Is IGCR faster than EPCG or Advance Authorisation? For most importers, yes. IGCR runs on a self-driven electronic prior intimation on ICEGATE that generates an IGCR Identification Number (IIN), letting you begin concessional imports without waiting for a licence to be examined and issued. EPCG and Advance Authorisation are DGFT licensing schemes, where an application is filed, assessed against norms, and a physical authorisation is issued before you can import. That licensing step makes them inherently slower to get going.
IGCR was automated onto ICEGATE precisely to cut delay. You file the prior intimation, declare your goods and notification, furnish the continuity bond, and the system issues an IIN that you quote on your bill of entry. There is no separate licence grant to wait on before importing. For an importer who has confirmed eligibility, the path from decision to first concessional import is short.
Both are Foreign Trade Policy schemes administered by the DGFT, and both involve an authorisation. The application must be prepared, inputs and quantities justified against standard input-output norms in the case of Advance Authorisation, and the authorisation issued before duty-free import can happen. That upfront licensing cycle adds time that IGCR does not have.
Faster to begin does not always mean better, and the ongoing timelines run the other way in some respects.
So IGCR front-loads speed and back-loads a quicker compliance rhythm, while the DGFT schemes are slower to enter but stretch the obligation over a longer period.
The question of whether is IGCR faster than EPCG is worth reframing: rather than which scheme is fastest, ask which matches your output. If you sell domestically, EPCG and Advance Authorisation are not just slower, they are the wrong tool, because they demand exports you are not making. If you export, the extra setup time for those schemes buys a benefit IGCR cannot give. Speed only decides the matter when two schemes are genuinely both available for your situation, which is less often than it seems.
Where the answer to is IGCR faster than EPCG matters most is for domestic manufacturers and service providers who need to import inputs soon and have no reason to take on an export obligation. For them, IGCR is both the faster and the correct route, and there is no trade-off to weigh.
The main thing that slows an IGCR setup in practice is not the portal but getting the eligibility and notification right the first time, so the intimation is accepted cleanly. Our team prepares this correctly to keep your start fast. See the IGCR clearance service or contact [email protected] or +91 91673 79073.
The honest answer to whether IGCR is faster than EPCG depends on what you are trying to do. If you import inputs for domestic use, IGCR is both faster to start and the correct scheme, so there is no trade-off to weigh. If your goal is importing capital goods against an export plan, EPCG is slower to set up but is the right tool, and its longer timeline buys a benefit IGCR cannot give. Speed only settles the choice when both schemes genuinely apply to your situation, which is less common than it seems. For a domestic manufacturer, is IGCR faster than EPCG is really asking whether the quicker route is also the right one, and here it usually is.
IGCR issues an IIN through ICEGATE without a licence wait, unlike the DGFT authorisation schemes.
Yes. IGCR uses a self-service electronic intimation that issues an IIN, with no separate licence to be examined and granted first.
Both are DGFT licensing schemes where an authorisation must be applied for, assessed, and issued before duty-free import.
Not always. IGCR has a shorter end-use window and quicker return cadence, while the DGFT schemes give longer obligation horizons.
Getting the notification and declarations right so the intimation is accepted cleanly, not the portal itself.
For domestic manufacturers who need inputs soon and have no reason to take on an export obligation.
