DGFT Automates Free Sale and Commerce Certificates to Speed Up Export Clearances

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has introduced automated issuance of Free Sale and Commerce Certificates, reducing manual processing for eligible exporters and further digitising India’s foreign-trade administration.

The new mechanism has been enabled on the DGFT portal as part of the government’s broader Ease of Doing Business programme. Free Sale and Commerce Certificates are issued under the Foreign Trade Policy for products that are not covered under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. Until now, applications were generally processed by DGFT’s Regional Authorities after scrutiny and verification.

Under the revised system, applications that meet the prescribed eligibility conditions can now be approved and issued automatically without being routed for routine manual scrutiny. The change is expected to reduce processing time and make certificate issuance more predictable for exporters.

The government has retained safeguards within the automated framework. Applications requiring additional verification or those that do not meet automatic-processing parameters will continue to be examined by the concerned Regional Authority. Some automatically approved applications may also be flagged later for review under DGFT’s risk-management system.

Free Sale and Commerce Certificates can be important for exporters because overseas regulators, buyers or importing authorities may require documentary confirmation that a product is freely sold or commercially available in its home market. Faster issuance can therefore help reduce administrative delays in overseas market access.

The reform reflects DGFT’s continuing shift towards rule-based digital processing and risk-based scrutiny, allowing routine compliant applications to move faster while preserving regulatory oversight where necessary.

For Indian exporters, particularly MSMEs handling multiple documentation requirements, the automated system could reduce avoidable interaction with authorities and shorten the time required to obtain certificates needed for international trade.

The initiative was formally announced by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on September 1, 2026, and forms part of the government’s wider effort to simplify export procedures and improve the efficiency of India’s trade facilitation ecosystem.