The regulatory framework to enable the setting up and functioning of e-commerce export hubs will be ready by September, commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Tuesday.
“A meeting was held with different departments concerned like revenue to discuss the framework. Even the industry representatives from areas like logistics and marketplace platforms participated in the meeting,” Barthwal said on the sidelines of an Indian Institute Foreign Trade event.
The framework is part of the 100-day agenda of the department and some more meetings will be held before its details are finalised. Through these hubs, small producers will be facilitated to sell to aggregators and who will then find markets and sell to consumers or other businesses outside India, he said.
The policy will have a framework for e-commerce export hubs and regulatory ecosystem. These hubs will come up near airports and ports. The hubs would be set up by the industry and would not involve any financial commitment from the government. Products that hold huge potential for e-commerce export include jewellery, apparel, handicrafts and ODOP (one district one product). “The industry is not seeking any financial assistance and they just need a good regulatory ecosystem like taxation and how returned goods will be treated. They should not be treated as imports,” Barthwal said.
The essentials for the boost to e-commerce exports include increasing the value cap per consignment, making rules for receiving payments less cumbersome and allowing for re-import of returns without the payment of duties. The foreign trade policy increased the value limit on consignment sent through courier to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 5 lakh.
E-commerce exports require flexibility on payments for shipments as selling prices fluctuates in this medium. The draft of Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2024, released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also proposes flexibility on payments received for exports. If implemented it will also facilitate e-commerce exports.
As per estimates, e-commerce exports potential is in the range of $200-300 billion by 2030. Global e-commerce exports are expected to touch $2 trillion in 2030 from $800 billion now.
India’s exports through this medium is only about $ 5 billion as compared to China’s $300 billion annually. There is a potential to take it to $50-100 billion in the coming years, Barthwal said.
