The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has introduced process reforms to reduce delays in approvals under the Advance Authorisation (AA) and Duty-Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) schemes.
Under these schemes, exporters can import inputs duty-free based on predefined Standard Input Output Norms (SION). However, products without standard norms require case-by-case approval from Norms Committees, which had become a bottleneck due to limited technical capacity and irregular scheduling.
To address this, the government has expanded the pool of technical experts from 12 to 22 members and introduced a fixed fortnightly meeting schedule. A Special Disposal Drive has also been initiated to clear pending applications in chronological order.
Between January and April 2026, the committees conducted 38 meetings, processing nearly 4,000 cases, of which 1,770 were finalised. The reforms aim to reduce approval timelines, improve predictability, and lower compliance costs, particularly for MSME exporters.
Key Reform Measures
Expert Capacity Expansion: Added 10 new technical members, bringing the total to 22, to ensure faster review of sector-specific applications.
Fixed Schedules: Meetings are now institutionalised on a fixed fortnightly cycle to prevent delays.
Chronological Fairness: Cases are taken up in the order they were filed to ensure transparency and prevent "skipping".
Standardisation of Norms: Frequently recurring individual cases are being converted into Standard Input-Output Norms (SION) to stop repetitive paperwork.
Active Monitoring: New systems track the age of each pending case to prioritise those that have been waiting the longest.
Special Disposal Drive: A focused effort has already cleared 1,770 cases in just over three months.
What are "Input-Output Norms" (SION)?
Standard Input-Output Norms (SION) are essentially a "recipe" book maintained by the DGFT that lists exactly how much raw material is needed to make a specific export product. For example, it might state that to export 1,000 cotton shirts, you are allowed to import a certain amount of fabric and buttons duty-free.
If a product isn't in this "recipe book," an exporter must ask a Norms Committee to approve their specific formula. These committees are made up of technical experts who make sure the amount of duty-free material being imported is actually used for the export and not diverted elsewhere.
Policy Relevance
Reduces Costs for Exporters: Faster approvals mean exporters spend less time waiting and less money on administrative overhead, making Indian goods more price-competitive globally.
Boosts Predictability: A fixed meeting cycle allows businesses to plan their production and shipping schedules with more confidence.
Direct Help for MSMEs: Smaller businesses often lack the resources to handle long delays; streamlined norms help them access duty-free benefits as easily as large corporations.
Modernises Governance: Moving from a "manual" approach with limited experts to a staff-heavy, data-monitored system reflects a shift toward more professionalized trade management.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: With the number of technical experts nearly doubled, how will the DGFT ensure that these committees also use AI-driven benchmarking to automatically approve 'recurring cases,' further reducing the manual workload for the 22 new members?
Follow the Full News Here: Reforms to Strengthen Norms Committees under DGFT