Paid through Deel? The EDF, FIRA and Deel withdrawals explained

If a client pays you through Deel, you are still the exporter. If you file the Export Declaration Form (companies and firms do; for individuals RBI has said they may not need to), you file it, not Deel, and Deel goes on it as the party that paid you. How you withdraw from Deel decides what proof of payment you get.

Last updated 09 Oct 2026 · Not legal or tax advice

The short version

Deel doesn't file the EDF for you, and it isn't licensed by RBI as a payment aggregator; it pays out through banks and partners.
On the EDF, list your invoices to the client and name Deel in the third-party payer fields.
Your proof depends on the withdrawal method: a Deel no-objection certificate (NOC) for local INR transfers, a Wise e-FIRC through an Indian Wise Business account, or your bank's FIRA for a foreign-currency wire.
Ask Deel for the NOC when you add the bank-transfer method: Deel's help page, as quoted by users, says it can't issue one afterwards.

How Deel money reaches you

From the providers' published pages and, where marked, user reports, checked 04 Oct 2026. Providers change their banking partners and rules; check before you rely on this.

Local bank transfer in rupees

How it arrives: A domestic rupee credit to your bank from Deel's payout partner, not a foreign inward remittance at your bank.
Proof of payment: Deel's no-objection certificate (NOC), which you take to your bank to ask for a FIRA. Users report that banks often refuse a FIRA for a rupee credit.
In one Deel payout we have seen, the rupees came through a partner bank's rupee vostro account. That bank wrote to the receiving bank that it hadn't issued an inward remittance certificate and that the receiving bank could. Keep that letter with Deel's withdrawal statement.

To your Indian Wise Business account

How it arrives: Wise's help centre describes this route for India: add your Wise account details in Deel as a bank-transfer method. Wise converts the money and pays rupees into your Indian bank.
Proof of payment: Wise's e-FIRC, emailed within 3 business days (Wise charges about US$2 per transfer plus GST for it).
Wise asks for the payer's details and your invoice for each payment. The payer here is Deel, not your client.

Foreign-currency wire to your Indian bank

How it arrives: A foreign inward remittance at your own bank, which asks you for the purpose code.
Proof of payment: Your bank's FIRA or e-FIRC. The cleanest route for the EDF.

Payoneer or PayPal

How it arrives: Through that provider, with its own rules.
Proof of payment: That provider's FIRA or advice. See the Payoneer guide.

Keeping the money in Deel, a Deel card or crypto

How it arrives: It doesn't reach India.
Proof of payment: None for your bank.
Export proceeds must be received in India within 9 months of the invoice date. Money left abroad doesn't count.

Your Export Declaration Form

Exporters file the EDF with their AD bank within 30 days after the end of each month in which they invoiced a foreign client. Companies, LLPs and firms file. Individuals may not need to: on 7 October 2026 RBI said individuals don't have to report transactions of a personal nature, and its FAQ isn't out yet, so ask your bank (who files). See the full EDF guide or work out your due date.

List each invoice to your client in Part 2B, at the full invoiced amount.
In the third-party payer fields, name Deel and the relationship, for example "Payment platform engaged by the service recipient". Your bank decides whether to accept it.
One Deel withdrawal can pay several invoices. Match each withdrawal to the invoices it covers.
Keep the Deel contract, your invoices and each withdrawal statement. The statement shows the dollar amount, the fees, the rate and the rupees sent.

Fees

Deel's withdrawal statement shows the conversion fees taken before the rupees are sent, so less arrives than you invoiced. Declare the full invoice amount, then record the difference as a fee. For invoices up to ₹10 lakh your bank can accept the lower amount on your own declaration.

Watch out for

If your bank won't issue a FIRA for a rupee credit, it can still close an invoice of up to ₹10 lakh on your declaration.
A Wise account opened abroad, or a personal Wise account, is a different route with no e-FIRC. See the Wise guide.

Questions

Does Deel file the EDF for me?

No. You are the exporter, so if you need to file the Export Declaration Form, you file it with your AD bank, whichever way Deel pays you. Individuals: RBI said on 7 October 2026 that personal-nature transactions needn't be reported; ask your bank until its FAQ is out.

Who is the payer on my EDF when Deel pays me?

Your invoices are to your client. Deel is the party that actually pays you, so name Deel in the EDF's third-party payer fields and give the relationship, for example "Payment platform engaged by the service recipient". Your bank decides whether to accept it.

Will my bank give me a FIRA for a Deel payout?

For a foreign-currency wire, yes: ask your bank. For Deel's local rupee transfer, Deel issues a no-objection certificate (NOC) you can take to your bank, but users report that banks often refuse a FIRA for a rupee credit. Request the NOC when you add the bank-transfer method; Deel's help page, as quoted by users, says it can't be issued later. If you withdraw through an Indian Wise Business account, Wise emails an e-FIRC.

Deel took a fee. What amount goes on the EDF?

The full amount you invoiced. Record the fee as the difference between what you invoiced and what arrived. Up to ₹10 lakh per invoice your bank can accept the lower amount on your declaration.

Do it in easylancing

Upload each Deel statement, FIRA or e-FIRC and easylancing reads the amounts, suggests the invoice it pays and fills in any fee for you to record on the invoice. At the end of the month it prepares the EDF, with the platform as third-party payer if you entered it on the invoice. Or try the free EDF generator and the purpose code list.