The Status Holder certification programme gives Indian exporters legitimacy in foreign markets
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, today unveiled a significant initiative to issue system-based automatic “Status Holder” certificates under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 during a meeting with the Export Promotion Councils, as reported by PIB. Exporters will no longer need to submit an application to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) office for a Status Certificate; instead, the export recognition will be provided by the IT system based on electronic data on available merchandise exports from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS).
This viewpoint represents a paradigm shift in how things are done since it not only lessens the burden of compliance and encourages ease of doing business, but it also acknowledges the necessity and value of collaboration within the government. Currently, in order to be granted Status, the exporter must submit an online application along with an export certificate from a Chartered Accountant. According to the established timelines, the certificate must be issued by the DGFT Regional Offices within 3 days. The new arrangement will result in a more straightforward system where exporters are not required to submit applications and certification is given each August based on annual export data that is accessible from the partner government agency, DGCIS.
Exporters who are eligible for a higher status based on additional export data on services export, deemed exports, or double weightage to some entities like MSME, etc., which is not currently being captured in disaggregated form, can also apply online for a Status modification at a later time.
The Status Holder certification programme gives Indian exporters legitimacy in foreign markets. It also offers a few other benefits, such as exemptions from the requirement to negotiate papers through banks, priority custom clearances on a self-declaration basis, streamlined FTP 2023 procedures, and the requirement to file a bank guarantee for FTP schemes.
The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry will be recognising about 20,000 exporters under FTP 2023 as Status Holders after the implementation of this new system, a significant increase from the previous figure of 12,518 exporters. The lowest category, 1 Star, which requires an export performance of at least US$ 3 Million over the prior three fiscal years plus the first three months of the current fiscal year, has experienced the largest growth in Status certification. By doing so, the government will be able to support more small exporting businesses, develop a thriving export ecosystem, and contribute to the achievement of our US$ 2 trillion export goal by 2030.
Source – PIB
