that a specific export invoice has been realised.¹²

DGFT's FAQs state plainly that e-FIRC and e-BRC are different systems, and that EDPMS and e-BRC are also separate systems.²

How do payment platforms issue a FIRA today?

How you get a FIRA depends on how the money reaches India.²⁴⁶

• Bank wire to your own account: your bank issues the FIRA or e-FIRA, and reports the IRM to DGFT.²
• Payment aggregator, cross-border (PA-CB): these RBI-authorised entities collect in an Inward Collection Account with an Indian bank and settle to you. RBI's payment aggregator directions require the PA-CB to give your bank the documents needed to close your EDPMS entries.⁴ Many PA-CBs provide a FIRA per payout or per invoice through their partner bank; check this before you sign up.
• Platforms such as PayPal: the platform issues FIRAs on its own schedule, with paid custom requests for specific transactions.⁶

What happens if a FIRA or e-BRC is wrong or missing?

If a FIRA or e-BRC is wrong or missing, the fix starts with the bank or provider that reported the payment, because an e-BRC cannot be generated without the bank's Inward Remittance Message.²

• No IRM: ask the bank to report the IRM before you try to generate the e-BRC.²
• Older IRMs: banks stopped issuing e-BRCs for IRMs dated on or after each bank's cut-off date for the new system; for older IRMs, banks can still follow the legacy process.²
• Wrong purpose code: check that the FIRA shows the correct purpose code for services. If it does not, see how to correct a purpose code.
• Missing platform FIRA: request a custom FIRA from the platform, which may charge for it.⁶

Which rules govern FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC?

DGFT trade notices and FAQs govern the e-BRC, rule 89(2)(c) of the CGST Rules governs refund evidence, and RBI's directions govern what banks and PA-CBs provide.¹²³⁴⁵

What are the common mistakes with FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC?

The common mistakes with FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC are treating them as one document and filing receipts without matching them to invoices.²³

• Treating e-FIRC as e-BRC: DGFT says they are different systems.²
• Treating EDPMS as e-BRC: these are also separate systems.²
• No IEC: e-BRCs need an IEC.²
• Unmatched records: build one folder per financial year with every export invoice (numbered, with client name, country and currency), the FIRA or FIRC for each receipt matched to its invoice, e-BRCs if you generate them, your LUT acknowledgement, the client contract or statement of work, your monthly Export Declaration Forms and bank acknowledgements from October 2026 onwards, and bank statements showing the rupee credit.³

For income tax, the FIRA and bank statement support your foreign receipts, including for section 44ADA if you are a professional using presumptive taxation, and for foreign tax credit if tax was withheld abroad. What a GST officer or assessing officer will accept can vary, so confirm your document set with a chartered accountant before filing a refund claim.