Export Declaration Form (EDF) for services: the monthly filing explained

RBI's Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, notified as FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB, replaced the old export reporting rules from 1 October 2026. For services, the SOFTEX form is gone. In its place is the Export Declaration Form (EDF), and it covers every kind of service, not only software.

The big change is who has to file. SOFTEX was for software exports. The EDF is for anyone who exports a service: a developer with one client in the US, a designer paid through PayPal, a consultancy billing in euros. There is no threshold. More on the switch in SOFTEX is gone.

The EDF for a month is due within 30 days of that month's last day. Months are not all the same length, so the date moves:

Every other filing for the month, GST included, is on the due dates calendar.

• Your legal name, address and PAN.
• Your AD bank and its AD code.
• For each export invoice: its number and date; the buyer's name, address and country; what the service was and its SAC code; the currency and value; the value in rupees; and how the payment will come in.
• The totals, and a declaration you sign.

Some banks have their own EDF template. The details are the same; only the layout changes.

1. 1Raise your export invoices through the month, each with the client's country and a SAC code on every line.
2. 2After the month ends, list every export invoice from that month on one EDF.
3. 3Give it to your AD bank within 30 days: at the branch, by email or through the bank's portal, whichever your bank uses.
4. 4The bank enters each invoice in EDPMS, RBI's export tracking system, where it stays open until its payment arrives.
5. 5As each payment comes in, keep the FIRC or FIRA with the invoice it paid.

Each invoice on the EDF has to be paid into India within 9 months of its date, or 12 months if it was invoiced in rupees. A January 2026 notification had said 15 and 18 months; the amendment of 22 September 2026 (FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB) brought it back to 9 and 12.

An entry of ₹10 lakh or less can be closed on your own declaration that it was paid. Worked dates are in the export payment deadline.

A contravention of FEMA can attract a penalty under section 13 of up to three times the amount involved. Filing every month on time, and chasing unpaid invoices well before their deadline, keeps you clear of it.

Do freelancers have to file an EDF?

Yes. Since 1 October 2026 the EDF applies to every exporter of services, with no minimum amount. A freelancer who invoices a client abroad files it just as a company does.

Is there one EDF per invoice?

No. One EDF a month lists every export invoice raised that month, across all your clients.

Do I still need a SOFTEX form?

No. For exports of services from 1 October 2026, the EDF replaces SOFTEX. See SOFTEX is gone.

Is the EDF filed on the GST portal?

No. The EDF goes to your AD bank under FEMA. GST is separate: export invoices still go in table 6A of GSTR-1.

When is the EDF for December 2026 due?

By 30 January 2027, 30 days after the end of December.

• RBI, Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026 (FEMA 23(R)/2026-RB), and amendment FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB of 22 September 2026

• SOFTEX is goneRBI's 2026 export rules retired the SOFTEX form for software exports.
• AD codeThe AD (Authorised Dealer) code identifies the bank branch and account that handle your export payments.
• Export payment deadlineUnder FEMA, payment for an export of services has to reach India within 9 months of the invoice, or 12 months if invoiced in rupees.
• FIRC and FIRAWhat a FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) and a FIRA are, why exporters of services keep one for every payment, what to check on them, and the purpose codes that go with them.
• SAC codes for exportersThe code for each service, and how it goes on the EDF
• Due dates calendarGST, EDF and advance tax, month by month