LUT filing in Chennai gets weighed against one real alternative: paying IGST on every export shipment and waiting months for the refund to clear. For almost every Chennai exporter, filing a Letter of Undertaking wins outright. It blocks no working capital and needs no bank guarantee, unlike an export bond. LegalX India files LUT in Chennai starting at ₹499, usually within a few days.
What happens if a Chennai exporter's LUT lapses or was never filed?
An LUT is valid for exactly one financial year, from 1 April to 31 March. Once that window closes, an old LUT stops covering anything. Export without a fresh one in place, and every shipment either needs IGST paid upfront, with a refund claimed later, or it becomes an outright compliance gap. Refunds on that blocked IGST can take months, tying up cash a growing exporter usually needs for the next order, not the last one. A single missed renewal can therefore cost far more than the professional fee for filing it correctly the first time.
Who in Chennai needs to file an LUT, and at what threshold?
Any GST registered exporter making zero rated supplies needs an LUT if they want to avoid paying IGST upfront. There is no turnover floor below which this becomes optional, and a first time exporter is caught by the same rule as one shipping every week.
A residential commercial SME in Velachery or Porur exporting goods needs the LUT active before the first shipment of the financial year leaves, not after customs raises a query about missing paperwork. Sorting this out in March, ahead of the new financial year, avoids a scramble in April.
An IT and SaaS founder on the OMR corridor around Sholinganallur billing overseas clients needs the same LUT, since export of services counts as a zero rated supply exactly like exported goods do. Missing this distinction is a common early mistake among first time service exporters in the city.
What documents does a Chennai exporter need ready?
Keep these on hand before we file:
- GST registration certificate
- PAN of the business and its directors or partners
- Previous year's approved LUT, if this is a renewal
- Cancelled cheque of the business bank account
- IEC, the Import Export Code, where applicable to your business
Most Chennai exporters can pull this together within a day, since it is mostly documents already sitting in the company's records rather than anything requiring a fresh certificate.
Which officer or department reviews a Chennai LUT?
There is no separate desk for an LUT application; whichever jurisdiction already owns your GST registration signs off on this too. An exporter on the state side answers to the Commercial Taxes Department, Tamil Nadu. One on the central side answers instead to a CGST officer, with the exact commissionerate, Chennai North, South or Outer, fixed by wherever the original registration landed. Because the underlying GSTIN still opens with Tamil Nadu's state code, 33, an error made at the registration stage simply follows the file into every LUT renewal that comes after it.
Which dates govern your Chennai LUT?
| Event | What Happens | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Financial year starts | New LUT needed for continued zero rated exports | 1 April |
| Filing window | LUT can be filed anytime once eligible | Ideally before the first export of the year |
| Financial year ends | Current LUT stops covering new exports | 31 March |
| Renewal | Fresh LUT filed for the next financial year | Before 1 April, to avoid a gap |
Filing early in April, rather than after the first shipment, is the difference between a routine renewal and a scramble. Waiting until an export is already booked puts the shipment itself at risk of an IGST charge nobody budgeted for.
How does LUT filing actually run, step by step?
- We review your GST compliance history and confirm eligibility for an LUT.
- We prepare Form GST RFD-11 with your business and export details.
- We file on the GST portal for the current financial year.
- We hand you the approved LUT and set a renewal reminder for next year.
Most Chennai applications with a clean compliance record clear in 3 to 5 days, occasionally faster once the portal itself is not backed up. A history of unresolved tax disputes above the prosecution threshold pushes an application toward a bond instead, which takes longer and involves a bank.
What does LUT filing cost in Chennai?
Our fee starts at ₹499 and covers eligibility review, the Form GST RFD-11 filing, portal submission, and acknowledgement tracking. There is no government fee for the LUT itself, so the professional charge is the only cost for a straightforward Chennai renewal, and we confirm this upfront before you commit to anything.
Where does Chennai profession tax sit alongside an exporter's LUT?
LUT filing and Chennai profession tax run on entirely different calendars and different logic. The LUT follows the GST financial year, April to March, tied to your state code 33 registration. Profession tax here produces a single PTNAN, issued by Greater Chennai Corporation on a half yearly cycle due 30 September and 31 March, and has nothing to do with your export status. We track both for clients who need it, so one deadline does not quietly eclipse the other while attention is focused on the busier of the two.
Why bring your LUT filing to LegalX India in Chennai?
A Chennai exporter's LUT needs someone who checks the underlying GST jurisdiction before filing, not after a query comes back from an officer who was never actually assigned the file. We have filed for goods exporters in Velachery and SaaS founders billing overseas from the OMR corridor, and we calendar every renewal so April never arrives with a gap. A missed renewal costs far more in blocked working capital than the professional fee ever would. LUT filing explained for exporters across India is where the national framework sits; the Chennai specific sequence only comes up once you call us. Our team checks your eligibility at no charge and calls back within 30 minutes.