MEIS Scheme

MEIS Scheme

The Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS Scheme) is an export incentive scheme introduced under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20, which came into effect from 01.04.2015 and will be valid until December 2020. MEIS Scheme was introduced with an objective to promote the export of goods from India by providing incentives in the range of 2-7% of the FOB value of exports for notified/specific products. By providing these incentives, MEIS Scheme aims to make Indian goods competitive in the global markets by offsetting infrastructural inefficiencies and associated costs involved in exports from India.

The emphasis is given mainly on the products which have higher export intensity, has an excellent capability to generate employment in the country and enhance the competitiveness of Indian goods in the global market.

The MEIS Scheme Provides incentive in the form of a Duty credit scrip or MEIS License which can be used in payment of import duties or can be sold in the open market for a premium rate.


There were five schemes - Focus Market Scheme, Focus Product Scheme, Vishesh Krishi Gramin Udyog Yojana, Market Linked Focus Product Scheme, Agri Infrastructure incentive scheme under Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2009-14 which was replaced by MEIS Scheme. All the above five Schemes merged into a single MEIS Scheme, which removes various kinds of restrictions and significantly enlarges the scope of export incentive schemes present in earlier FTP.

The MEIS scheme benefits are permitted to exports made by Special Economic Zone(SEZ) units also, which were not allowed in the previous export incentive schemes. Exporters can avail of the benefits under this scheme on the export of the eligible goods only notified as per the Appendix 3B.

Who is eligible for MEIS Scheme?

The following is the eligibility criteria for MEIS Scheme:

How can we assist you in claiming the MEIS scheme benefits from DGFT?

Nature of rewards under the MEIS scheme

The Incentives are given to Exporter under the MEIS scheme in the form of Duty Credit Scrip or License, which are freely transferable. In case the holder of License wishes to sell the License, he can sell them to anyone who wishes to buy the License for a waiver of their import duty.

MEIS rates

Under the MEIS scheme, the benefit is calculated as a percentage of the FOB value of export for notified goods exported into notified markets.

The incentives given under the MEIS scheme vary from product to product and from country to country. The reward rate is specified in Appendix 3B of FTP, which is categorized according to ITC(HS) code. MEIS rate of rewards varies from product to product and is in the range of 2% to 5% for most items. In some cases 7% also.

As per the recent amendment, country-wise differentiation has been done away by extending the market coverage to all countries for MEIS incentives.

Want to know the MEIS Rates for your Export Product? Just fill the below form and our team will get back to you with the latest rates within 1 hour.

Ineligible categories under MEIS scheme

There are the following export categories that are ineligible under the MEIS scheme.

How to use Duty credit scrip under MEIS?

Duty credit scrip obtained under the MEIS Scheme can be used in the payment of following Import Duties - Basic Customs Duty, Safeguard Duty, Transitional Product specific safeguard duty, Anti-dumping Duty only. It cannot be used for the payment of 18% IGST.

If the License holder does not intend to use the MEIS license for any of the given purpose then he can sell it in open market. MEIS Scrip can be sold at discount to the face value of license & can be sold directly to the buyer or through an agent who will help to find a buyer.

For example – If you have Duty credit scrip worth Rupees 2,00,000 it means it can be used to pay duties equivalent to Rupees 2,00,000. If the holder does not intend to use the scrip he can sell it in open market. The person who wishes to buy the license will not pay 100% face value of the license obtained under the scheme. He may buy the scrip for a discount @97% of face value i.e. at Rupees 1, 94, 000 instead of Rupees 2, 00, 000. But still it has the face value of Rupees 2, 00, 000 and it can be used for the payment of duties equivalent to Rupees 2, 00, 000.

In this transaction, Benefits to the buyer – He saved Rupees 6,000 in the given transaction as instead of paying Rupees 2,00,000 he only needs to pay 1,94,000. Benefits to the seller – Seller can en-cash the MEIS License and get the money directly in his account, which was otherwise of no use to him.

The Validity of the MEIS Scrip is 24 months from the date of issue. Revalidation of Duty Credit Scrip is not permitted under the MEIS scheme, and it should be valid on the date on which actual debit is made.

Documents required for MEIS Scheme Application

The following are the documents required for MEIS Scheme: