A Letter of Undertaking, or LUT, is a declaration filed on the GST portal that lets a registered exporter supply goods or services abroad without paying IGST first. For an export business in Kolkata, that one page of paperwork decides whether your money moves with you or sits with the department. It matters equally for a diagnostics lab on EM Bypass reading scans for foreign hospitals, a leather unit shipping from Bantala, and a tea merchant in Dalhousie invoicing buyers overseas. The law and the form are the same across India, and the full LUT filing process nationwide covers that ground. This page deals with the local layer: the officers who hold your file, the calendar that matters here, and the West Bengal obligations that continue alongside your exports.
Do you need an LUT in Kolkata at all?
Start with one question: does your business make zero rated supplies? If yes, you need a live LUT before the next invoice goes out. The Kolkata cases we file for usually look like one of these:
- You bill overseas clients for services in foreign currency, whether that is pathology reporting, software, design, or consulting.
- You ship goods abroad by air or through Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, the oldest operating major port in India.
- You supply goods or services to an SEZ unit or an SEZ developer.
- You are a merchant exporter buying from Burrabazar wholesalers for buyers outside India.
One nuance on registration first. A goods exporter needs a GSTIN whatever the turnover, because exports count as inter state supplies. A pure service exporter can wait until billings cross ₹20 lakh, though most register early since the LUT, refunds, and input credit all hang off a GSTIN. West Bengal follows the standard thresholds of ₹40 lakh for goods and ₹20 lakh for services.
How does the LUT route work once you have a GSTIN?
The filing itself is short. What matters is doing it in the right order and keeping the proof safe.
- We screen eligibility: an exporter prosecuted for tax evasion above ₹2.5 crore must give a bond instead, and everyone else qualifies for the LUT.
- We prepare Form GST RFD-11 with your authorised signatory details and two independent witnesses.
- The form goes onto gst.gov.in under your GSTIN, signed with DSC or EVC, with no counter visit anywhere in Kolkata.
- The portal issues an acknowledgment with a reference number, which we send you along with the filing proof.
- Your export invoices then carry the LUT declaration, and every shipment or invoice for that financial year rides on it.
Most clients see the whole cycle finished in 3 to 5 working days from sharing documents. Renewals move faster because the previous acknowledgment is already on record.
Which officer holds your LUT file in Kolkata?
Every GST registration in the city is mapped either to a West Bengal State GST officer under the Directorate of Commercial Taxes, West Bengal, or to a Central GST officer in the Kolkata CGST zone. You did not choose the side; the allocation happened when your registration was approved. It decides who can raise queries on your LUT, your refunds, and your returns.
The state side runs through wbcomtax.gov.in, with its directorate in the Beliaghata area. On the central side, your file rests with one of the central GST commissionerates in Kolkata. Officers on either side can seek clarification and can physically verify a principal place of business. That is where paperwork discipline pays for a rented Burrabazar gaddi or a shared Sector V desk: keep the rent agreement, electricity proof, and signboard consistent with the portal record, and LUT queries rarely go anywhere.
What will LUT filing cost you?
The government charges nothing for the LUT itself; the portal has no fee for Form GST RFD-11. LegalX India files it for ₹499, covering eligibility screening, preparation, filing, and delivery of the acknowledgment.
Now weigh the cost of skipping it. A Salt Lake Sector V software founder billing ₹10 lakh a month abroad would park roughly ₹1.8 lakh in IGST every month on the refund route. That is the 18 percent rate most IT services attract, gone from working capital until the refund lands. Refunds do arrive, but slowly, and every rupee waiting with the department is a rupee not paying salaries. The same arithmetic applies to leather moving out of Bantala or consignments clearing the port. Against that, ₹499 once a year is loose change.
Which documents should you keep ready?
For a Kolkata filing the checklist is short, and most of it already sits in your GST records:
- GST registration certificate and PAN of the business.
- Import Export Code, which almost every exporter already holds.
- Cancelled cheque of the business bank account.
- Aadhaar and PAN of the proprietor, partner, or director who signs.
- Names and addresses of two witnesses to the undertaking.
- Last year's acknowledgment, if this is a renewal.
Nothing needs notarisation and nothing travels by courier. You share scans, we verify them, and the filing goes out the same week.
What deadlines should a Kolkata exporter track?
An LUT lives and dies with the financial year. It starts on April 1, ends on March 31, and cannot be stretched. This is the calendar we work to for Kolkata clients:
| Situation | File by | If you miss it |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh LUT for a new financial year | Before April 1 | Exports attract IGST until the new LUT exists |
| First export by a new business | Before the first invoice or shipment | IGST becomes payable, refund claimed later |
| SEZ supply from a Kolkata unit | Before the date of supply | The supply cannot move tax free |
| Lapsed LUT noticed mid year | The day you notice | Pay IGST for the gap and claim it back |
We open renewal files in early March so the fresh LUT is acknowledged before the old one dies on March 31. That single habit removes the most common LUT problem we see among Kolkata exporters.
Does West Bengal professional tax touch an exporter?
Yes, and national guides skip it because several states levy no professional tax at all. West Bengal collects profession tax under the West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1979. Your LUT covers IGST on exports and nothing else, so two separate PT obligations continue. The business itself needs an enrolment certificate. Once you hire staff, you also need a registration certificate to deduct and deposit PT from salaries.
The amounts are modest. West Bengal caps profession tax at ₹2,500 a year, and the monthly deduction for salaried staff never exceeds ₹200. Take a diagnostics lab on EM Bypass with a dozen technicians on payroll. It holds both certificates and deposits small monthly amounts, while its LUT quietly keeps IGST off every overseas reporting invoice. We flag both certificates during LUT onboarding so nothing surfaces later in a state notice.
Why file your LUT through LegalX India in Kolkata?
Because a small annual filing should not eat a working day. We file LUTs for exporters across the city and its industrial belt, from Sector V software firms to Howrah engineering units, from our office at 58B, Bidhan Park, Taki Road, Barasat, Kolkata 700124. Everything happens online with CA and CS oversight, and a callback reaches you within 30 minutes of an enquiry.
- Transparent ₹499 pricing with nothing added at filing time.
- Jurisdiction noted upfront, so any officer query goes to the right desk.
- Renewal reminders before March 31 every year, without you asking.
- WB professional tax guidance bundled into onboarding.
More than 15,000 businesses have used LegalX India, and our 4.8 Google rating rests on filings that reach on time. Share your GST certificate today and your LUT can be acknowledged this week.