Problem Statement

Electronic Bank Realisation Certificates (eBRCs) are mandatory compliance documents for Indian service exporters. They serve as government-recognised proof of foreign currency receipt and are a prerequisite for processing GST refund claims under Section 16 of the IGST Act. Without a valid eBRC on record, a refund claim may be held up/delayed — making timely retrieval of these documents a critical compliance requirement.

The DGFT portal introduced a Bulk Upload facility in August 2024 (Trade Notice 12/2024-25) for generating new eBRCs. However, this facility applies only to eBRC generation. Already-issued eBRC PDFs — still requires each certificate to be downloaded individually. Every search, every click, every save, every rename is performed manually, one certificate at a time.

This gap is documented across the portal, DGFT user manuals, and FAQ pages. No bulk PDF download exists for issued eBRCs. For organisations processing 100+ eBRCs monthly, this translates to 3–4 working days of manual effort every month — effort that delays refund submissions, occupies consultant time, and adds no professional value whatsoever.

Solution- DGFT AutoComply- Compliance Execution layer on top of existing govt. system

DGFT AutoComply is a desktop automation application built to eliminate the manual eBRC download workflow entirely. The application reads a list of eBRC numbers and date ranges from a standard Excel file, automates the complete DGFT portal navigation, and downloads each certificate as a PDF — named by its eBRC number — to a designated folder. Status is written back to the Excel file after each row.

The only human interaction required is solving the CAPTCHA at login — a deliberate security measure on the government portal. Everything else is fully automated and runs unattended.

How It Works

Step-by-Step Workflow

• User loads the Excel file (eBRC numbers + date ranges) via the desktop app interface

• User can select the desired folder (Downloads in default folder)

• User clicks Start — the app launches Chrome browser automatically

• User can see live log for the real time progress.

• Application navigates to dgft.gov.in, fills login credentials from a secure local file

• User solves the CAPTCHA manually (the only human step) and clicks Login

• Application confirms dashboard load, navigates to Services → eBRC → View / Cancel eBRC

• Selects 'Bank Realisations (e-BRC)' from the bill type dropdown

• For each row in Excel: fills eBRC number, From Date, To Date; clicks Search

• Clicks the result link, clicks Print eBRC button

• New browser tab opens with PDF — application captures PDF bytes via JavaScript blob fetch

• PDF saved directly to designated folder, named as <eBRC_Number>.pdf

• Excel row updated with 'Success' or 'Failed' status — session summary shown on completion.

Technical Achitecture

• PyWebView — renders a modern desktop UI (HTML/CSS/JS) in a native window without a web server

• Selenium WebDriver + ChromeDriver — controls Chrome programmatically, navigating the portal click by click

• JavaScript Blob Fetch via CDP — captures PDF directly from browser memory; no print dialog, no save prompt

• OpenPyXL — reads eBRC input from Excel, writes Success/Failed status per row after each download

• PyInstaller — packages the entire application as a single .exe for deployment on any Windows laptop.

AI Tools Used

As a CA with no coding background, I identified this compliance gap from firsthand experience and decided to build a solution myself. AI tools helped me bring that idea to life — writing code to my specifications, debugging against the live portal, and designing the interface. The vision was mine. AI made the execution possible.

• Claude AI (Anthropic) — primary development partner.

• ChatGPT — secondary reference and code review.

Important note: AI tools were the development instrument — not the developer. Every HTML selector was manually verified against the live DGFT portal using browser inspect tools. Every edge case was identified and resolved through real-world testing across multiple machines. All decisions were made and owned by the author.

Impact & Scalability

• Eliminates 3–4 working days of manual consultant effort per month for eBRC downloads

• Reduces refund submission preparation timeline — all 100+ eBRC PDFs available same day

• Zero manual renaming — every PDF automatically named by eBRC number

• Full audit trail — Excel updated with Success/Failed status and timestamp per certificate

• Resumable sessions — rows already marked Success are skipped on re-run; no work lost

• Deployable on any Windows laptop with Chrome installed — no server, no cloud, no subscription

• Zero recurring cost — no vendor, no license, no third-party dependency beyond open-source libraries

• Scalable — tested successfully on 50+ eBRC batches; designed for 100–200 per session

• Platform architecture — eBRC Downloader is Module 1; IRM Bulk Download, IRM Utilization Report, and Generate e-BRC modules are planned, addressing the full DGFT compliance lifecycle

Broader significance: With over lakhs active IEC holders in India, every service exporter managing GST refund claims faces this identical workflow. DGFT AutoComply demonstrates that finance professionals — without software development backgrounds — can build precise, reliable, production-grade automation tools using AI as a thought partner and development accelerator.