In a significant Ease of Doing Business measure for exporters, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has removed the requirement of submitting physical duty payment challans while applying for Export Obligation Discharge Certificates (EODC) under the Advance Authorisation (AA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Schemes. Licence-wise voluntary duty payment data received from Customs/ICEGATE has been integrated with DGFT’s online systems, enabling authenticated verification of such payments directly against the concerned authorisation.
For voluntary duty payments made on or after 1 August 2026, exporters will no longer be required to submit physical challans along with their applications for closure of authorisations. Authenticated payment details will be made available to exporters on the DGFT Customer Portal, enabling them to verify that the payment has been correctly mapped to the concerned authorisation before filing the application.
The same authenticated payment record will be available to the Regional Authorities on the DGFT Back Office, eliminating the need for manual verification of payment particulars. This is expected to facilitate faster processing, reduce avoidable correspondence and bring greater consistency in decision-making across DGFT Regional Authorities.
The digital facility has been implemented through an API-based data exchange between DGFT and ICEGATE, under which duty payment particulars are transmitted electronically from Customs systems to DGFT’s EODC processing workflow. The replacement of manual submission and verification with authenticated digital records is expected to shorten processing timelines, improve data accuracy, minimise human intervention and enhance transparency in the closure process.
The measure is also expected to reduce transaction costs and compliance burden for exporters by reducing documentation, follow-up and physical interface, particularly benefiting MSME exporters handling closure formalities in-house. Trade Notice No. 15/2026-27 dated 5 August 2026 has been issued by DGFT for information of exporters and other stakeholders.
The initiative is part of the Government’s broader digital transformation agenda for trade facilitation, aimed at creating a more efficient, predictable and trust-based regulatory environment. By strengthening integration between trade-related digital systems and reducing reliance on physical documentation, the measure reinforces the vision of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” and enables exporters to focus on trade and growth.
The Advance Authorisation Scheme permits duty-free import of inputs that are physically incorporated in the export product, while the EPCG Scheme permits import of capital goods at concessional or zero customs duty, in both cases against an export obligation. Where the export obligation is not fulfilled in full, the authorisation holder regularises the case by voluntarily paying the proportionate customs duty saved along with applicable interest and thereafter applies for an EODC to close the authorisation. Earlier, proof of such payment was required to be submitted in physical form and verified manually by the Regional Authority.
