IGM and EGM in India: the manifests your clearance depends on
A plain guide for importers, exporters, customs brokers and forwarders to the two manifests carriers file with Indian Customs: what the IGM and EGM contain, when they are due, how their numbers feed your bill of entry and shipping bill, and what to do when they are wrong.
You never file a manifest yourself, but your clearance runs on it. The bill of entry quotes the IGM number and your line in it, and a shipping bill is only closed once the EGM is filed, so IGST refunds and export incentives wait for it. This guide explains both, in the order your cargo meets them.
This guide is based on the Customs Act, 1962 and ICEGATE's published FAQ, as checked on 6 October 2026. Manifest procedures are updated through CBIC regulations, circulars and port public notices. Confirm the current position with your customs broker, your carrier or the Custom House before relying on it.
What a manifest is
A manifest is the carrier's declaration of everything it is bringing into, or taking out of, a customs station. Indian Customs uses it as the master list against which every importer's bill of entry and every exporter's shipping bill is checked. For sea cargo, the format and filing are set by the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018, which moved manifests to electronic filing ahead of arrival and departure.
The import general manifest (IGM)
Section 30 of the Customs Act requires the person in charge of a vessel or aircraft carrying imported goods, in practice the shipping line or airline acting through its agent, to deliver an arrival manifest, also called the import manifest, to the proper officer electronically before the vessel or aircraft arrives. For a vehicle, an import report is due within twelve hours of arrival at the customs station.
The IGM lists every consignment on board as a line, with the bill of lading number, consignor and consignee, number and type of packages, weight, description and container numbers. Where cargo is consolidated, the master bill of lading sits on the carrier's line and the consolidator's house bills appear as sub-lines under it.
How the IGM links to your bill of entry
- IGM number and date identify the vessel's manifest at that port.
- Line and sub-line number identify your consignment in it. Your bill of entry quotes them, and the Customs system matches the two.
- Packages, weight and description on the bill of entry should agree with your manifest line. Differences bring queries at assessment or examination.
If you file a prior bill of entry before the vessel arrives, as the bill of entry guide explains, the manifest details are linked once the IGM is filed.
When the IGM is wrong: amendments
Mistakes in a manifest line, such as the consignee's name, the number of packages, the weight or the description, are corrected by an amendment. The request comes from the party that filed the line: the shipping line or airline agent for the main line, or the consolidator for a house sub-line. The proper officer approves it, and ports may ask for supporting documents such as the commercial invoice or a letter from the shipper.
Amend before the bill of entry is filed where you can. Once a bill of entry has been filed against a wrong line, both documents may need correcting, and that costs days at the port.
The export general manifest (EGM)
Section 41 of the Customs Act requires the person in charge of a conveyance carrying export goods to deliver a departure manifest, also called the export manifest, electronically before the conveyance leaves the customs station. In practice the shipping line or airline agent files it, listing the shipping bills under which goods were loaded.
For exports, the EGM is where the shipping bill's paperwork closes. Until it is filed and matched, these wait:
- IGST refunds. Under Rule 96 of the CGST Rules, the shipping bill counts as your refund application only once the carrier has filed the export manifest and you have filed a valid GSTR-3B. A missing EGM shows up as error SB002. Our IGST refund guide covers the full check.
- Duty drawback and other export benefits that Customs processes against the shipping bill.
- Proof of export for your records and your bank.
Exports through an ICD: the gateway EGM
When goods are cleared at an inland container depot and travel to a gateway port by rail or road, the shipping bill is filed at the ICD but the vessel sails from the gateway port. The export manifest filed there has to be linked to the shipping bill, and an IGST refund shows error SB006, gateway EGM not available, until it is.
Penalties for late manifests
Both sections carry the same consequence. If the arrival or departure manifest, or any part of it, is not delivered in time and the proper officer is not satisfied that there was sufficient cause, the person in charge, or the person who caused the delay, is liable to a penalty of up to ₹50,000. The penalty falls on the carrier side, but the delay falls on you: late or wrong manifests hold bills of entry, refunds and incentives.
A checklist for importers and exporters
- Ask your forwarder for the IGM number, date and line number as soon as the vessel is manifested, and check the consignee name against your bill of entry.
- Compare the package count and weight on your manifest line before filing, not after a query.
- For house bills, confirm that the consolidator has filed its sub-lines. A missing sub-line means the bill of entry cannot be matched.
- After sailing, confirm with the shipping line that the EGM is filed, and keep its number with your refund follow-up.
- For ICD exports, follow up the gateway EGM, not only the ICD's.
Where software helps
Manifest problems are reference problems: the same IGM line, bill of lading and shipping bill numbers have to agree across the carrier's filing, the broker's declaration and the exporter's GST returns. When those references live with the job instead of in separate inboxes, everyone reads the same number instead of retyping it.
Logiintra is built around the job file, so each import or export job's documents, references and status stay together, and its AI reads invoices and bills of lading so they are not retyped. Manifest and customs filings remain with the carrier and the customs broker. See our customs broker software and NVOCC software, or read the companion guides on the bill of entry and the shipping bill.
Sources
More customs and GST guides
Good to know
What is the difference between IGM and EGM?
Who files the IGM?
When must the IGM and EGM be filed?
What is the penalty for filing a manifest late?
Why does my IGST refund say EGM not filed?
How do I correct a mistake in the IGM?
Keep every job's references in one place
Logiintra keeps each import and export job's documents, references and status together, and reads invoices and bills of lading for you. See it on your own jobs.