What is Development Commissioner?
A Development Commissioner is the official in charge of one or more Special Economic Zones. The office approves units, supervises their operations and handles a range of compliance matters for businesses located inside the zone. Each zone, or cluster of zones, has a Development Commissioner's office that units deal with directly.
Why it matters for exporters
For EDF purposes, the Development Commissioner plays the role that the AD bank plays for most other service exporters. Under the 2026 export regulations, units in an SEZ submit their EDF to the SEZ Development Commissioner. This applies to software as well as other services. If you run an SEZ unit, do not send the form to your bank or to STPI by default.
The form itself does not change. You still fill Part 1, list each invoice in Part 2B, sign the Part 4 declaration and leave Part 5 for the authority. The deadline is also the same: within 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoice was raised. How the office accepts forms, whether online or on paper, is a local procedure, so check with your zone's office. Our EDF form generator produces a form you can submit through whichever channel applies.
Example
Northstar KPO Pvt Ltd operates an SEZ unit in Chennai. Its December 2026 invoices total ₹21,75,000 across four clients. The compliance officer prepares a single EDF with four rows, ticks "SEZ" in field 1.5, and submits it to the Development Commissioner's office before 30 January 2027.
Common confusion
The Development Commissioner is not your bank. Your AD bank still receives the foreign payment and issues FIRAs, so keep both sides informed and matched. The rules on who files where depend on where your unit sits, not on the type of service.