Taxation & Compliance
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A few months back, a friend who runs a small content and design studio out of Pune messaged me in a bit of a panic. She had just closed a project for a client in Germany, and someone in an exporter WhatsApp group told her to "claim your SEIS benefit" on the invoice before it "expired." She spent an entire evening digging through old government circulars, half-updated blog posts, and forum threads from 2018, trying to figure out how to apply. She never found a working process. That's because there isn't one anymore.
The SEIS scheme is no longer active. It ran under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, and no SEIS benefits apply to services exported after 1 April 2020. If you are reading this hoping to claim SEIS on a recent invoice, there is nothing left to apply for. But understanding what SEIS was, why it was discontinued, and what Indian service exporters should focus on instead is still useful, especially if you are new to exporting and keep running into references to it.
This guide breaks down the SEIS scheme in plain language: what it offered, how it worked, why it ended, and what actually matters for service exporters receiving international payments today.
TL;DR
Is SEIS active in 2026? No. The scheme ended after FY 2019-20, and no benefits apply to exports made on or after 1 April 2020.
What was SEIS? A government incentive under FTP 2015-2020 that rewarded eligible service exporters with transferable Duty Credit Scrips worth 3% to 7% of their net foreign exchange earnings.
What replaced SEIS? There is no direct one-to-one replacement for service exporters. RoDTEP exists, but it applies to goods exports, not services.
What should exporters do instead? Since there is no scrip-based subsidy anymore, the real savings lever for service exporters is cutting cost and friction on the payment itself: low FX margins, fast settlement, and compliant documentation like FIRA.
What Was the SEIS Scheme?
The Service Exports from India Scheme, or SEIS, was a government incentive that rewarded Indian service exporters for foreign exchange they earned through notified services. It was administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and was designed to make Indian service exports more price-competitive globally.
SEIS was introduced on 1 April 2015 under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020. It replaced an older, narrower scheme called SFIS (Served from India Scheme), which had covered fewer exporters and offered less flexibility. SEIS widened the net considerably, covering companies, partnerships, and proprietorships across a broad list of notified services, not just large corporates.
Full form | Service Exports from India Scheme |
Governing policy | Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020 |
Administered by | Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) |
Launched | 1 April 2015 |
Discontinued | Benefits stopped for exports made after 31 March 2020 |
Reward | Transferable Duty Credit Scrips |
Reward range | 3% to 7% of net foreign exchange earnings |
Replaced scheme | Served from India Scheme (SFIS) |
How Did the SEIS Scheme Work?
Instead of handing exporters a direct cash subsidy, SEIS worked through a reward instrument called a Duty Credit Scrip. Here is how the mechanism worked, step by step:
Export notified services. An eligible service provider based in India exported a service that appeared on the government's notified list (Appendix 3D of the FTP), through one of the specified modes of supply.
Earn net foreign exchange. The exporter's net foreign exchange (gross earnings minus certain payments made in foreign exchange for the same service) was calculated for the financial year.
Scrip calculated as a percentage. DGFT calculated a reward as a percentage of that net foreign exchange, typically ranging from 3% to 7% depending on the service category and year.
Scrip issued. The exporter received a Duty Credit Scrip, essentially a transferable certificate representing that reward value.
Scrip used or sold. The scrip could be used to pay certain central duties (like basic customs duty), or it could be sold to another company that wanted to use it, since the scrips were freely transferable.
This meant SEIS benefits had real cash value even for exporters who did not need to pay customs duty themselves, since they could sell the scrip on the open market.
Who Was Eligible for SEIS?
To qualify for SEIS, a service provider had to meet a few conditions:
Be located in India and providing a service that was on the notified list under Appendix 3D of the FTP
Supply the service through one of the two specified modes out of the four modes recognised under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (primarily cross-border supply and consumption abroad)
Meet a minimum net foreign exchange threshold, generally USD 15,000 in the preceding financial year for companies, and USD 10,000 for individual service providers and sole proprietorships
Hold a valid Import Export Code (IEC) at the time services were rendered
SEZ (Special Economic Zone) units were also eligible under SEIS, which was a change from the earlier SFIS scheme that had excluded them.
Is the SEIS Scheme Still Active in India?
No, the SEIS scheme is not active. This is worth stating clearly because a lot of content online, including old government notifications and outdated blog posts, still describes SEIS in the present tense, which causes confusion for exporters who are new to the process.
Here is the actual timeline:
SEIS benefits applied to services exported between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2020.
No SEIS benefits have applied to exports made from 1 April 2020 onward.
The final claim deadlines for FY 2019-20 SEIS applications have also passed.
The Foreign Trade Policy 2023, which replaced the 2015-2020 policy, did not reintroduce or revive SEIS.
There has been ongoing discussion about a possible revamped scheme. A parliamentary standing committee on commerce flagged that withdrawing SEIS hurt the Services Export Promotion Council's membership and revenues, and recommended either reviving SEIS in a revised form or introducing a replacement. As of now, none of that has translated into a live, notified scheme. If a new scheme is notified, it will typically be announced through a DGFT notification or an update to the Foreign Trade Policy, so exporters should treat any "SEIS is back" claims with caution unless they trace back to an official DGFT circular.
Why Was the SEIS Scheme Discontinued?
SEIS was not continued under the newer foreign trade policy framework for a mix of policy and compliance reasons:
WTO compliance concerns. Several of India's older export incentive schemes, including SEIS and the goods-side MEIS, faced challenges at the World Trade Organization for functioning like prohibited export subsidies. The government moved towards schemes designed to be WTO-compliant, like RoDTEP for goods.
Shift in policy approach. The newer trade policy direction leaned towards simplifying compliance and reducing direct scrip-based incentives, rather than continuing sector-specific reward percentages.
No services-side equivalent was finalised. While RoDTEP was built out for goods exporters, an equivalent framework for services was never notified, leaving a gap that persists as of 2026.
What Replaced SEIS for Service Exporters?
There is no direct, one-to-one replacement for SEIS if you are a service exporter. This is one of the most common points of confusion, so it is worth being direct about it.
SEIS | Services | Discontinued since 1 April 2020 |
RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) | Goods only | Active |
MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) | Goods | Discontinued, replaced by RoDTEP |
If your business exports both goods and services, RoDTEP may apply to the goods portion of your business, but it will not cover service exports like consulting, IT services, content, design, or professional services delivered to overseas clients.
Some sector-specific support does exist through bodies like the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), covering things like market access initiatives and trade fair support, but this is not a direct percentage-based incentive comparable to what SEIS offered.
What Should Indian Service Exporters Focus On Instead of SEIS?
Since there is no scrip-based subsidy to chase anymore, the more practical question for most freelancers, consultants, agencies, and SaaS businesses exporting services is: where can I actually save money on international payments today? For most service exporters, the real cost isn't a missing government incentive, it's the friction and fees on every single payment coming in from abroad. This is where the numbers add up over a year, far more than a 3-7% scrip ever would have for most small exporters.
A few things that genuinely move the needle for service exporters receiving payments internationally:
Low, transparent FX margins. Traditional bank wire transfers often bury a markup inside the exchange rate itself, on top of a flat wire fee. This is money you never see quoted upfront. Platforms built specifically for export payments, like Infinity, work on a flat 0.5% all-inclusive fee with no separate FX markup and no additional GST on top, which is far more transparent than a typical bank SWIFT transfer.
Fast settlement. Waiting 5 to 7 working days for a wire transfer to clear through a bank correspondent chain adds up if you are invoicing multiple overseas clients through the month. Infinity settles payments within 24 hours, which matters a lot for freelancers and small agencies managing cash flow.
Compliant documentation, without the chasing. Every service exporter needs a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRA) for tax filing and RBI compliance purposes. Getting this from a traditional bank often means emailing your relationship manager and waiting days. Infinity auto-generates FIRA for every transaction, so you are not stuck chasing paperwork at tax time.
Getting your purpose code right. A wrong purpose code on an inward remittance can cause delays or compliance headaches down the line. Infinity's built-in purpose code finder helps exporters pick the correct code before the payment is even initiated, which is a small thing that avoids a real problem later.
A dedicated account manager for actual questions. When you are dealing with cross-border compliance as a small business owner, having someone to actually ask, rather than a generic support queue, is genuinely useful. Infinity provides a dedicated personal account manager for this.
None of this replaces what SEIS offered on paper, but for the vast majority of freelancers and small service exporters, the day-to-day savings on FX margins, faster settlement, and not losing time on documentation ends up mattering more than a scheme that is no longer live anyway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SEIS scheme still active in India?
No. The SEIS scheme is not active. Benefits stopped applying to services exported on or after 1 April 2020, and the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 did not revive it.
What is the full form of SEIS?
SEIS stands for Service Exports from India Scheme. It was introduced under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 and administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).
Who was eligible for the SEIS scheme?
Companies, partnerships, and proprietorships providing notified services from India, with a minimum net foreign exchange of USD 15,000 (USD 10,000 for individuals and sole proprietorships) in the preceding financial year, and holding a valid Import Export Code, were eligible.
Can I still claim old SEIS benefits?
No. The final claim deadlines for SEIS applications, including for the last eligible year, FY 2019-20, have already passed. There is no active window to apply for SEIS benefits today.
What is the difference between SEIS and RoDTEP?
SEIS applied to service exports and was discontinued in 2020. RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) is a separate, currently active scheme, but it applies only to goods exports, not services. There is no RoDTEP-equivalent scheme for services as of 2026.
Is there any plan to bring back SEIS or introduce a replacement?
There has been discussion at the parliamentary standing committee level about reviving or replacing SEIS to support services exporters, but as of now no new scheme has been officially notified by DGFT. Any update would come through an official government notification.
How can service exporters save money on international payments without SEIS?
Since there is no percentage-based government incentive currently available for services, the most direct way to save is by reducing FX margins and transfer fees on incoming payments, using a platform with transparent, all-inclusive pricing, fast settlement, and built-in compliance documentation like FIRA.
