The Export Declaration Form (EDF), made simple for freelancers
If you invoiced a foreign client in a month, you file an EDF with your bank within 30 days after that month ends. easylancing prepares it from your invoices, in the layout of the RBI form, with a covering letter and the documents your bank may ask for. You review it and you file it.
Works however you get paid: direct wire, Wise, Skydo, Payoneer, PayPal, Deel or Upwork.
What the new rule says
FEMA (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, as amended.
- One EDF a month, usually filed with your bank
- Within 30 days from the end of the month in which you raised the invoices. The first one, for October 2026 invoices, is due by 30 Nov 2026.
- FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, Reg. 3(2)
- No minimum amount, individuals included
- The regulations have no exemption for small exporters or freelancers.
- Get paid within 9 months
- Export proceeds must be realised within 9 months of the invoice date (12 months if you invoice in rupees), unless your bank extends it.
- FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, Reg. 5(1) as amended by FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB
Free tools, no sign-up
- Free EDF generator Your month's Export Declaration Form in the RBI layout, checked for missing details. Print or save as PDF.
- Export invoice generator GST tax invoice with the LUT endorsement, or a commercial invoice. SAC code, bank details, purpose code. Print or save as PDF.
- EDF due date calculator When the EDF is due, when the money must arrive, and the GST Rule 96A date.
- EDF format, field by field What to write in every field of the RBI form as a service exporter.
- Which banks take the EDF Over 100 banks: who can take your EDF, how each wants it, and the documents.
- SAC codes for freelancers The right 6-digit code for software, design, consulting, writing and more.
- RBI purpose codes P0802 and the other codes for export earnings, and the ones to avoid.
Export invoices
GST Rule 46 checks, the exact LUT endorsement, SAC codes and exchange-rate records, or a clean commercial invoice if you're not GST-registered.
The EDF in the RBI layout
Every invoice of the month in the layout of the RBI Annex form, with a pre-flight checklist that cites the rule behind each check. Supplementary EDFs for invoices issued after you filed.
Payments and the 9-month clock
Match FIRAs to invoices, see what is still open, and get reminders before each deadline.
Common questions
- What is the Export Declaration Form (EDF) for services?
- The EDF is a declaration of the full export value of your services, filed with your bank. It comes from the Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (RBI notification FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB), in force from 1 October 2026. One form covers goods and services. For software it replaces the old SOFTEX form; for other services it is new.
- Do freelancers have to file an EDF?
- Yes. The 2026 regulations have no minimum amount and no exemption for individuals or small exporters. If you raised an invoice to a foreign client for services in a month, you file an EDF for that month.
- When is the EDF due?
- Within 30 days from the end of the month in which you raised the invoice (Regulation 3(2)). Invoices dated October 2026 are due by 30 November 2026; November invoices by 30 December 2026; December invoices by 30 January 2027.
- Where do I file the EDF?
- With the 'specified authority'. For services exported from India that is an Authorised Dealer (AD Category-I) bank; software exporters may also use STPI. In practice it usually goes to the bank where the export money lands. RBI has not prescribed a channel: most banks take it at the branch or through your relationship manager, and some business customers can use a trade portal. Ask your bank how it wants it.
- Can one EDF cover all my invoices for the month?
- Yes. Regulation 3(2)(a) lets an exporter who served one or more clients in a month file one EDF for all of that month's exports. List each invoice as a row in Part 2B of the form.
- I'm paid through Wise, Payoneer, PayPal, Deel or Upwork. Do I still file?
- Yes. Payment providers and platforms don't file the EDF for you. Unless your bank or provider says otherwise, file it with the bank where the rupees land, and keep the provider's FIRA or payment advice. Put the platform in the third-party payer fields when it, not your client, pays you. Which bank should receive the EDF for payment-aggregator receipts is not settled, so confirm with your bank.
Learn the rules
All research notes →Our research on India's export rules for freelancers, every fact with its source and a confidence label.
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