Dgft Rules

Registration certificate not mandatory for exporters seeking benefits: DGFT

The commerce ministry's arm DGFT has clarified that registration-cum-membership certificate is not mandatory for exporters to seek benefits under schemes like duty drawback and remission of state levies. According to the Foreign Trade Policy, a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) is required for exporters in order to avail benefits under the policy. Holding the certificate can also help exporters in availing benefits with respect to customs and excise. The certificate is issued by export promotion councils and commodity boards. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said that schemes such as duty drawback, rebate of state and central taxes and levies (RoSCTL) and remission of duties and taxes on export products (RoDTEP) fall under the category of remission-based schemes. These schemes are aimed at remitting duties or taxes on exported goods. For these schemes, "the requirement of an RCMC does not apply. Exporters can claim benefits under these schemes witho

DGFT notifies policy conditions for exports of certain halal meat, products

The government on Tuesday notified policy conditions for export of certain halal meat and its products and this will come into effect from October 16 this year. Notifying the conditions, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said specified meat and meat products will be allowed to be exported as halal certified to 15 countries, only if such goods are produced or processed and/or packaged in a facility certified under the 'India Conformity Assessment Scheme (I-CAS) - Halal' of the Quality Council of India (QCI). The 15 countries are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Malaysia, Jordan, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and the UAE. After the shipments, the exporter will have to provide the valid certificate to the buyer in the importing country. "Policy conditions for export of specified halal meat and meat products are notified," the DGFT said. In April 2023, with the aim of streamlining the halal certification process for exp

Banks should not hold up crediting exporters money due to fault of ICEGATE

On the outstanding EDPMS entry you can't do much except follow up with ICEGATE. But, I don't think your bank is correct in holding up your money

DGFT should issue orders on QCO item imports as replenishment under AA

It appears the government intends to give GAEC for exports of SCOMET items only to the parties to whom you have already made some exports

Govt exempts certain exporting units from quality control orders

The government on Friday exempted advance authorisation holders and export-oriented units (EOUs) from mandatory quality control orders for imported goods that are used as inputs for exports. It said that the exemption will be with pre-import conditions, and those inputs will be utilised in the manufacturing of the export products. "Enabling provisions are made for exempting inputs imported by Advance Authorisation holders and EOUs from mandatory Quality Control Orders (QCOs)," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. The unutilised material will be destroyed in the presence of jurisdictional GST/customs authorities, it added. Mandatory QCOs help curb the import of sub-standard products, prevent unfair trade practices and ensure the safety and well-being of consumers as well as the environment. QCOs are applicable for products domestically manufactured as well as imported. Every manufacturing unit in and outside India has to comply with these orders i

Commerce ministry to extend benefits under RoDTEP scheme to SEZ units

The commerce ministry has decided to extend export benefits under the RoDTEP scheme for companies in the special economic zones (SEZs) and export oriented units (EOUs). This decision was communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on February 16. The DGFT may issue a formal notification soon amending the foreign trade policy on the same. "Post rolling out of ICEGATE (Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange Gateway) in SEZs, the RoDTEP scheme may also be extended to SEZs," according to an office memorandum of the commerce ministry. The government in August 2021, announced the rates of tax refunds under export promotion scheme -- Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), for 8,555 products such as marine goods, yarn and dairy items. As SEZs and EOUs were kept out of the scheme in the list notified that time, the industry was demanding to include them in the scheme. Under RoDTEP, various central and state duties, taxes, and levies imposed on in

Comm min expects to issue 20,000 status holder certificates to exporters

The Commerce Ministry, which automated the process for issuance of exporter status certificates, is expected to issue about 20,000 such documents by the end of this year, a senior official said on Wednesday. Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Kumar Sarangi said this would be a big jump in the issuance of these certificates, and so far, they have issued over 40,200 status-holder certificates. "There are another 2,000 applications, which are under scrutiny because of their prior history. But ultimately, those will also get issued, and by the end of this year, we expect about 20,000 status holders to be recognised through this automated process," he told reporters here. Last month, DGFT said that an exporter status certificate will now be issued based on the available electronic data, and traders will not have to apply to get the recognition. These certificates provide certain privileges, including simplified procedures under foreign trade policy (FTP), priority custom .

Govt extends time for accreditation of halal certification bodies till Apr

The government on Friday extended the time period for accreditation of halal certification bodies and registration of export units by six months till April 5, 2024. On April 6 this year, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) notified policy conditions for halal certification process for meat and meat products while directing the existing bodies to seek accreditation from National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) for i-CAS (Indian Conformity Assessment Scheme) Halal in six months. "Time period for accreditation of halal certification bodies and registration of export units have been extended by a period of six months i.e., up to April 5, 2024," the DGFT said in a notification. DGFT is an arm of the ministry which deals with exports and import-related issues. As per the guidelines, meat and its products are allowed to be exported as 'halal certified' only if they are produced, processed and packaged in a facility having a valid certificate issued by a bo

Change in rules for laptop, PC imports to boost manufacturing: GTRI

Tweaking of licensing rules by the commerce ministry's arm DGFT for imports of certain IT hardware products like laptop and computers will help boost domestic manufacturing, think tank GTRI said on Friday. Grant of exception to laptops and tablets assembled in special economic zones (SEZs) from import restrictions would make a significant shift in India's electronics manufacturing landscape, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. The government on Thursday tweaked the cumbersome licensing norms for import of these products and put in place an online authorisation system for importers. The new licensing or authorisation regime is primarily aimed at monitoring imports of these products to ensure that they are coming from trusted sources. These regulations are set to come into force on November 1 and are poised to reshape the industry until September 2024, it said. "Local suppliers now have two routes to procure laptops for the Indian market - they can buy laptops from firms .

IT hardware companies may be asked to register for imports in FY24: Report

This comes a month after the DGFT announced that the import of certain IT hardware products, including laptops, tablets, PCs, servers, etc., would fall under the restricted category

CHATROOM: DGFT should review circular on sale of IPA from SEZ to DTA

Section 4(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 says that no enterprise or group shall abuse its dominant position

Govt eases norms to avail benefits under advance authorisation scheme

The government on Monday simplified norms for exporters to avail benefits of an advance authorisation scheme under which free imports of input materials are allowed. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) implements this scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy. The eligibility of inputs is determined by sector-specific norms committees based on input-output norms. To make the norms fixation process more efficient, the DGFT said that it has created a user-friendly and searchable database of ad-hoc norms fixed in the previous years. These norms can be used by any exporter without approaching the norms committee, it added. The database is hosted on the DGFT website (https://dgft.gov.in) and allows users to search using export or import item descriptions, technical characteristics, or Indian tariff classification codes. "This trade facilitation measure simplifies the advance authorisation and norms fixation process, resulting in shorter turnaround times for exporters, improved

CHATROOM: 'DGFT should resolve contrary provisions in FTP, HBP quickly'

DGFT Policy Circular no. 11(RE-01)/2001-02 dated 1.10.2001 had clarified that the annual average exports should be maintained till the export obligation is completed

Govt's new foreign trade policy set to boost domestic manufacturing

Apart from that, under the policy, e-commerce as export hubs (ECEH) will be set up through private initiative or in public-private partnership (PPP) mode, in partnership with the states or the Centre

DGFT simplifies composition fee for export obligation extension

The previous formula for composition fee was convoluted and difficult to understand, which made the process more tedious and strenuous for exporters

'DGFT should align RoDTEP, Customs Tariff HSN Codes'

'The DGFT should also resolve the problem of exporters who have used the HSN Code as per Customs Tariff but have ticked the right box in the shipping bill to indicate their claim of RoDTEP benefits'

Import of 2 pets allowed as passenger baggage without DGFT authorisation

The government has allowed persons transferring their residence to India after two years of continuous stay abroad to bring up to two pets -- dogs or cats -- as passenger baggage without permission from the directorate general of foreign trade. This is part of the clarification issued by the commerce ministry for import of pet animals. "Import is allowed as passenger baggage, without DGFT authorisation, only to persons transferring their residence to India after two years of continuous stay abroad. Only cats and dogs can be imported under baggage rules," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a trade notice to all international airlines, all embassies and consulates of India abroad; and concerned pet owners. The notice was issued by the government following representations received for clarity on norms for import of pets. It also said that permission would be required for import of more than two pets. A person who has not stayed continuously for more than two year

Centre seeks info from embassy on Iran's bar on rice, tea imports

'As of now, there has been no confirmation from the authorities and the response from the embassy in Tehran is also taking time'

Centre allows export incentives for those settling trade in rupee

DGFT makes key amendments to foreign trade policy

Procedures of EPCG scheme now simplified

Under the EPCG scheme, exporters can import capital goods at zero duty against export obligation (EO) of six times the duty saved to be fulfilled in six years