EDPMS is the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System and IDPMS the Import Data Processing and Monitoring System: the two Reserve Bank ledgers in which every shipping bill and bill of entry stays open until your bank matches money to it. An open entry blocks the eBRC, the GST refund on services, and any export benefit that depends on realisation; at two years it puts the exporter on the caution list. This page is for the finance head holding a pending list: how to read it, why entries stay open, and the route that closes each one.
| EDPMS | IDPMS |
|---|
| Full form | Export Data Processing and Monitoring System, live since 1 March 2014 | Import Data Processing and Monitoring System, live since 10 October 2016 |
| Opens an entry | A shipping bill from ICEGATE, an SEZ or a courier port; a SOFTEX form; from 1 October 2026 the Export Declaration Form for every service invoice | A bill of entry from ICEGATE, or the Outward Remittance Message the bank creates for an import payment not yet matched to one |
| Closes it | The bank matching an inward remittance for the full value, or an approved reduction, write-off or set-off | The bank matching the payment to the bill of entry and the evidence of import |
| Cost of leaving it open | No eBRC, no realisation proof for refunds or benefits, caution listing at two years | The next remittance is questioned and further imports can be held |
Both belong to the Reserve Bank, both are run by the authorised dealer bank, and nothing closes by itself. Every closure is a bank officer marking an entry against a document you gave them.
How to check EDPMS and IDPMS status
On ICEGATE, under Public Enquiries, the RBI-SB-EDPMS enquiry returns a shipping bill's status against its number and date; the bill of entry status in IDPMS is in the same Public Enquiries menu against number, date and port code. The bank's own report is the one that matters: it shows the amount realised, the amount open and the due date for every entry. Ask for it monthly.
Why an entry stays open
EDPMS. The money came into a different bank from the one holding the shipping bill. The buyer paid short after charges, a discount or a claim. An advance arrived before shipment and was never tied to a bill. An Inward Remittance Message was never linked to its shipping bill on the DGFT eBRC portal. A shipping bill was amended, or one invoice went out under several bills. A service was paid for with no declaration behind it.
IDPMS. The supplier was paid before the bill of entry existed and the goods came through another port or bank. Evidence of import was never produced. Goods were returned, short-shipped or rejected, so the value paid and the value cleared no longer agree.
How to close an EDPMS entry
| Situation | Route | Decided by |
|---|
| Paid in full | Link the IRM to the shipping bill on the DGFT eBRC portal; the bank marks it closed | You, then the bank |
| Paid into another bank | The receiving bank reports the realisation against the bill, or the bill is transferred to it | The two banks |
| Short by charges or a claim | Reduction in value: on your declaration up to ₹10 lakh per bill, on evidence above it | Bank |
| Buyer will not pay | Write-off: self write-off up to 5 per cent of last calendar year's realised proceeds, 10 per cent for a status holder; beyond that the bank, on a decree, insolvency or similar proof | You within the limit, else the bank |
| Same party owes and is owed | Set-off against an import payable owed to the same overseas party, its group companies included under the 2026 regulations; from 1 October 2026 goods against services too | Bank |
| Money is coming, late | Extension of the realisation period on the bank's satisfaction; an extended entry does not count toward caution listing | Bank |
Since 1 October 2025, under A.P. (DIR Series) Circular 12, every entry of ₹10 lakh or less, old ones included, closes on a declaration that the amount was realised or paid, given quarterly as one consolidated list, with no penal bank charge. For most exporters that circular clears the bulk of the count in one quarter.
How to close an IDPMS entry
Give the bank the evidence of import and have it matched to the Outward Remittance Message: the bill of entry for goods cleared at an EDI port, the courier bill of entry or postal evidence for small consignments, the SEZ bill of entry for goods received in a zone. Where paid value and cleared value differ, the bank closes on a recorded reduction or a supplier refund. Entries of ₹10 lakh or less close on your declaration. Where goods will never arrive, the entry closes on a refund, or on your application showing the payment was made in good faith where no refund is possible.
The caution list, and the rule replacing it on 1 October 2026
| Until 30 September 2026 | From 1 October 2026 |
|---|
| Trigger | Any shipping bill open more than two years without extension, or earlier on the bank's recommendation | Proceeds unrealised more than one year past the due date, including any extension (Regulation 13) |
| Effect | Caution listing; further exports only against advance or letter of credit | Same restriction, no list, no review; it follows from the dates in EDPMS |
| Realisation period | 9 months for shipments from 5 June 2026 | 15 months, 18 if invoiced in rupees |
| Way out | Close or extend the bills; de-listing is automatic | Close or extend before the one-year mark |
The three realisation deadlines now running side by side are set out separately. Two other changes on the same date touch these ledgers: services and software exporters file the Export Declaration Form within 30 days of month-end, so every service invoice becomes an EDPMS entry; and import payments follow the contract's own terms instead of a fixed six months, so a contract silent on payment timing needs a clause.
Clearing the backlog: six steps
- Get both bank reports and sort every entry by age and amount.
- Close everything at or below ₹10 lakh on one quarterly declaration.
- Link every unlinked IRM on the DGFT eBRC portal and chase realisations sitting in other banks.
- Take the shortfalls through reduction, set-off or write-off, in that order, inside the 5 or 10 per cent self write-off limit.
- Apply for extensions on collectible entries before the one-year mark from the due date.
- Match every Outward Remittance Message to a bill of entry, and add a payment clause to contracts that lack one.
Send the two reports to the firm's FEMA advisors and a senior advisor will say which entries close on declaration, which need a document, and which need an application, before the bank writes to you.
