The five RoDTEP rejection reasons that cost MSMEs the most money

Between January 2024 and March 2025, we reviewed 4,200 RoDTEP scrip rejections shared with us by 12 CA firms across Tirupur, Surat, Ludhiana, Vadodara, and Mumbai. We grouped the rejection reasons by frequency. Five reasons cover 87 percent of the cases. All five are preventable with a checklist your CA can run before shipping bill filing.

One: RoDTEP declaration field blank on shipping bill

This is the single most common rejection reason, accounting for 41 percent of cases in our sample. The exporter (or their CHA) leaves the RoDTEP declaration field blank, files the shipping bill, and assumes RoDTEP is auto-claimed. It is not. The declaration is a positive action. Once the shipping bill is filed without it, amendment requires Commissioner approval and is rarely granted.

Fix: Audit the RoDTEP declaration field on every shipping bill before filing. Most ICEGATE filing software has a field validation but does not enforce population.

Two: HS code mapped to a negative-list item

This accounts for 19 percent of rejections. Some HS codes are on the RoDTEP negative list (iron and steel scrap, certain gold and silver products, supplies to SEZs, supplies that already claim advance authorisation benefits, etc.). The exporter or CHA picks an HS code that looks correct for the product but happens to be on the negative list.

Fix: Cross-check your HS code against the current Appendix 4R negative list before filing. The list is amended quarterly. The last amendment was in March 2025.

Three: EGM not filed within 7 days of vessel departure

This is the 14 percent reason. RoDTEP scrip issuance is triggered by EGM (Export General Manifest) filing by the shipping line. If the EGM is delayed beyond 7 days, the scrip generation is held, and after 30 days the claim is automatically marked for review.

Fix: This is not your direct action, but you can chase your CHA and shipping line. We recommend a Day 5 follow-up by default.

Four: Shipping bill amended after scrip generation, no revision filing

Accounts for 8 percent. Sometimes an exporter (or buyer) needs to amend the shipping bill after the fact (changed product description, corrected quantity, etc.). If the scrip has already been generated against the old data and no parallel revision filing is made, the scrip is held.

Fix: Every shipping bill amendment must be accompanied by a RoDTEP revision filing within 30 days.

Five: Dual claim with Duty Drawback under Section 75 where notification bars it

Accounts for 5 percent. Several HS codes do not permit simultaneous Duty Drawback (Section 75) and RoDTEP claims. The exporter or CHA files both, and CBIC flags the duplication. The default rejection is RoDTEP, because Drawback is processed faster.

Fix: Check the All Industry Rate (AIR) schedule for the HS code before filing. If AIR is 0.15 percent or below, RoDTEP is usually the more economic claim. If AIR is 1.50 percent or above, Drawback wins on most HS codes.

The remaining 13 percent of rejections are a long tail: unsigned declarations, RCMC lapses, EDI vs manual filing mismatches, etc. We will write about those separately.