Directorate General of Foreign Trade

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is the agency of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Government of India responsible for administering laws regarding foreign trade and foreign investment in India. DGFT provides a complete search-able database of all exporters and importers of India. The search can be completed only if full IEC (Importer Exporter Code) code and first three letters of company name are entered.

The Directorate General of foreign Trade (DGFT) is the agency of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Government of India, responsible for execution of the import and export Policies of India. It was earlier known as Chief Controller of Imports & Exports (CCI&E) till 1991. DGFT plays a very important role in the development of trading relations with various other nations and thus help in improving not only the economic growth but also provides a certain impetus needed in the trade industry. For promoting exports and imports DGFT establish its regional offices across the country.

Directorate General of Foreign Trade is an attached office of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It’s headquartered in Udyog Bhavan, New Delhi. Under its jurisdiction, there are four Zonal Offices at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai headed by Zonal Joint Director General of Foreign Trade. There are 35 Regional Authorities all over the country.

Functions of DGFT:

Some of the major functions of DGFT and its regional offices through out the country are as follows:

·       To implement the Exim Policy or Foreign Trade Policy of India by introducing various schemes and guidelines through its network of DGFT regional offices thought-out the country. DGFT perform its functions in coordination with state governments and all the other departments of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

·       To Grant Exporter Importer Code Number to Indian Exporter and Importers. IEC Number is a unique 10 digit code required by the traders or manufacturers for the purpose of import and export in India. DGFT  IEC Codes are mandatory for carrying out import export trade operations and enable companies to acquire benefits on their imports/exports, Indian customs, export promotion councils council etc., in India.

·        DGFT permits or regulate Transit of Goods from India or to countries adjacent to India in accordance with the bilateral treaties between India and other countries.

·        To promote trade with neighbouring countries.

·        To grant the permission of free export in Export Policy Schedule 2.

·        DGFT also play an important role in controlling DEPB Rates.

·        Setting standard input-output norms is also controlled by the DGFT.

·        Any changes or formulation or addition of new codes in ITC-HS Codes are also carried out by DGFT.

      Apart from the above, DGFT also acts as a trade facilitator. It also deals with quality complaints of the foreign buyers. Officials DGFT works in close co-ordination with other related economic offices like Customs Commissionerates, Central Excise authorities, DRI authorities and Enforcement Directorate.