> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.scripxhq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scrip validity and expiry

> How long a duty credit scrip stays valid: the one-year window from creation in the customs ledger, why transfer does not reset it, how expiry drives the discount, and how to manage a scrip book so nothing expires unsold.

Every duty credit scrip has an expiry date, and on that date its remaining balance becomes worthless. Not discounted, not rolled over: zero. Expiry is the hard deadline that shapes every other decision about a scrip, from what it is worth to when it should be sold.

<Note>
  **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.
</Note>

## 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](/concepts/scrip-price-discount).

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](/concepts/scrip-transfer-icegate).

## 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:

| Remaining window | What a buyer is thinking                                                                                      |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Long             | Comfortable. It fits inside a normal import cycle with room to spare.                                         |
| Medium           | Fine, if the import plan holds. Priced at the market for its band.                                            |
| Short            | A race. Only buyers with an imminent Bill of Entry can use it, so the bid pool thins and the discount widens. |
| Expired          | Nothing. There is no salvage value and no extension to apply for.                                             |

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.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Know what you hold">
    [`GET /v1/firms/{iec}/credits`](/api-reference/firms/credits) returns every credit with its `scheme`, `face_paise`, `balance_paise`, `expiry_date` and a `sellable` flag. That is the raw inventory.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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".
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Price against the benchmark, then act">
    Read the [Scrip Reference Rate](/api-reference/public/rates), take a [firm quote](/api-reference/trading/quote), and place the order with a floor. A firm price with a same-day settlement removes the reason to defer.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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.

See [How to buy duty credit scrips](/concepts/buy-duty-credit-scrips).

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where do I see the expiry date on the API?">
    On the `expiry_date` field of each credit returned by [a firm's credits](/api-reference/firms/credits). It is also what the Scrip Reference Rate bands are built on.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Note>
  Validity rules are set by customs notification and can change. Verify anything commercially material against [CBIC](https://www.cbic.gov.in) and [ICEGATE](https://www.icegate.gov.in).
</Note>

## Related

* [How to sell RoDTEP scrips](/concepts/sell-rodtep-scrips)
* [Duty credit scrip price and discount rate explained](/concepts/scrip-price-discount)
* [Scrip transfer on ICEGATE explained](/concepts/scrip-transfer-icegate)
* [List a firm's credits](/api-reference/firms/credits)
* [Glossary](/concepts/glossary)