Using IGCR and EPCG together is allowed: a business can avail both, but not on the same imported goods. The two schemes can run in parallel across different parts of your operation, because they cover different things: EPCG typically covers capital goods imported against an export obligation, while IGCR covers inputs or goods put to a declared end use with no export commitment. What you cannot do is claim both concessions on the same consignment. As long as each scheme is applied to its own goods and kept separate in your records, using both is legitimate and often sensible.
IGCR and EPCG are distinct schemes under different authorities. EPCG is a DGFT scheme aimed at capital goods for export production. IGCR is a customs scheme under the 2017 Rules aimed at end-use consumption. Because they address different goods and different objectives, a single business can hold an EPCG authorisation for its machinery and separately register under IGCR for the inputs it consumes. Nothing in either scheme bars a company from participating in both at the level of the business.
The rule to respect is that the same imported goods cannot carry two concessions at once. You cannot import a machine under EPCG and also claim an IGCR concession on that same machine, nor import an input under IGCR and simultaneously count it toward an EPCG benefit. Double-dipping on one consignment is not permitted and would unravel under audit. Each item of imported goods is claimed under exactly one scheme.
A frequent real-world pattern is a manufacturer using EPCG to import production machinery at concessional duty against an export obligation, while using IGCR to import the raw materials that machinery processes for its domestic-market output. Here the capital goods sit under EPCG and the inputs sit under IGCR, cleanly separated. Both concessions are availed, neither overlaps, and the records for each scheme stand on their own.
Running both schemes means running two compliance tracks. EPCG requires you to fulfil and document the export obligation and eventually redeem the authorisation. IGCR requires prior intimation, an IIN, bond management, and quarterly returns proving end use. The schemes have different authorities, timelines, and proof requirements, so the practical challenge is keeping the two sets of goods and records distinct rather than any legal conflict between them.
The risks in combining the schemes are administrative, mixing goods across the two, or letting one scheme’s records bleed into the other, rather than any prohibition on holding both. Careful separation from the outset prevents problems later. Our team helps businesses structure and document both schemes so they run cleanly side by side. For IGCR setup and compliance, see the IGCR clearance service or contact [email protected] or +91 91673 79073.
The practical key to running IGCR and EPCG together is a clear paper trail that ties every imported consignment to exactly one scheme. Maintain separate registers for your EPCG capital goods and your IGCR inputs, so that at any point you can show customs which concession applies to which goods. Where the same production line uses EPCG machinery to process IGCR inputs, note that relationship explicitly rather than leaving it to be inferred, because an auditor matching your imports against your output will expect the two streams to reconcile independently.
Keeping the bond and authorisation records distinct matters just as much. Your IGCR continuity bond and returns sit under customs on ICEGATE, while your EPCG authorisation and export-obligation records sit under the DGFT. Treating them as two separate compliance tracks from day one is what lets a business avail IGCR and EPCG together without the schemes ever colliding on paper.
IGCR is claimed via ICEGATE and EPCG through the DGFT; a business can hold both.
Yes, across different goods in a business, but never on the same consignment. Each item of imported goods is claimed under one scheme.
No. The same imported goods cannot carry two concessions at once. Double-dipping on one consignment is not permitted.
Using EPCG for production machinery against an export obligation and IGCR for the raw materials that machinery processes for domestic output.
The goods and records for each scheme, since EPCG and IGCR have different authorities, timelines, and proof requirements.
The risk is administrative, mixing goods or records across schemes, rather than any legal bar on holding both.
