The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), vide Notification No.58/2015-2020 dated 12 February 2021, has made certain amendments to the Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) related provisions under Chapter-1 and Chapter-2 of Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 (FTP).
The amended provisions are detailed below:
- Under para 1.11(a)- IEC is mandatory for export/import from/to India as detailed in paragraph 2.05 of this Policy. The DGFT issues Importer Exporter Code in electronic form (e-IEC). Application for issuance of e-IEC can be made directly on the DGFT web portal (https//www. dgft.gov.in).
- Under para 2.05(c) - Application process for IEC and updating IEC has been made completely online and compulsory. IEC can be generated by the applicant as per the procedure detailed in the Handbook of Procedures (HBP).
The following conditions are inserted:
- An IEC holder has to ensure that details in its IEC are updated electronically every year, during April-June. In cases where there are no changes in IEC details, it is also required to be confirmed online.
- An IEC shall be de-activated, if it is not updated within the prescribed time. An IEC so de-activated may be activated, on its successful updation. This would however be without prejudice to any other action taken for violation of any other provisions of the FTP.
- An IEC may be also be flagged for scrutiny. IEC holder(s) are required to ensure that any risks flagged by the system is timely addressed; failing which the IEC shall be deactivated.
[Notification no:58/2015-2020 dated 12 February 2021]