How to Invoice Foreign Clients from India (LUT, FIRA, and the Export Rules)

You landed your first US client. They want to wire you USD. Your CA mumbles something about LUT and FIRA, and Stripe wants to know if you're "incorporated." Welcome to the most confusing invoice you'll ever send.

This guide cuts through the noise. Here's exactly how to invoice foreign clients as an Indian freelancer or solo founder in 2026.

The one rule that changes everything: export of services

When you sell services to a client outside India, the supply is treated as an export of services — and exports are zero-rated under Section 16 of the IGST Act. That means no GST is charged on the invoice.

But "zero-rated" only works if you meet all five conditions in the GST guide for freelancers:

1. You're in India.
2. Your client is outside India.
3. Place of supply is outside India (for services, generally where the recipient is).
4. Payment lands in convertible foreign exchange.
5. You and the client aren't branches of the same legal entity.

If you fail any one — for example, your client pays you in INR via their Indian subsidiary — the supply isn't an export. It becomes a normal taxable supply and you must charge GST.

The LUT: do this once a year, save 18% in cash flow

You have two ways to do zero-rated exports:

Option A: File an LUT (recommended)

A Letter of Undertaking is a one-page declaration on the GST portal saying "I promise to comply with export conditions; if I fail, I'll pay GST + interest." Once you file it, you can issue export invoices with no GST and don't tie up cash.

To file:

1. Go to gst.gov.in → Services → User Services → Furnish LUT.
2. Pick the financial year.
3. Enter two witness names + addresses (any two adults; often friends or co-workers).
4. Submit with DSC or EVC.

Done. Valid for the whole financial year. File again on April 1st.

Option B: Charge IGST on the invoice and claim a refund

You charge IGST (18%) on the export invoice, your client pays the full amount including IGST, and you file for a refund from the GST department. The refund typically takes 60–90 days. Cash flow is worse, paperwork is worse — basically only do this if you missed the LUT window.

What an export invoice looks like

The same 16 fields as a normal GST invoice, with these specifics:

• GSTIN of recipient: leave blank (foreign clients don't have one).
• Place of supply: the client's country (e.g. "United States").
• Currency: any convertible foreign currency — USD, EUR, GBP, AED, SGD, AUD, CAD all work.
• Tax rate: 0% (zero-rated under LUT).
• Note on the invoice: "Supply meant for export under LUT without payment of IGST."

Example line:

Service: Software development services        SAC 998314
Quantity: 1
Amount: USD 5,000.00
GST rate: 0% (zero-rated export under LUT)
Total: USD 5,000.00

FIRA / FIRC: proof you actually received foreign exchange

Once your client wires you the money, your bank gives you a Foreign Inward Remittance Advice (FIRA) or Certificate (FIRC). This document proves the money landed in foreign exchange.

You need this for:

• GST audit — proving the supply qualifies as export.
• Income tax — supporting your foreign income on ITR.
• Section 80 deductions where applicable.
• Any future GST refund claim.

How to get one:

• Wise: Auto-generated, downloadable from your dashboard for each transaction.
• HDFC, ICICI, SBI: Login, request via the inward remittance section, ₹100–500 per certificate.
• Payoneer: Generates digital FIRA per payout.

Save them all in a folder labeled by FY. Your CA will ask.

What about Stripe / Payoneer / Wise?

These are payout rails, not invoicing tools. The flow is:

1. Your invoice is in USD (or whatever).
2. Your client pays Stripe / Payoneer / Wise.
3. Wise/Payoneer/Stripe converts to INR and deposits into your Indian bank.
4. The bank issues a FIRA against that conversion.

The invoice you send to the client should still be denominated in USD. It's the bank statement + FIRA that proves the foreign-exchange leg.

TDS on foreign payments: usually no

If your client is a foreign company, Indian TDS (Section 194J) doesn't apply — they have no obligation under Indian tax law. They might withhold tax in their own country (W-8BEN for US clients), but that's a separate issue. For most freelancers earning under the country-specific thresholds, this withholding is also zero.

The clean checklist for every foreign invoice

• ☐ LUT filed for current FY
• ☐ Invoice in foreign currency, GST 0%
• ☐ "Zero-rated export under LUT" note on PDF
• ☐ Place of supply = client's country
• ☐ Send with PayPal / Wise / bank wire details, not Indian-only payment methods
• ☐ When paid: download FIRA, save in FY folder
• ☐ Track in your books in INR using the conversion rate on payment date

Common mistakes that cost real money

1. Forgetting to file LUT in April — entire year of exports gets stuck at 18% IGST + refund process.
2. Charging GST anyway "to be safe" — your foreign client doesn't know what GST is and will refuse to pay it. You eat 18%.
3. Receiving payment in INR via the client's Indian subsidiary — disqualifies as export. You'd owe GST. Always insist on foreign-currency wire.
4. Not saving FIRA documents — comes back to bite you 12 months later when the GST notice arrives.
5. Mixing domestic and export invoices in the same numbering series — fine technically, but cleaner to use a separate prefix like EXP/25-26/0001.

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