> ## 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.

# What is a duty credit scrip?

> Duty credit scrips explained: what RoDTEP and RoSCTL scrips are, how exporters earn them from a shipping bill claim, why they trade at a discount to face value, how long they stay valid, and how importers use them to pay basic customs duty.

<Note>
  **In one line:** a duty credit scrip is a transferable credit from the Government of India that pays customs duty rupee-for-rupee; exporters earn them, importers spend them, and ScripX is where the two meet.
</Note>

India refunds exporters the embedded duties and taxes their goods carried. The refund arrives not as cash but as a **duty credit scrip**: an electronic credit with a face value that can be used to pay basic customs duty on imports.

## Why scrips trade

Most exporters import little. Their scrips would sit idle and eventually expire, so they sell them. Importers pay customs duty constantly, so a credit that settles duty at face value is worth nearly face value to them. The result is a standing market:

* **Sellers** (exporters) convert credits to cash at a small discount to face value.
* **Buyers** (importers) fund duty payments below par and keep the difference.
* **ScripX** runs the venue: firm quotes, matching, delivery-versus-payment settlement, and payout to the seller's bank.

## The schemes

| Scheme   | Full name                                          | Who earns it                   |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| `RODTEP` | Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products | Exporters of most goods        |
| `ROSCTL` | Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies       | Apparel and made-ups exporters |

These two values are the `scheme` enum across the API. Full explainers: [RoDTEP scheme explained](/concepts/rodtep-scheme) and [RoSCTL scheme explained](/concepts/rosctl-scheme). The enum itself and primary sources are in the [Schemes annexure](/annexure/schemes).

## How a scrip comes into existence

A credit is not created by exporting. It is created in four steps, and each one can be missed.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Claim on the shipping bill">
    The exporter declares the RoDTEP or RoSCTL claim when the shipping bill is filed. This declaration cannot be added later.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Export and EGM">
    The goods leave and the Export General Manifest is filed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Scroll">
    Customs sanctions the claim and generates a scroll against the exporter's IEC. A scroll is a sanctioned amount, not yet an instrument.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Scrip creation">
    The exporter converts the scrolled amount into an **e-scrip** in the customs ledger. Only now does it have a scrip number, a face value, and a validity date, and only now can it be used or sold.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What a scrip can pay

A duty credit scrip pays **basic customs duty (BCD)** on imports. It does not pay IGST on imports, and it does not pay most cesses and surcharges. That single limit sizes the entire buy side of the market: an importer's real demand is its BCD bill, not its total customs bill.

## Two rules that shape everything

* **Validity is one year from creation in the ledger,** and transfer does not reset it. Unused balance at expiry lapses in full. See [Scrip validity and expiry](/concepts/scrip-validity-expiry).
* **Transfer is permitted once,** from the holder to another party with a valid IEC registered on ICEGATE. Buyers buy to consume, not to resell. See [Scrip transfer on ICEGATE explained](/concepts/scrip-transfer-icegate).

## Key terms

| Term        | Meaning                                                                                    |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Face value  | The duty-paying power of the credit, in rupees. The API carries it as integer paise.       |
| Price (bps) | What a buyer pays as a fraction of face, in basis points. 9,650 bps = 96.50% of face.      |
| Transfer    | Scrips change hands whole. A credit is not split in a sale.                                |
| Utilisation | Spending the credit against basic customs duty on an import.                               |
| Validity    | Credits expire. Unsold, unspent credits go to zero, which is why idle inventory gets sold. |

## Where ScripX sits

ScripX runs the venue. An exporter's idle credits sell at a firm quote, an importer funds duty below face the same way, and the trade is matched, settled delivery versus payment, and paid out with a UTR. A broker desk or an enterprise group can instead book a [cross](/api-reference/cross/quote), a pre-arranged deal inside its own book at prices it sets on both sides.

Whichever side you are on, it is the same API. See [Sell scrips](/guides/exporter-sell), [Buy scrips](/guides/importer-buy), [Run a desk](/guides/broker-desk) and [Net a group](/guides/enterprise-group).

## Scrip or duty drawback?

Two things exporters routinely mix up: **duty drawback** is a cash refund of import duty on inputs, paid to a bank account. A **duty credit scrip** is a tradable instrument that pays customs duty, and it is what this API trades.

## Frequently asked questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Who issues duty credit scrips in India?">
    Policy sits with DGFT (and the Ministry of Textiles for RoSCTL); issuance, the electronic ledger, transfer and utilisation sit with Customs under CBIC, through ICEGATE.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can duty credit scrips be sold?">
    Yes. They are transferable, which is what makes a market possible. Transfer is permitted once, from the holder to another party with a valid IEC registered on ICEGATE.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why do scrips sell below face value?">
    Because the buyer pays cash today for duty it will pay later, and takes on the risk of consuming the credit before it expires. The discount is the price of that. See [Price and discount explained](/concepts/scrip-price-discount).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is a scrip sale subject to GST?">
    No. Duty credit scrips fall under HSN 4907 and are exempt under Notification 02/2017.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can a scrip be split?">
    No. Scrips transfer whole. A buyer's requirement is covered by a bundle of whole scrips, with the uncovered remainder reported as `residual_paise`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if a scrip expires unsold?">
    The remaining balance lapses. There is no refund, extension or salvage value, which is why idle inventory gets sold rather than held.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Go deeper

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="RoDTEP scheme explained" icon="ship" href="/concepts/rodtep-scheme">
    What it remits, how rates are notified per HS code, and how a claim becomes a scrip.
  </Card>

  <Card title="RoSCTL scheme explained" icon="shirt" href="/concepts/rosctl-scheme">
    The apparel and made-ups scheme: chapters 61, 62 and 63, and how it differs from RoDTEP.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How to sell RoDTEP scrips" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="/concepts/sell-rodtep-scrips">
    Converting scroll to scrip, what a buyer checks, and where sellers lose money.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How to buy duty credit scrips" icon="cart-shopping" href="/concepts/buy-duty-credit-scrips">
    Sizing a requirement against basic customs duty and utilising the credit.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Price and discount explained" icon="percent" href="/concepts/scrip-price-discount">
    What moves the discount, and how basis points convert to rupees.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Glossary" icon="book-open-cover" href="/concepts/glossary">
    Every term in the market, defined, with the API field that carries it.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Related

* [Quick start](/quick-start), place your first order in five calls.
* [Money and price](/annexure/money-and-price), paise, bps, and worked examples.
* [Schemes](/annexure/schemes), the `scheme` enum and primary sources.