In one line: a scrip is valid for one year from the date it is created in the customs ledger, transfer does not reset that clock, and unused balance at expiry is a total loss.
The validity window
Under the electronic scrip framework, a duty credit e-scrip is valid for one year from the date of its creation in the ledger. Two details in that sentence do most of the damage in practice:- From creation, not from export. The clock does not start when the goods shipped, or when the shipping bill was filed, or when customs generated the scroll. It starts when the holder converts the scrolled amount into a scrip.
- A scroll is not a scrip. A sanctioned amount sitting unconverted in the ledger is not yet an instrument. It cannot be transferred and it cannot be applied against duty. Exporters routinely discover unconverted scroll balances months after the fact.
Transfer does not reset the clock
A scrip’s expiry date is a property of the scrip, not of its owner. When a scrip is transferred, the buyer inherits whatever remains of the original window. Nothing is added back. This is why time to expiry is a first-order pricing input rather than a footnote. A buyer is not buying a credit; it is buying a credit it must consume before a specific date. The shorter the remaining window, the smaller the set of buyers who can realistically use it, and the wider the discount. See Duty credit scrip price and discount rate explained. Note also that transfer is permitted once, so a short-dated scrip cannot be passed along a chain of holders until someone can use it. It has one more owner, and that owner has to consume it. See Scrip transfer on ICEGATE explained.The decay curve, and where sellers lose
Value does not fall smoothly to zero on the last day. It erodes in steps as the credit crosses thresholds of buyer usability:
The largest single loss in this market is not a bad price. It is a scrip that was never sold. An exporter who leaves a decision until the last few weeks has converted a pricing question into a liquidity question, and liquidity questions are expensive.
Managing a book so nothing expires
For a desk holding many scrips across many client firms, expiry management is an operational discipline, not a calendar reminder.1
Know what you hold
GET /v1/firms/{iec}/credits returns every credit with its scheme, face_paise, balance_paise, expiry_date and a sellable flag. That is the raw inventory.2
Sort by expiry, not by size
The instinct is to work the biggest scrips first. The correct order is the shortest-dated first, because that is where value is actively leaking.
3
Set a sell-by policy per band
Decide in advance the remaining-window threshold at which a credit is sold rather than held. A written rule beats a monthly judgement call, because the judgement call is always “next month”.
4
Check for unconverted scroll
A sanctioned amount that was never converted into a scrip is money that has not started existing yet. Convert, then apply the same policy.
5
Price against the benchmark, then act
Read the Scrip Reference Rate, take a firm quote, and place the order with a floor. A firm price with a same-day settlement removes the reason to defer.
For buyers: match the window to your duty bill
The mirror-image discipline applies on the buy side. A scrip is only cheap if you can consume it in time.- Size purchases against your projected basic customs duty, in the window the scrips remain valid. Not against your total customs bill, and not against a duty projection that runs past the expiry date.
- Treat a deep discount on short-dated paper as what it is: a price for taking on consumption risk. Take it only if you have a Bill of Entry that will actually absorb it.
- Remember that unused balance at expiry is lost in full, so over-buying is a worse error than under-buying.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a duty credit scrip valid?
How long is a duty credit scrip valid?
One year from the date the scrip is created in the customs ledger, under the e-scrip framework. This applies to both RoDTEP and RoSCTL scrips.
Does the validity run from the export date?
Does the validity run from the export date?
No. It runs from the date of creation of the scrip in the ledger. Export, scroll generation and scrip creation are three distinct moments, and only the last one starts the clock.
Can a scrip's validity be extended?
Can a scrip's validity be extended?
No. There is no extension mechanism to apply for, and transferring the scrip does not reset or lengthen the window.
What happens to the unused balance when a scrip expires?
What happens to the unused balance when a scrip expires?
It lapses. There is no refund, no carry-forward and no salvage value. This is why idle scrip inventory gets sold rather than held.
Can I still sell a scrip that is close to expiry?
Can I still sell a scrip that is close to expiry?
Usually yes, at a wider discount, because the pool of buyers who can consume it in time is smaller. Do it early enough that settlement completes comfortably before the date.
Where do I see the expiry date on the API?
Where do I see the expiry date on the API?
On the
expiry_date field of each credit returned by a firm’s credits. It is also what the Scrip Reference Rate bands are built on.