APEDA rice contract registration and your lead time

No rice leaves India without a Registration-cum-Allocation Certificate. APEDA contract registration is per contract, not per exporter, and the certificate it produces — the RCAC — is valid for shipment for 45 days from the date of issue. That single number governs more of your rice lead time than most buyers realise, because the clock starts when APEDA issues the certificate, not when you confirm the order.

What the RCAC is and when it became universal

APEDA issues the RCAC on registration of an export contract. For basmati this has been in force since DGFT Notification No. 18/2015-20 dated 1 August 2016. For non-basmati it is much newer: DGFT Notification No. 33/2025-26 dated 24 September 2025 added a policy condition to ITC (HS) 10063011, 10063019, 10063091, 10063099 and 10064000 so that export is permitted only on registration of contracts with APEDA. APEDA issued the matching trade notice on 25 September 2025, and a revised basmati trade notice on 1 October 2025.

In practice this means both Basmati Rice and Non-Basmati Rice now move under the same administrative gate. A valid APEDA RCMC is a prerequisite — the online RCAC module is tied to the exporter's membership profile, so an exporter without RCMC cannot even open the application. We hold APEDA RCMC, which is why we can register contracts in our own name.

The application is filed online with a scanned copy of the LC, contract or proforma invoice. APEDA scrutinises that document and issues the RCAC to the exporter's login; the printout goes to customs with the rest of the export documents.

Your contract has to carry the right fields

APEDA's own guidance on RCAC lists what the invoice, contract or LC must state: agreement number and date, detailed product description and HSN code, brand name, quantity and value with the Incoterm, port of discharge, buyer details, validity date or shipment schedule, and the signature and stamp of both buyer and exporter unless the document is digitally signed.

Two of these catch buyers out. First, a proforma invoice that you have not countersigned will not support a registration. Second, for basmati the value must be entered as FOB — APEDA monitors basmati contracts on an FOB basis and sends applications back for resubmission if CIF or CNF is entered. If you buy CIF, the registration will still be on an FOB value. That is normal and is not a discrepancy in your file.

The 45-day window, and what you cannot change afterwards

The RCAC is issued with validity for shipment up to 45 days from the date of issue. APEDA's advice is blunt: apply only for the quantity you actually intend to ship in those 45 days. A contract can be covered by more than one RCAC, but the total registered across them can never exceed the contracted quantity.

After issue, the only fields an exporter can apply to amend are brand name, crop year and port of loading. Quantity and value cannot be amended after issue. So if you cut a 500 MT booking to 440 MT after the RCAC is out, or renegotiate price, that is not an amendment — it is a fresh registration, with a fresh 45-day clock. Plan your final quantity before we register, not after.

For the EU, the inspection certificate has to come first

Export of basmati and non-basmati rice to EU member states and other European countries is permitted subject to a Certificate of Inspection issued by the Export Inspection Council or an Export Inspection Agency. The sequencing matters: where a CoI is mandatory, the quantity applied for on the RCAC must exactly match the quantity stated on the CoI. You cannot register first and sample later. Drawing, testing and getting the CoI issued sits ahead of the RCAC in the schedule, and it is the part most likely to slip. Our general approach to sampling and lab work is set out on the quality page.

Similar matching applies elsewhere. For the USA, China and Saudi Arabia the quantity applied for must match the joint declaration of the merchant exporter and the registered manufacturer — DPPQS for the USA and China, SFDA for Saudi Arabia. Export to China is from GACC-approved rice establishments. For Saudi Arabia, a merchant exporter must upload a certificate from the SFDA-accredited establishment the rice was bought from before the RCAC is issued. As a merchant exporter we obtain that paperwork from the processor, and it takes time we cannot compress.

Basmati has a grain specification attached

APEDA's basmati trade notice carries a physical condition: grain length more than 6.61 mm and a length-to-breadth ratio of more than 3.5. If a lot does not meet it, it is not basmati for export purposes, whatever the variety is called locally. Check this against your own specification before the contract is signed, not at loading.

How to build the schedule backwards

Work back from the vessel, not forward from the order:

• Agree final quantity, value, brand and port of discharge, and sign the contract or proforma invoice.
• Allow for sampling and lab testing, and for EIC inspection and CoI issuance where the destination requires it.
• Only then register the contract and take the RCAC.
• Ship inside 45 days of the RCAC date.

If your buying pattern is monthly call-offs against an annual contract, register in call-off sized tranches rather than one block. That keeps each 45-day window matched to a real sailing. The wider document sequence from quotation to delivery is described on our export process page.

A practical note: export policy for rice has changed several times in recent years, and country conditions are revised by trade notice without much warning. Before you fix a shipment date, ask for the current policy condition against the exact ITC (HS) line you are buying under, and confirm whether a CoI is required for your destination. Our minimum is 1,000 kg per product and we can mix products in a container, but rice lines still need their own registration. If you want the current position for a specific destination, contact us with the port of discharge and we will check it against the notices in force.

Sources

• RCAC issued by APEDA for basmati (DGFT notification 18/2015-20 dated 1 Aug 2016) and non-basmati (DGFT notification 33/2025-26 dated 24 Sept 2025); RCMC a prerequisite; 45-day shipment validity; fields required on invoice/contract/LC; FOB-only Incoterm for basmati; post-issue amendments limited to brand name, crop year, port of loading. — apeda.gov.in
• Q10 45-day validity; Q13 amendable fields; Q14 quantity and value cannot be amended post-issuance; multiple RCACs cannot exceed contracted quantity; CoI quantity must exactly match RCAC quantity; joint declaration quantity matching for USA, China (DPPQS) and Saudi Arabia (SFDA). — apeda.gov.in
• APEDA basmati trade notice dated 1 October 2025; grain length more than 6.61 mm and length-to-breadth ratio more than 3.5; RCAC printout submitted to customs; 45-day validity; Saudi Arabia SFDA establishment certificate upload requirement for merchant exporters; China GACC-approved establishments. — apeda.gov.in
• APEDA non-basmati trade notice dated 25 September 2025; ITC (HS) codes 10063011, 10063019, 10063091, 10063099, 10064000; online application with scanned LC/contract/proforma invoice; EIC/EIA Certificate of Inspection required for EU member states and other European countries; 45-day validity. — apeda.gov.in