Bank rate card
What does HDFC Bank charge an exporter?
This is HDFC Bank's published trade and forex rate card, reproduced head by head from the bank's own schedule dated w.e.f. 1 April 2021 (Letter of Credit section w.e.f. 1 October 2021). 23 charge heads are published and 0 are not. The source document is linked at the foot of this page.
By Aaryan Kakani · · 3 min read
Key takeaways
This schedule was last revised before 2025. It is dated w.e.f. 1 April 2021 (Letter of Credit section w.e.f. 1 October 2021) and is still the card HDFC Bank publishes today, but an old schedule is a starting point for a conversation with the bank rather than a price you can rely on.
What does HDFC Bank charge on an export transaction?
Every head below is reproduced from the schedule linked at the foot of this page. Amounts are as published; nothing has been converted, averaged or inferred, and charges are exclusive of 18% GST unless the schedule says otherwise.
| Charge head | What HDFC Bank publishes |
|---|---|
| Inward remittance / export proceeds | Nil (charges, commission and SWIFT all Nil) |
| FIRC, FIRA and e-BRC | FIRC Rs 200, duplicate FIRC Rs 500; credit advice sent centrally by email in lieu of FIRC Nil; BRC issuance Rs 150 per shipping bill |
| Export bill regularisation (direct dispatch or advance received) | 0.0625%, min Rs 1,000 + Rs 100 per shipping bill/Softex/invoice (export bills non-despatch listed separately: 0.15%, min Rs 2,000) |
| Export bills on collection | 0.0625%, min Rs 1,500 + SWIFT/courier Rs 1,000 (if applicable) + courier as per region of dispatch (min Rs 1,500, max Rs 3,500) |
| Export bill purchase, discount or negotiation | 0.1%, min Rs 2,000 + SWIFT/courier Rs 1,000; collection to discount Rs 750 |
| Extension of realisation period | Rs 1,000 |
| Write-off or reduction in value | Write-off Rs 2,000 |
| Crystallisation | Crystallisation fee Rs 2,000 (commission Nil) |
| Return of an unpaid export bill | Rs 1,000 |
| Export LC advising | Customer LC Rs 1,500 (FCY)/Rs 1,000 (LCY), amendment Rs 1,000/Rs 750; non-customer Rs 2,500/Rs 1,500, amendment Rs 1,500/Rs 1,000; local LC courier Rs 100 |
| Export LC confirmation | Commission same as LC issuance (FEDAI/IBA rates, min Rs 2,000) + SWIFT same as LC |
| Overdue bill follow-up | Outstanding export bills Rs 500 half-yearly; non-submission of documents against advance inward remittance Rs 1,000 half-yearly per overdue remittance; late submission of documents (after 21 days) Rs 1,000 |
| SWIFT | Transaction-specific add-ons: Rs 500 (remittances/set-off), Rs 1,000 (export/import bills), Rs 2,000 (FCY LC issuance) |
| Courier | Export bill despatch: as per region, min Rs 1,500, max Rs 3,500; local LC courier Rs 100 |
What does HDFC Bank charge on imports, guarantees and other forex services?
| Charge head | What HDFC Bank publishes |
|---|---|
| Advance or direct import remittance | Import direct/advance payment 0.125%, min Rs 1,250 + SWIFT Rs 500 |
| Import bills on collection | 0.25%, min Rs 2,000 + SWIFT/courier Rs 1,000 |
| Import LC issuance | FEDAI/IBA rates, min Rs 2,000 + documentation Rs 1,500 (if applicable) + SWIFT Rs 2,000 (FCY) / SFMS Rs 1,000 (LCY) |
| IDPMS / Bill of Entry | Non-submission of Bill of Entry: Rs 500 half-yearly per BOE |
| Bank guarantee | 1.8% p.a., min Rs 2,000 + documentation Rs 1,500 (if applicable) + SWIFT/courier Rs 1,000 |
| Other outward remittance | Non-import TT 0.20%, min Rs 1,000 + SWIFT Rs 500; non-import DD 0.25%, min Rs 2,000 + Rs 500 |
| Forward contracts | Not stated |
| Commission in lieu of exchange | 0.15% for EEFC, min Rs 500 (additional commission in lieu of non-conversion; stated only in the 2014 export-services PDF) |
| Certificates, NOC and AD code letter | Export performance certificate Rs 500; AD code certificate Rs 500; bank certificate for IEC Rs 500; attestation of invoice Rs 250; service tax certificate/duplicate advice Rs 250; NOC for discounting with other bank Rs 5,000; GR waiver/approval Rs 1,500 |
How does HDFC Bank compare with the other banks?
Ordering is arithmetic on published figures across the 36 banks whose schedules could be re-checked against their source file, using the entry-tier charge a small-ticket exporter actually meets. It is not a view on which bank to use.
| Charge | HDFC Bank | Where that sits |
|---|---|---|
| Export bill regularisation, per shipping bill | ₹1,000 | 16th cheapest of 29 banks that publish it |
| e-BRC or BRC | ₹150 | 16th cheapest of 23 banks that publish it |
| FIRC or FIRA issuance | ₹200 | 12th cheapest of 30 banks that publish it |
| Inward remittance, per credit | Free | 3rd cheapest of 30 banks that publish it |
| Export bills on collection, entry tier | ₹1,500 | 27th cheapest of 35 banks that publish it |
| SWIFT, per message | ₹500 | 11th cheapest of 36 banks that publish it |
On published figures HDFC Bank sits in the cheapest five on inward remittance, per credit (3rd of 30). An exporter filing 20 shipping bills a month, pulling an e-BRC for each and taking 20 payment credits, would pay ₹2,76,000 a year on these published heads alone. A merchant exporter lodging 10 collection bills a month with 10 certificates and 10 credits would pay ₹1,98,000. See all 38 banks side by side.
What else does HDFC Bank's schedule say?
Primary source is the HDFC 'Trade Services - Fees & Charges' web page (hdfc.bank.in, MSME > Trade Services > Other Trade Services); sections are collapsed accordions, so the page was rendered to PDF with all sections expanded. The export-services PDF linked from https://www.hdfc.bank.in/msme-banking/trade-services/export-trade-services/fees-and-charges is an older version (wef 1 Sept 2014) and differs: regularisation 0.0625% min Rs 1,500, write-off Rs 1,000, SWIFT/courier Rs 1,000 flat, 'exporter follow-up docs submission for advance remittance Rs 1,000', additional reminder SWIFT Rs 500. The import-services PDF on the import fees page is image-only (not used). No purpose-code or forward-contract charge published. Inward remittance return of funds: USD 1-100 Nil, USD 101-500 USD 10, USD 501-1,000 USD 20, above USD 1,000 USD 50. GST 18% extra on charges plus GST on currency conversion (slabbed). Charges exclude correspondent bank charges. No separate SME vs corporate trade schedule found.
Where does this rate card come from?
| Provenance | Detail |
|---|---|
| Schedule date, as the bank prints it | w.e.f. 1 April 2021 (Letter of Credit section w.e.f. 1 October 2021) |
| Bank type | Private |
| Checked | 19 September 2026 |
| Source document | Open HDFC Bank's published schedule |
The source document was re-downloaded from HDFC Bank on 19 September 2026 and compared by SHA-256 against the copy these figures were read from. It matched exactly, which means the figures here are what the bank was publishing that day rather than a stale cache.
What should I read next?
- Every Indian bank's export charges, compared All 38 rate cards in one table.
- Which bank is best for e-commerce exporters? The same schedules read head by head for marketplace sellers.
- Which bank is best for B2B exporters? LC advising, collection, crystallisation and guarantees.
- FIRC and BRC guide for Indian exporters What each certificate is and when you need one.
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Update history
- First published.