The import and export system of India is governed by the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act of 1992 (full text) and by the Indian Import and Export Policy (EXIM). Imports and exports of all products are free, except for items covered by the EXIM policy or any other applicable law. Registration with a regional licensing authority is one pre-requirement for the import and export of goods. The customs shall not permit the release of goods unless the importer has obtained one Import and Export Code (IEC) of the Regional Authority.
Import policy
The Harmonized System of Classification of Trade of India (ITC) classifies products into three
- Restricted
- Canalized
- Prohibited
Goods not specified in the above categories may be freely imported without restriction if the importer has obtained a valid IEC. It is not necessary to obtain an import permit or an authorization to import these goods. Most of the products can be imported freely in India.
The General Directorate of Foreign Trade began to operationalize the online presentation of the applications of Export Import Code (IEC), on-line processing and the issuance of e-IEC in digital format. From now on, new entrepreneurs/ exporters/importers can register online for the new CEI from the comfort of their home/computer kiosk without further visits to the regional office, download documents and pay the necessary fees through Net Banking.
Even the processing of these requests by DGFT regional authorities would be done online (no office bureaucracy, less storage space required and no missing documents) and digitally signed e-IEC / e-mailed to applicants within two business days.
If the application is incomplete or ineligible, it will be rejected and a rejection/email letter generated automatically (with the reasons gives rejection) will be sent to the candidate within two working days. There would no longer be “letters of disability” (greater discretion on the part of the responsible authorities and elimination of possible delays and corruption).
Efforts are being made to allow/allow the payment of fees through debit/credit cards, which would facilitate even more This one process. Once implemented, the online system would become mandatory. However, until the payment is activated with debit credit, offline/ manual/existing system was also authorized next to one of the others to facilitate net payment requests.
Efforts are also being made to exchange messages / integrate our system with the Income Tax Department and the Ministry of Public Affairs for the verification of PAN and DIN / CIN data, respectively. Once implemented, this would further reduce the processing time of e-IEC applications at the RA level (possibly only one day).
This is an important and innovative initiative of the Department of Commerce / DGFT in favor of India’s “India Digital” vision and the “Ease of Doing Business”.
Processing time: 14 working days
