What is Shipping Bill?
A shipping bill is the main customs declaration for exporting goods. The exporter or customs broker files it with Indian Customs, giving details such as the exporter, buyer, goods, quantity, value and port. At ports connected to the customs electronic system (EDI ports), it is filed electronically through ICEGATE. Customs then examines and clears the goods, and grants the Let Export Order (LEO).
Why it matters for exporters
For goods exporters, the shipping bill and the EDF are closely tied. Under the 2026 export regulations, at EDI ports the shipping bill itself serves as the EDF, so there is no separate form to file. At non-EDI ports, exporters use a manual EDF. The goods process has stayed largely unchanged.
For service exporters, there is no shipping bill at all, because nothing passes through customs. That is why field 1.3 (shipping bill), field 1.14 (port of loading), field 1.18 (port of discharge) and field 1.20 (LEO date) are marked N/A when you fill an EDF for services, and why Part 2A for goods is left blank. If your business sells both goods and services, you will handle the two very differently. Read EDF vs shipping bill for a side-by-side view.
Example
Saanvi Crafts exports handmade textiles and also offers paid design consultations to overseas boutiques. Its textile consignments leave via Chennai port on shipping bills filed through ICEGATE, which serve as EDFs. Its consulting invoices for November 2026, totalling ₹2,90,000, go on a services EDF to its AD bank by 30 December 2026, with the shipping-bill fields marked N/A.
Common confusion
A shipping bill is not an invoice. It is a customs declaration that references the commercial invoice. Services exporters sometimes worry they are missing a shipping bill; they are not. Fill the services EDF with the EDF form generator.