So you want to start anExporting
A reel says one ₹27 lakh container can make ₹6 lakh. J counts the one number it left out: the days. The five businesses hiding inside import-export, the paperwork, the first buyer, freight that doubled in four months, the bank's cut on every dollar, the GST refund that is not profit, and the tariff year.
₹6 lakh a container
One ₹27 lakh container of bathroom fittings, ₹6 lakh profit, ₹72 lakh a year, a ₹500 licence and no shop.
The flaw
The days. Money is stuck for months, so 12 containers a year quietly become 3.
Run J's numbers
The defaults are the exact worked example from the episode. Move any slider to your own quote.
31 out of 70
Seven questions, ten points each — higher is better on every one. The red tick is the season average so far.
Two years, run two ways
The good version
6 containers a year at about ₹2.5 lakh each: about ₹15 lakh, before J's own salary.
The realistic version
Freight doubles after the quote, one 15% discount, one payment a month late, no fifth container: ₹0 to ₹3 lakh.
J's checklist
- Price freight on the day you quote, and write who pays if it moves.
- Ask your bank for its exact conversion spread before the first invoice.
- Treat the GST refund as your own money coming back, not profit.
- Count containers per year by cash cycle, not by demand.
- Find buyer number one before you register anything beyond the ₹500 IEC.
Jump in
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Exporting — Calculator
Editable spreadsheet with the episode's numbers already in. Change any yellow cell.
DownloadExporting — Playbook PDF
The real bill, the scorecard, two years run two ways, a checklist and every source.
DownloadJ's Wall poster
The season leaderboard so far, A4. Pin it up and play along.
DownloadScore any business /70
J's seven questions as a blank scorecard. Score your own idea before you spend.
DownloadWhere the numbers come from
Copied from the episode's description. Claims in posts and videos are their authors' claims.
Rules and costs
• DGFT Handbook of Procedures, Appendix 2K and para 2.08: IEC fee ₹500, auto-generated; annual update April to June, IECs not updated are de-activated (DGFT Notification 58/2015-20, 12 Feb 2021)
• CBIC Circular 8/8/2017 and guidance: LUT valid for one financial year
• CBIC Advisory 10/2022: AD code registered port-wise on ICEGATE
• APEDA RCMC fee: ₹5,000 + 18% GST = ₹5,900, valid five years (APEDA, June 2026)
• RBI Master Direction on Export of Goods and Services (updated 17 Jul 2026); Taxmann, 8 Jun 2026; SCC Online, 29 Sep 2026: export realisation period 9 months, extended to 15 months on 13 Nov 2025, restored to 9 months on 5 Jun 2026
• DGFT Trade Finance Study: 40% of export credit applications by MSME exporters rejected; export loans average 10-14%, up to 20-25% in some cases
• Bank forex markup 1-3.5%: Razorpay (industry estimate)
• Cargo insurance 0.15-0.45%: Cogoport (industry estimate)
• RoDTEP 0.3%-3.9%, extended to 31 Dec 2026: DGFT Notification 41/2026-27, 30 Sep 2026
• Interest subvention 2.75%: DGFT Trade Notice 20/2025-26, 2 Jan 2026
• ECGC Small Exporters Policy: 95% commercial risk cover
• IHGF Delhi Fair (Autumn 2026) stall rates: ₹9,500 per sq m, minimum 12 sq m; Market Access Support under the Export Promotion Mission: up to 60% of eligible costs
Freight
• The Loadstar, 5 Jun 2026: Nhava Sheva/Mundra to Jebel Ali, about $3,200 per 40ft
• The Loadstar, 8 Oct 2026: Nhava Sheva to Khor Fakkan, $6,000-7,000 per 40ft
• TI Insight: Hapag-Lloyd India to Europe list rate $690 to $1,090 per 20ft from 16 Feb 2026
Tariffs and trade deals
• PTI, 9 Aug 2025 (K M Subramanian, Tiruppur Exporters' Association): "We expect 50 per cent business, which is about Rs 6,000 crore to be impacted."
• Deccan Herald, 21 Oct 2025 (K M Subramanian): goods worth Rs 1,500-2,000 crore stuck
• Reuters, 19 Aug 2025 (V. Srinivas, shrimp farmer)
• Commerce Ministry via ANI, 25 Jul 2026: India at 10%, about 45% of exports outside the new duty
• White House joint statement, 6 Feb 2026 (framework announced; the 18% rate was never put into force); EO 14384 removed the 25% Russia-oil duty from 7 Feb 2026; CBP stopped collecting IEEPA duties from 24 Feb 2026
• PIB, 2 Sep 2026: Tiruppur record exports of ₹46,000 crore in FY 2025-26
• India-UK CETA in force 15 Jul 2026; India-EFTA TEPA in force 1 Oct 2025; India-Oman CEPA 1 Jun 2026; India-New Zealand FTA 20 Oct 2026; India-EU FTA concluded 27 Jan 2026, signing due Dec 2026
• Tiruppur margins "5 per cent to 10 per cent": Tiruppur Exporters' Association joint secretary, 24 Nov 2025
Fraud and losses
• ANI, 25 Jun 2026: Delhi Police bust "India2Exports" call centre; ₹5,000, ₹19,780 and ₹41,300 charges; ₹10,57,780 across 19 complaints; 18 apprehended
• Gulf News, 26 Jul 2019: Dubai rice payment fraud; Vikas Bansal quote
Posts quoted on screen (shown exactly as posted)
• Instagram reel, 29 Sep 2026: "A ₹27 lakh bathroom fittings shipment can create around ₹6 lakh profit." (account not named)
• r/exportersindia: u/avi7611 (12 Aug 2026; 1 Oct 2026), u/Optimal_Shelter7261 (12 Mar 2026), u/Old_Faithlessness855 (Apr 2026), u/Jolly_Wing_3593 (Mar 2026), u/makemoney-TRADEnIT, u/Poison2702 (Feb 2026), u/shanebansal
• X, @SandeepMall, 10 Feb 2025
• YouTube: about 210 import-export videos reviewed (Oct 2026); comment with 703 likes quoted; titles quoted exactly as published
MUSIC
Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Tracks: Rollin at 5 · Easy Lemon · Night on the Docks - Sax · Lobby Time · Covert Affair · Thinking Music · Inspired · Dances and Dames · Investigations · Hitman · Volatile Reaction · Deliberate Thought · Breaktime · Pamgaea
J is a made-up character. Every price, rule, quote and post shown is real. Worked examples and the two-year scenarios are illustrations built from the numbers in the video. Education only — not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; check the current terms before you act.