Regulatory framework to promote exports via e-com likely in September: Comm secy | News

A regulatory framework to enable the country’s exports through e-commerce is expected to be ready by September, a top government official said on Tuesday.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that currently, India’s exports through this mode are worth only about $5 billion, while China’s exports amount to $300 billion annually.

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He said there is huge potential to increase these exports. In this regard, the ministry held a meeting with concerned departments such as revenue and industry representatives from areas such as logistics and marketplaces on Tuesday.

“We are working on setting up e-commerce export hubs in the country. We have discussed the framework for it. It is in our 100-day programme,” Barthwal told reporters here.

When asked about the timeline for preparing the framework, he replied in September.

There is the potential to increase this value to $50-100 billion in the coming years.

Thanks to these centres, small producers will be able to sell energy to aggregators, who will then find markets and sell it.

“It will be a framework for e-commerce export hubs and a regulatory ecosystem. These hubs will be built near airports and ports,” he said.

Export products with high potential include jewellery, clothing, handicrafts and ODOP (One District, One Product) goods.

He added that the industry is not looking for any financial support, but only needs a good regulatory ecosystem, including on taxation and how to treat returned goods.

The DGFT division of the Ministry of Commerce is working with the RBI and relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, to undertake several activities to promote exports through e-commerce as this sector offers huge export opportunities.

These centers can facilitate export clearance. They may also have storage facilities, customs clearance, returns processing, labeling, testing, and repacking.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations Director General Ajay Sahai had earlier said that it would be a duty-free zone of sorts, which would facilitate the export and import of e-commerce goods and to a large extent solve the problem of re-import as around 25 per cent of e-commerce goods are re-imported.

Last year, cross-border e-commerce was worth around $800 billion and is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2030.

A report by economic think tank GTRI suggests that India’s e-commerce exports could reach $350 billion by 2030, but banking problems are hampering growth and increasing operating costs.

India has set a target of achieving $1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030, and cross-border e-commerce has been identified as one of the tools to achieve this goal.