How to Pay Customs Duty with Duty Credit Scrips
A Bill of Entry is assessed and the duty is due. You can pay it in cash, or you can pay it with duty-credit scrips that typically land under the cash number. Here is how covering a Bill of Entry with scrips actually works.
Why an importer would pay duty with scrips
Duty-credit scrips are worth their face value against customs duty, and they trade a little under face on the market. So when you cover an assessed Bill of Entry with scrips instead of cash, the scrips you buy cost less than the duty they discharge. In the ScripX worked example, a bundle lands one to four percent under the cash duty. That gap is the whole reason to do it.
Duty-Pay: the cheapest whole-scrip bundle, assembled for you
You do not go shopping for individual scrips. On ScripX, Duty-Pay takes an assessed Bill of Entry and assembles the cheapest whole-scrip bundle that covers it, oldest expiry first (FEFO), then applies it on ICEGATE. Because scrips are whole instruments, the bundle can slightly over-cover the duty; the ask is always capped at face value, never above 100%, and any over-cover stays in your ledger as credit for the next Bill of Entry. Nothing is wasted and nothing is bought above what a scrip is worth.
Auto-Cover: every assessed BE pre-covered, still on your approval
If you clear entries continuously, Auto-Cover pre-covers every assessed Bill of Entry at the cheapest set, above a floor you set such as 96.50% of face. The word that matters is pre-covered. Auto-Cover assembles and prices the bundle, but you approve each cover before anything applies. Nothing pays itself. You get the speed of a standing rule with a human hand on every payment.
What the buy leg costs, and what it buys
The buy side carries a spread, +1.20% in the ScripX worked example, on top of the market rate. That spread is not a markup for its own sake: it funds the delivery-versus-payment guarantee and the provenance screening that stand behind every scrip you receive. It is the price of never receiving a scrip that later turns out to be encumbered. Even with the spread, a typical bundle still lands under the cash duty; the full arithmetic is on the pricing page.
Atomic settlement, so you never pay into thin air
Covering a Bill of Entry with scrips is a delivery-versus-payment settlement. Your funds lock in a partner-bank virtual account first; only then does the scrip transfer execute on ICEGATE from seller to you. ScripX runs the transfer under a signed, revocable mandate and never takes title to the scrip. If a settlement fails, it unwinds and refunds in full the same business day. You never send money and hope a scrip arrives.
Why the scrip you receive is safe to use
Every scrip is screened before it can be listed: the shipping-bill chain, the seller IEC history, KYC, and the live ICEGATE ledger status. On top of that, government notifications from September 2022 shield a bona-fide transferee from a seller's prior defaults. In plain terms, a scrip you buy through a screened, on-ledger transfer is safe to apply against your duty, and it stays that way.
What you keep for your records
Every cover ships a GST invoice and a net-realisation statement showing the duty covered, the scrips applied, the fee, and your take-home, plus an audit pack per trade. Duty-credit scrips are GST-exempt on transfer under HSN 4907; the ScripX fee carries 18% GST. Your finance team gets a clean, exportable trail, not a pile of ledger screenshots.
Where to go from here
If you have an assessed Bill of Entry today, Duty-Pay assembles the bundle in one pass; if you clear entries continuously, set an Auto-Cover floor and approve each cover. Read the Scrip Reference Rate to understand the price you are buying against, and if you export as well as import, the same rails turn your own scrips into cash the same day. See how ScripX works for importers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay customs duty with duty-credit scrips?
Yes. Duty-credit scrips are worth their face value against customs duty. On ScripX, Duty-Pay assembles the cheapest whole-scrip bundle that covers your assessed Bill of Entry, oldest expiry first, and applies it on ICEGATE. Because scrips trade a little below face, the bundle typically costs less than the cash duty.
How much do I save by covering a Bill of Entry with scrips?
In the ScripX worked example a typical bundle lands one to four percent under the cash duty. The exact figure depends on the day's rates and the scrips available; the buy leg carries a spread, +1.20% in the worked example, that funds the settlement guarantee and provenance screening.
What happens to any over-cover?
Scrips are whole instruments, so a bundle can slightly over-cover the duty. The ask is always capped at face value, never above 100%, and any over-cover stays in your ledger as credit toward your next Bill of Entry.
Is it safe to pay duty with a scrip I bought?
Yes. Every scrip is screened before listing, settlement is delivery-versus-payment so your funds lock before the scrip moves, and government notifications from September 2022 shield a bona-fide transferee from the seller's prior defaults. A failed settlement unwinds and refunds in full the same day.
