Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra: How Small Businesses Can Export Through India Post
A Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra (DNK) is a post office that books export parcels with the customs paperwork done online. If you have an IEC and a GSTIN, you can register on the DNK portal, file a Postal Bill of Export, hand the parcel over at a DNK and track it abroad, without a courier agent in between.
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Here's the short answer. A DNK lets a small seller in Jaipur, Kohima or Udaipur ship goods abroad from a nearby post office instead of a big-city courier hub. You book online, the portal creates your Postal Bill of Export (PBE), customs clears it electronically, and the post office closes the parcel into mail bags for the Foreign Post Office. You don't need a customs broker.
In January 2026, the Department of Posts said 1,013 DNKs were operational across India. The scheme is a joint effort by India Post and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). It runs on a hub-and-spoke model: the 28 Foreign Post Offices are the hubs and the DNKs are the spokes.
2026 brought three big changes. Since 15 January 2026, postal exports can claim Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL. Since 1 January 2026, small packets no longer carry goods abroad. And the DNK portal has moved to India Post's new self-service platform. The sections below take you through each step in order.
What a Dak Ghar Niryat Kendra Actually Does
Think of a DNK as an ordinary post office counter that's been set up for exports. India Post describes it as a single window for the whole job. That covers:
Online export paperwork
The Postal Bill of Export is filed electronically through the DNK portal. You don't need paper forms or an agent.
Faceless customs clearance
Customs approves the bill electronically. You don't have to travel to a Foreign Post Office in a metro city.
Packing and pickup
Some DNKs have packing machines and material. Pickup is offered based on how much you ship, so ask your DNK.
End-to-end tracking
Every export item gets an article number you can track from booking to delivery abroad.
Who Can Use a DNK (and Who Shouldn't Bother)
The government aims DNKs at MSMEs, artisans, start-ups and small exporters, including those in remote and underserved regions. These are the people who send low- and medium-value consignments abroad: a handloom stole to a buyer in Germany, spices to a customer in the US, brass items for an Etsy order.
The DNK portal treats you as a commercial customer. That's why it asks for an IEC and a GSTIN. If you only want to send a gift or personal items to a relative abroad, you don't need a DNK. Book international Speed Post (EMS) or a parcel at any post office counter instead.
Rule of thumb: if you're selling the goods and want the export on record, for GST refunds or export incentives, use a DNK. If it's a one-off personal gift, the regular international counter is simpler.
Documents You Need Before You Register
Get these sorted first. The portal checks them, and booking stays locked until it's satisfied.
| Document | Needed? | Where it comes from / notes |
|---|---|---|
| IEC (Importer-Exporter Code) | Mandatory | 10 characters, issued online by DGFT. The fee for a new IEC is ₹500. Your name, address and PAN are pulled from DGFT records. |
| GSTIN | Mandatory | 15 characters. You enter it in your business profile. |
| AD Code | Optional on the portal | 14 characters, from your bank. You'll want it if you expect IGST refunds or incentives paid to your account. |
| LUT or Bond | Optional | LUT comes from the GST department and is issued per financial year. Update it on the portal every April. |
| ICEGATE registration and bank account | Only for incentives | Needed to claim Drawback, RoDTEP or RoSCTL electronically. The bank details must match the ones on the DNK portal. |
| Aadhaar, export licence, others | Optional | Can be uploaded as "Others" under KYC |
The most common block: the portal checks your IEC against DGFT. If the IEC is suspended or cancelled, booking stays disabled until DGFT shows it as active again. DGFT expects you to update your IEC every year between April and June, even if nothing has changed. If you miss it, the IEC is deactivated. Check its status on the DGFT site before you register.
How to Register on the DNK Portal: Step by Step
One thing many guides miss: the India Post homepage now lists two DNK portals. The new one is on India Post's customer self-service platform at app.indiapost.gov.in/customer-selfservice. The old one, dnk.cept.gov.in, is now marked "Old". CBIC's January 2026 circular also switched its DNK reference to the new address. So start on the new portal. The steps below follow India Post's DNK customer portal SOP. The screens on the new portal may look a little different, but you'll be asked for the same things.
Create your login
Open the portal in Chrome, Firefox or Edge and choose Register. The SOP asks for:
- A user ID in lowercase (8 to 15 characters)
- A working email address and 10-digit mobile number. An OTP is sent to the mobile.
- A password of 8 to 15 characters with an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a digit and a special character
Fill in your business profile
Enter your IEC and GSTIN, plus your AD Code and LUT if you have them. The portal fetches your registered name and address from DGFT and uses it as the default sender address. If you already have a business contract with India Post, it shows up here once it's mapped to your account. Otherwise, you pay as a retail customer.
Upload KYC
Pick the document type, enter its number, the issuing authority and the issue date, and upload a scan. The SOP says booking opens only after at least one mandatory KYC document, IEC or GSTIN, is uploaded. Uploading both saves you questions later.
Save your buyers in the address book
The portal lets you save sender and recipient addresses under a reference name. If you have repeat buyers, do this once and every later booking fills itself in.
Stuck? Go to the DNK in person
Ask at the DNK post office for help with the portal. If your problem is with the IEC itself, though, only DGFT can fix it.
How a DNK Export Works: Pack, Declare, Clear, Dispatch, Track
Once you're registered, every shipment follows the same five stages.
Pack
Pack the goods firmly, weigh the finished parcel and measure it. You'll enter the weight in the booking, and the post office checks it against the parcel when you hand it over. Nagaland's DNKs, for example, said in 2023 that a single parcel should not exceed 35 kg, but each service and destination has its own limit.
Declare (book online)
Book the item on the portal: choose the service, enter the buyer's address, describe the goods, give their value and the invoice details. This creates your Postal Bill of Export. Customs procedures describe PBE-III for e-commerce exports and PBE-IV for other postal exports. Print the booking.
Hand over and clear customs
Take the parcel and the printout to the DNK. Staff check the parcel against the booking, and any mistake is corrected before dispatch, which avoids trouble with customs later. Customs approval comes electronically. You don't visit a customs office.
Dispatch
The DNK closes the item into mail bags addressed to its Foreign Post Office. Nagaland's DNKs, for example, close their bags directly to the FPO in Kolkata. From the FPO, the item flies to the destination country.
Track
Use the article number on your receipt. Share it with your buyer too, because the destination country's postal service takes over delivery at their end.
Get the description and value right. Write "cotton handloom stole, 2 pieces" and the real invoice value, not "gift" or "goods". The PBE is a customs declaration, and your refund and incentive claims are matched against it. India Post now also requires a customs declaration and KYC for international parcels.
Which Service to Choose, Weight Limits and Charges
Small sellers mostly choose between two services. Weight limits and rates depend on the country, so the table shows what's fixed and what you'll need to look up.
| Service | Best for | What we could confirm |
|---|---|---|
| International Tracked Packet Service (ITPS) | Small, light e-commerce orders | Available to 135 countries since India Post's January 2026 order added 50 more. The limit for the USA was raised from 2 kg to 5 kg. Other countries have their own limits, so check yours before you pack. |
| International Speed Post (EMS) | Faster, heavier or higher-value parcels | Rates and the maximum weight vary by destination. The portal and the DNK counter show the rate before you pay. |
| International Air Parcel | Bulky goods where speed matters less | Counts towards the contract discounts below. Limits vary by country. |
| Small packets (registered or ordinary) | No longer an option for goods | Discontinued for outward items from 1 January 2026. Registration is now for documents only, and India Post points senders of goods to ITPS. |
Discounts for booking through the DNK portal
Booking yourself on the portal is cheaper than booking at a counter. A Department of Posts office memorandum dated 12 October 2026 says retail customers booking through the DNK or self-booking portal keep their existing discount: 2% on ITPS and 1% on EMS.
For contract customers, the same memorandum brings in a new combined volume discount from 1 November 2026, or from whenever India Post's IT systems are ready. Your monthly ITPS, EMS and Air Parcel revenue is added together. Portal bookings get an extra 2% on top of the base discount:
| Combined monthly revenue | Base discount | With DNK/self-booking |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹25,000 | 0% | 2% |
| ₹25,001 – ₹1 lakh | 4% | 6% |
| ₹1 lakh – ₹2 lakh | 6% | 8% |
| ₹2 lakh – ₹5 lakh | 9% | 11% |
| ₹5 lakh – ₹20 lakh | 12% | 14% |
| ₹20 lakh – ₹50 lakh | 14% | 16% |
| Above ₹50 lakh | 18% to 28% | 20% to 30% |
Discounts are worked out on revenue before taxes. Each slab's upper figure belongs to that slab, so ₹1,00,000 exactly falls in the 4% slab. If you ship regularly, ask your DNK about a business contract. Even below ₹25,000 a month, a contract customer's portal bookings earn 2%.
New in 2026: Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL on Postal Exports
Until January, the post office route had a catch. You could get your IGST refunded (automated since September 2024), but the other export incentives were only available on shipments through courier or cargo. That changed on 15 January 2026. CBIC amended the Postal Export (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2022, through Notification No. 07/2026-Customs (N.T.), and issued Circular No. 01/2026-Customs the same day.
Eligible postal exports through DNKs and Foreign Post Offices can now claim:
Duty Drawback
A refund of customs and excise duties paid on the inputs used to make the exported goods
RoDTEP
Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products, which refunds embedded taxes that aren't refunded any other way
RoSCTL
Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies, for apparel and made-up textiles
To claim electronically, you need to: register on ICEGATE, add your bank account there so that it matches the DNK portal, choose the scheme in the extra tables on your PBE-III or PBE-IV, and upload supporting documents for each bill on e-Sanchit. Paper (non-electronic) drawback claims follow the old procedure.
You must choose the scheme at booking. Make the choice on the PBE itself, before the parcel leaves. Rates differ by product (by tariff line), so look up yours in the Drawback schedule or the RoDTEP schedule first. If you're unsure, your Export Promotion Council or the Customs office that handles your FPO can help.
Other 2026 Changes Exporters Should Know
- You can now recall a sent export item. The Post Office (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2026, in force from 15 July 2026, let the sender recall an accountable outward international item from the booking office. Make the request in writing at the post office. There's no fee for a recall. Once the item has left India, a recall depends on the policy of the foreign postal service. It helps if a buyer cancels or you spot a wrong address.
- Cancelling a self-booking. The same amendment says items booked yourself on the portal or app can be cancelled before the post office accepts them. Refunds follow India Post's administrative rules.
- No more small packets for goods. Since 1 January 2026, goods sent abroad go by ITPS, EMS or parcel.
- KYC for international articles. India Post told Parliament in March 2026 that self-attested ID proof is mandatory for international articles, and that customs declaration and KYC are mandatory for international parcels.
How to Find Your Nearest DNK
DNKs are usually head post offices or selected sub post offices. In Nagaland, for example, the 2023 lists included Kohima HPO, Dimapur, Mokokchung and Phek.
We couldn't find a public search tool for DNKs, so here's how to find one:
- Ask at your nearest head post office. Staff there know which offices in the division are DNKs.
- Call India Post's helpline, 1800 266 6868 (8 AM to 8 PM), and ask for the DNK in your district.
- Check your Export Promotion Council's circulars. The Council for Leather Exports, for example, has circulated a DNK list from the Department of Posts to its members.
Before you go, check the office's hours. Our post office timings guide covers the usual counter hours.
Tracking an Export Shipment
Your booking receipt has a 13-character international article number. It starts with two letters, then nine digits, and ends in "IN". Enter it on our tracker to see each scan in India. Our consignment number guide explains how to read the number.
Expect a few scans in India, such as booking at the DNK and dispatch from the Foreign Post Office. After that, there's often a quiet gap while the item is on the flight and waiting for import customs at the other end. That's normal. Once the destination post scans it, your buyer can use the same number on their own postal service's website.
If tracking hasn't moved for a long time, read why Speed Post tracking stops updating. If the item is genuinely lost, our complaint guide walks you through raising it.
Mistakes That Hold Up First-Time Exporters
Missing the IEC update
If you skip the April to June update, your IEC is deactivated, and the DNK portal then disables booking. Set a reminder for April.
Bank details that don't match
IGST refunds and incentives go to the account linked on ICEGATE. If it doesn't match what's on the DNK portal, your money gets stuck.
Forgetting the LUT renewal
LUTs are issued per financial year. Re-upload the new one each April, or you'll have problems exporting without paying IGST.
Ignoring the destination's limits
A 3 kg ITPS parcel is fine for the USA but may be over the limit for another country. Check before you pack, and see our weight and size guide for how billable weight works.
Shipping restricted items
Each country bans or restricts certain goods, and so does India Post. Check the current prohibited-items list at the counter. Ask at the DNK before you book anything unusual, such as liquids, batteries, food or medicines.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to Do Now
- Check that your IEC is active on DGFT and that you have your GSTIN to hand.
- Register on the new DNK portal and upload your IEC and GSTIN under KYC.
- If you want incentives, register on ICEGATE and make sure the bank account matches.
- Ask your head post office where the nearest DNK is, and send one small test order first.
- Share the article number with your buyer and follow it on our tracker.
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