Apparel exporters in Tirupur have been directed by customs to submit records of exports done by them since 2004.
Exporters, however, say records stretching that far back are not computerized.

Units in the district export apparels to various western countries. The goods are transited mostly through ports in Tuticorin, Kochi and Chennai and sometimes through airports in Coimbatore and Chennai. In order to encourage exports, duty drawback and other incentives were introduced at certain rates in accordance with the value of the exported goods. Exporters had to submit shipping bills in banks and obtain a Bill Realisation Certificate, which showed an exporter had received the payment as per the bill from a foreign buyer. Due to various reasons, the partial or full payment would not have happened.

Since 2014, the system has been automated. If exporters do not submit a BRC, or close the shipping bills within two years, they will be placed on a caution list. This data will be uploaded online by banks under the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS), and violators can even be stripped of their IE code. The measure was taken as exporters were found to have been involved in fraud to receive duty drawback.