What Happened
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has undertaken reforms to strengthen Norms Committees (NCs) under the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to speed up disposal of Advance Authorisation applications
- Ten additional technical members have been nominated from various ministries, increasing the total number of Technical Authorities from 12 to 22 on Norms Committees
- Meetings have been fixed on a fortnightly basis with time-bound finalisation of minutes; long-pending cases are being prioritised
- Between January 2026 and April 7, 2026, 38 NC meetings were held — processing 3,925 cases and disposing of 1,770 cases
- The reforms aim to reduce transaction costs, shorten authorisation timelines, and improve India's export competitiveness under the ease of doing business agenda
Static Topic Bridges
Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) — Role and Functions
DGFT is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is the principal government body responsible for formulating and implementing India's Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) and regulating all imports and exports. DGFT administers export promotion schemes, issues trade licences, and sets norms for permitted inputs in export production.
- DGFT established under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (FTDR Act)
- The FTDR Act replaced the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1947 — reflecting the shift from import licensing to trade facilitation
- DGFT issues Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), a mandatory 10-digit identification number for all importers and exporters
- Foreign Trade Policy: issued every 5 years; current policy is FTP 2023 (released April 1, 2023, replacing FTP 2015-20)
- DGFT operates 24 Regional Authorities (RAs) across India for on-ground implementation
Connection to this news: The Norms Committees are a key DGFT mechanism under the Advance Authorisation Scheme. Reforms to NC functioning directly improve DGFT's service delivery efficiency to exporters.
Advance Authorisation (AA) Scheme and Norms Committees
The Advance Authorisation Scheme allows duty-free import of inputs that are physically incorporated into an export product. Before availing the scheme, exporters must establish the Standard Input-Output Norms (SIONs) — the ratio of inputs to outputs for their specific product. Norms Committees determine these SIONs when they are not already available in the DGFT SION database.
- AA Scheme: governed by Chapter 4 of FTP 2023; allows duty-free import of inputs (including fuel, oil, packing material, catalysts) for export production
- Standard Input Output Norms (SION): pre-fixed norms available in DGFT database for common export products; when unavailable, exporters apply for "ad-hoc norms fixation" via Norms Committees
- Export obligation under AA: must be fulfilled within 18 months of licence issuance (extendable)
- Norms Committee composition: technical members from sectoral ministries (Chemicals, Textiles, Food Processing, Defence, etc.) — hence the relevance of adding 10 more from diverse ministries
- DGFT launched faceless/automated norms fixation for common products (2023); NC intervention only needed for complex/new products
Connection to this news: The backlog in Norms Committee processing creates delays for exporters needing to import inputs duty-free. By doubling technical authority membership (12 to 22) and fixing fortnightly meetings, the government aims to clear the pending 2,155 cases (3,925 taken up minus 1,770 disposed) faster.
Ease of Doing Business and Export Competitiveness
India's export competitiveness is closely tied to the cost and time of regulatory compliance. High transaction costs — including delays in obtaining export licences, norms fixation, and certificates — add to the cost of production for exporters, reducing their competitiveness against rival export nations like Vietnam, Bangladesh, and China.
- India's rank in World Bank Ease of Doing Business (before index discontinued in 2021): 63rd (2020) — up from 142nd in 2014
- India's merchandise exports: ~$437 billion in FY24; target of $1 trillion by 2030 (NITI Aayog goal)
- The AA scheme is part of a suite of export promotion schemes (also includes EPCG, RoDTEP, MEIS successor) under FTP 2023
- RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products): introduced in 2021 to replace MEIS; provides duty remission on taxes embedded in export product costs not captured by other schemes
- DGFT Turnaround Time (TAT) for AA applications: targeted at 3 working days for auto-processed cases; NC-involved cases typically took 60–180 days before these reforms
Connection to this news: Faster Norms Committee disposal directly reduces the TAT for Advance Authorisation, lowering compliance costs for Indian exporters and improving their ability to quote competitive prices in global markets.
Key Facts & Data
- Technical Authorities on Norms Committees: increased from 12 to 22 (10 new nominations)
- NC meetings (Jan–Apr 7, 2026): 38 meetings held; 3,925 cases taken up; 1,770 disposed
- NC meeting frequency: now fixed fortnightly (vs earlier ad hoc scheduling)
- DGFT established under: Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992
- FTP 2023: current policy, released April 1, 2023
- Advance Authorisation export obligation period: 18 months (extendable)
- India's merchandise export target: $1 trillion by 2030
- IEC (Importer-Exporter Code): mandatory 10-digit identifier for all importers/exporters, issued by DGFT