What happened: DGFT automated issuance of Free Sale and Commerce Certificates on the DGFT portal

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) enabled automated issuance of Free Sale and Commerce Certificates (FSC) on the DGFT portal. DGFT issued FSCs to exporters under the Foreign Trade Policy for items which are not covered under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Under the new system, eligible applications are considered for automatic issuance according to the prevailing framework. Eligible applications are not routed for manual scrutiny in the first step. DGFT also states that the automated mechanism is expected to reduce processing time for a significant category of FSC applications and lower the compliance burden linked to the earlier manual process.

DGFT’s automated process is not universal. Applications requiring verification, or applications that do not meet automated processing parameters, continue to be routed to the relevant DGFT Regional Authority for manual processing. DGFT also indicates that some auto-approved applications may later be flagged for review by the concerned Regional Authority using the system’s risk management parameters.

Background and earlier position: FSCs previously required Regional Authority scrutiny

Before the automation, FSCs were issued by DGFT Regional Authorities (RAs). DGFT states that Regional Authorities processed applications after scrutiny and verification.

Related current affairs