The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has initiated targeted reforms to strengthen Norms Committees under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). These reforms aim to improve efficiency, transparency, and predictability under the Advance Authorisation Scheme. Detailed guidelines have been issued to ensure consistency in committee operations, including fixed meeting schedules and prioritization of long-pending cases.
Efforts have been made to enhance sectoral expertise by nominating additional technical officers to the Committees from Line Ministries. A special drive has been launched to expedite the processing of pending applications, with a focus on transparency and fairness. Capacity augmentation includes the nomination of ten additional technical members, increasing the total to 22, thereby improving the Committees’ efficiency in handling cases.
The reforms have shown positive results, with 1,770 out of 3,925 cases being disposed of in 38 meetings held between January 2026 and April 7, 2026. These measures align with the government’s aim to create a conducive trade environment, especially for MSMEs. The streamlined norms fixation process is expected to reduce costs, shorten authorization timelines, and boost India’s export competitiveness.
The DGFT oversees the Advance Authorisation (AA) Scheme and the Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) Scheme, facilitating duty-free import of inputs for export products. The functioning of Norms Committees, responsible for norms fixation and authorization issuance, had faced capacity constraints due to limited technical authorities. The Committees, consisting of experts from relevant Ministries, play a crucial role in trade facilitation and policy adherence.
