Export Invoice Software: LUT, IGST, Shipping Bill and BRC

An export order looks simple on the shop floor: make the goods, pack them and hand them to the forwarder. In the office, it is a chain of documents that must agree with each other: a commercial invoice in dollars or euros for the buyer, a GST tax invoice in rupees, a shipping bill from customs, the bank’s realisation certificate (BRC) and, finally, the receipt at whatever rate the bank gives. Generic billing tools treat this as one invoice. Good export invoice software treats it as the chain it is.

When the chain breaks, the cost is real: IGST refunds held up because the shipping bill quotes the wrong invoice number, BRCs that nobody chases, forex differences buried in the buyer’s ledger. This article explains how the export invoicing flow in Tejaxo ERP keeps every document linked, from the export sales order to the BRC.

Why an export needs two invoices

Tejaxo ERP creates two separate documents for every export shipment, each with its own purpose:

• Commercial Invoice: for the overseas buyer, in the buyer’s currency (USD, EUR and so on), on its own series and numbering. It has no effect on stock or accounts.
• Export Tax Invoice: for GST, in INR, on your Indian invoice series. The stock movement and the sales voucher are created here.

One commercial invoice produces exactly one tax invoice. After the tax invoice is made, the buyer, currency, items, quantities and rates on the commercial invoice are locked, so the two can never drift apart.

The export flow, step by step

Step 1: Export sales order

The export sales order captures the buyer, the buyer’s PO and delivery date, the currency and exchange rate, and the rate of each product in foreign currency; the INR value is calculated automatically. The export details section records the Incoterm, payment terms, export type (LUT or with payment of IGST), ports and country. The order can be edited until a commercial or tax invoice has been made from it.

Step 2: Commercial invoice

When the buyer is chosen, only that buyer’s export orders with a pending quantity are offered. Selecting an order fills the header and lines: PO, consignee, currency, rate and the overseas state code. The user enters the quantity for this shipment (partial shipments are allowed), packages, weight and country code. The ERP refuses a quantity larger than the order balance.

Step 3: Export tax invoice

From the saved commercial invoice, one action creates the export tax invoice, already filled with the lines, foreign-currency rate, ports, export type and commercial invoice reference. Saving it posts the stock and the sales voucher, with the foreign-currency amount recorded on the voucher as well. If the sales ledger is not set for the export series, the invoice does not save, so nothing is posted to a wrong ledger.

Step 4: Shipping bill and BL

Once customs clears the goods, the user opens the commercial invoice and fills the shipping bill section: shipping bill number and date, port code, LEO date, BL or AWB number and, later, the BRC number. The shipping bill number, date, port and country code are copied to the tax invoice automatically, where they are needed for the GSTR-1 export sheet and the e-invoice export details.

Step 5: Receipt and forex

On the receipt voucher, the user selects the buyer, bank and export bill, and enters the currency and the bank’s rate. The ERP settles the bill in both INR and foreign currency and posts the rate difference to Forex Gain/Loss. For a partial receipt, only the foreign-currency amount actually received is settled.

Step 6: BRC

When the bank issues the BRC, its number is entered on the commercial invoice, and the shipment shows as closed in the export register.

Worked example

Tejaxo Manufacturing books an export order from Tejaxo Customer for 10 units of Product A at USD 150 each (USD 1,500) at an exchange rate of ₹83.50. The first shipment of 6 units goes under LUT; the remaining 4 units are shipped later with payment of IGST.

On the receipt for the first shipment, the buyer is credited ₹75,150, the bank is debited ₹76,500 and the ₹1,350 difference is credited to Forex Gain/Loss. Had the rupee strengthened instead, the difference would be a loss on the debit side. For the second shipment, the buyer is debited only the goods value of ₹50,100, while the IGST of ₹9,018 sits in IGST Refund Receivable until customs refunds it.

LUT or IGST: what changes

SEZ invoices

Supplies to a Special Economic Zone use their own invoice type with an SEZ details section. With payment of tax, the ERP always charges IGST, even when the SEZ unit is in your own state; a ₹50,000 supply from a Haryana plant to a Haryana SEZ unit carries IGST of ₹9,000 and no CGST or SGST. Without payment of tax, the supply goes under LUT with zero GST. The LUT number, the SEZ unit’s Bill of Entry number and date and the officer’s endorsement date are recorded on the invoice. E-invoice types are SEZWP and SEZWOP, and SEZ invoices appear in the correct GSTR-1 sheet.

Seven export reports

• Export Register (CI to Realisation): each commercial invoice with its tax invoice, INR value, IGST, shipping bill, amount received, balance and status, such as “Shipping Bill pending” or “BRC pending”.
• Pending Export SO: order quantity less invoiced quantity, with balance in foreign currency and delivery date.
• Shipping Bill / BRC Pending: every tax invoice still waiting for a shipping bill or BRC, with days pending.
• Foreign Currency Receivables: buyer-wise billed, received and balance amounts, with bill-wise drill-down and the oldest days.
• Export Forex Gain / Loss: every receipt with booking rate, receipt rate and the gain or loss.
• Export and SEZ GST Register: invoices by category (EXPWOP, EXPWP, SEZWP, SEZWOP) with taxable value, IGST, refund due, shipping bill and IRN.
• Export Sales by Country / Currency: invoices, buyers and values by destination and currency.

Every report has a date filter, search, CSV export and print. For management dashboards across sales and finance, see business intelligence.

Common mistakes the ERP prevents

• Wrong invoice number on the shipping bill: customs needs the tax invoice number, not the commercial invoice number. The ERP keeps both visibly linked so the right number is used.
• Invoicing more than ordered: a commercial invoice quantity above the order balance is refused.
• Two tax invoices for one shipment: only one tax invoice can be made from a commercial invoice.
• Forgotten BRCs: the pending report shows every open shipment until its BRC is entered.
• Missing ledgers: exports with IGST, or receipts with a rate difference, do not save until the IGST Refund Receivable and Forex Gain/Loss ledgers are configured.

Who this is for

The export module suits manufacturers who ship directly to overseas buyers or supply SEZ units, from occasional exporters to plants where exports are a large share of sales. It is used alongside the rest of Tejaxo ERP, so export orders, production and dispatch share the same data. Manufacturers in western Uttar Pradesh can read our page on manufacturing ERP in Meerut. If you sign invoices in bulk, see digital signature (DSC) signing from the ERP.

How Tejaxo implements this

We start by mapping your export pattern in a discovery session: currencies, LUT or IGST, SEZ customers and how your forwarder and bank share documents. We set up the series, ledgers and buyer masters, run a pilot on your own orders, check the GSTR-1 export data with your accountant, and then go live with training for sales, logistics and accounts. Support after go-live is provided by the same team.

See an export shipment end to end

Bring one recent export order, and we will take it through Tejaxo ERP from sales order to BRC in a live session. Book a free demo or WhatsApp us at +91 96717 27474.

Frequently asked questions