Foreign trade in India is promoted and facilitated by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI). The DGFT issues the authorisation to exporters and monitors their corresponding obligations through a network of 38 regional offices. The DGFT also implements the Foreign Trade Policy of India.
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) is the prime policy that lays down simple and transparent procedures which are easy to comply with and administer for efficient management of foreign trade in India. The Policy aims at enhancing the country’s trade for economic growth and employment generation. The Customs Tariff Act and the Central Excise Tariff Act are the other two important Acts that lay down how the Customs and Excise duties shall be levied on trade, respectively.
India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in FY 2022-23 exhibited a positive growth of 13.84% over FY 2021-22 to achieve $770.18 bn worth of exports. Merchandise exports have registered highest ever annual exports of $ 447.46 bn with 6.03% growth during FY 2022-23 surpassing the previous year record exports of $ 422 bn. Services export lead the overall exports growth and has set a new record annual value of $ 322.72 bn with growth rate at 26.79% during FY 2022-23 over FY 2021-22.
Under merchandise exports, 17 of the 30 key sectors exhibited positive growth during FY 2022-23 as compared to FY 2021-22. These include Oil Meals (55.13%), Electronic Goods (50.52%), Petroleum Products (40.1%), Tobacco (31.37%), Oil Seeds (20.13%), Rice (15.22%), Cereal Preparations & Miscellaneous Processed Items (14.61%), Coffee (12.29%), Fruits & Vegetables (11.19%), Other Cereals (9.74%), Tea (8.85%), Leather & Leather Products (8.47%), Ceramic Products & Glassware (7.83%), Marine Products (3.93%), Drugs & Pharmaceuticals (3.25%), Organic & Inorganic Chemicals (3.23%) and RMG of all Textiles (1.1%).
India’s overall exports in Feb 2024 stands at $73.55 Bn.
Information on all Customs procedures and regulatory compliances can be accessed for nearly 12,000 Customs Tariff Items.