新しい外国貿易政策2023について知っておくべきすべてのこと

Foreign Trade policies are the set of guidelines and instructions issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in matters related to import and export in India. Foreign Trade Policies are framed for a block of 5 years and it is updated every year on 31st March considered the needs of industry. 

Till now, Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 was applicable and after 8 years the government has announced a new Foreign Trade Policy 2023 (FTP 2023) on 31st March, 2023 which is applicable from 1st April, 2023.

The FTP 2023 is based on following 4 pillars:

1. Incentive to Remission; 
2. Export promotion through collaboration - Exporters, States, Districts, Indian Missions;
3. Ease of doing business, reduction in transaction cost and e-initiatives and 
4. Emerging Areas – E-Commerce Developing Districts as Export Hubs and streamlining SCOMET policy.

The FTP 2023 aims at process re-engineering and automation to facilitate ease of doing business for exporters. It also focuses on emerging areas like dual use high end technology items under SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies), facilitating e-commerce export, collaborating with States and Districts for export promotion.

Key features of FTP 2023 is as follows:

1. IT Automated Export Benefits

• FTP 2023 is more focused on automated IT system with risk management systems for various approvals for exporters.
• Various current schemes such as Advance Authorisation, EPCG etc. will continue under FTP 2023. However, same will be continued alongwith substantial process re-enginnering.
• IT enabled incentives will be provided to the exporters.
• FTP 2023 will implement every process in an online and paperless environment. Reduction in fee structures and IT-based schemes will make it easier for MSMEs and others to access export benefits.
• Duty exemption schemes for export production will now be implemented through Regional Offices in a complete IT based environment. There will be no need of manual interface. 
• During FY 23-24, all processes under the Advance and EPCG Schemes, including issue, re-validation, and EO extension, will be covered in a phased manner. 
• Only cases identified under risk management framework will be scrutinized manually. Whereas majority of the applicants are expected to be covered under the 'automatic' route initially
• IT Automation shall reduce the processing time and will allow immediate approval of application under automatic route by following timelines:

2. More areas are added in Town of export excellences

• Town of Export Excellence was a concept introduced under FTP 2015-2020 wherein towns exporting a certain value in a specific sector are given status of “Town of Export Excellences” (TEE).
• The entities located in TEEs will have priority access to export promotion funds under the MAI scheme. They will be able to avail Common Service Provider (CSP) benefits for export fulfillment under the EPCG Scheme.
• So far 39 towns have been recognized as TEE under FTP 2015-2020.
• FTP 2023 has proposed to add 4 new towns namely Faridabad, Mirzapur, Moradabad, and Varanasi into the list of TEE. Therefore, entities located in these areas will have additional benefits

3. Development of Districts as Export Hubs

• There are many districts which have their own local talent and potential products which can be exported out of India.
• Therefore, the Government is planning to work on making such districts as export hub by addressing bottlenecks for exporting these goods and services, supporting local exporters/ manufacturers to scale and find potential buyers outside India with the aim of promoting exports, manufacturing & services industry in the District.
• The FTP aims at building partnerships with State governments and developing Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative to promote exports at the district level and accelerate the development of grassroots trade ecosystem. 
• Efforts to identify export worthy products & services and resolve concerns at the district level will be made through following institutional mechanism:
  • State Export Promotion Committee and 
  • District Export Promotion Committee at the State and District level, respectively.

• District specific export action plans to be prepared for each district outlining the district specific strategy to promote export of identified products and services.

4. E-commerce export promotion

• Export through e-commerce platform has increased substantially over last years. According to various estimates, e-commerce export potential in the range of $200 to $300 billion by 2030.
• To provide a boost to e-commerce export, All FTP benefits have been extended to e-commerce exports.
• FTP 2023 outlines the intent and roadmap for establishing e-commerce hubs and related elements such as payment reconciliation, book-keeping, returns policy, and export entitlements. 
• The objective is to establish designated areas as E-Commerce Export Hubs (hereafter called “ECEH”), which would act as a center for favourable business infrastructure and facilities for Cross Border E-Commerce activities.
• To begin with, the consignment wise cap on E-Commerce exports through courier has been raised from ₹5 Lakh to ₹10 Lakh in the FTP 2023. Depending on the feedback of exporters, this cap will be further revised or eventually removed.
• As of now, details of shipping bills for consignments exported through courier are not available on ICEGATE. Integration of Courier and Postal exports with ICEGATE will enable exporters to claim benefits under FTP. 
• Further, The comprehensive e-commerce policy addressing the export/import ecosystem would be elaborated soon, based on the recommendations of the working committee on e-commerce exports and inter-ministerial deliberations.
• Extensive outreach and training activities will be taken up to build capacity of artisans, weavers, garment manufacturers, gems and jewellery designers to onboard them on E-Commerce platforms and facilitate higher exports.

5. Export Promotion of Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme

• EPCG Scheme allows import of capital goods to be used for pre-production, production or post production of export material at zero custom duty. FTP 2023 has further rationalised EPCG Scheme. 
• Some key changes are as follows:
  • Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) scheme has been added as an additional scheme eligible to claim benefits under CSP(Common Service Provider) Scheme of Export Promotion capital Goods Scheme(EPCG).
  • Dairy sector to be exempted from maintaining Average Export Obligation – to support dairy sector to upgrade the technology.
  • Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) of all types, Vertical Farming equipment, Wastewater Treatment and Recycling, Rainwater harvesting system and Rainwater Filters, and Green Hydrogen are added to Green Technology products – will now be eligible for reduced Export Obligation requirement under EPCG Scheme

6. Status Holders

• Exporters are given status of one star house to five star house based on export performance threshold.
• The objective behind certifying certain exporter firms as “Status Holder” is to recognize such exporter firms as business leaders who have excelled in international trade and have successfully contributed to country’s foreign trade. 
• Status Holders are expected to not only contribute towards India’s exports but also provide guidance and handholding to new entrepreneurs
• Under FTP 2023, Exporter firms recognized with 'status' based on export performance will now be partners in capacity-building initiatives on a best-endeavor basis. 
• Similar to the 'each one teach one' initiative, 2-star and above status holders would be encouraged to provide trade-related training based on a model curriculum to interested individuals.
• This Initiative will help India build a skilled manpower pool capable of servicing a $5 Trillion economy before 2030. 
• Further, Status recognition norms have been re-calibrated to enable more exporting firms to achieve 4 and 5-star ratings, leading to better branding opportunities in export markets.

7. Advance Authorised Scheme

• アドバンス・オーソライゼーション（事前承認）制度では、輸出製品に物理的に組み込まれる投入物の免税輸入が認められています。
• 投入物の組み込みは、通常の廃棄分を考慮した上で許可されます。
• さらに、輸出製品の製造過程で消費・利用される燃料、オイル、触媒についても認められる場合があります。
• 産業界や輸出振興協議会との対話に基づき、現行の貿易政策（FTP）には以下のような促進規定が追加されました。
  • 特別アドバンス・オーソライゼーション制度がアパレル・衣料品セクターの輸出にも拡大されました。承認は自己申告に基づいて発行される場合もあります。その際、アドホック基準は90日以内の所定期間内に設定されます。
  • 投入・産出基準（SION）を固定するための自己認証制度の特典が、現在の認定経済事業者（AEO）に加え、2つ星以上のステータス保有者にも拡大されました。
  • 自己認証とは、輸出製品に対するSIONや有効なアドホック基準が存在しない場合、あるいはSIONが通知されていても輸出者が製造過程で追加の投入物を使用する意図がある場合に、適格な輸出者が自己申告および自己認証に基づき、本制度の下でアドバンス・オーソライゼーションを申請できる仕組みです。

8. マーチャント・トレーディング（仲介貿易）

• インドにおけるマーチャント・トレーディングのハブを構築するため、FTP 2023では仲介貿易に関する規定が導入されました。これにより、輸出政策の下で制限・禁止されていた品目の仲介貿易が可能となります。
• インドの港を経由せず、ある外国から別の外国へ商品を輸送する仲介貿易において、インドの仲介業者が関与する場合、CITESおよびSCOMETリストに記載された品目を除き、RBI（インド準備銀行）のガイドラインを遵守することを条件に許可されます。

9. 特赦制度

• 税務紛争の円満解決を目指した「Vivaad se Vishwaas（紛争から信頼へ）」イニシアチブに沿い、政府は輸出義務の不履行に対処するため、FTP 2023の下で一度限りの特別特赦制度を導入します。
• その目的は、EPCG（輸出促進資本財）およびアドバンス・オーソライゼーションの下での義務を果たせず、未解決の案件に伴う高額な関税や利息の負担に苦しむ輸出者を救済することです。
• 不履行となっているすべての未解決案件は、未履行の輸出義務に比例して免除されていたすべての関税を支払うことで正常化できます。
• 本制度の下で支払うべき利息は、これらの免除関税額の100%を上限とします。
• さらに、追加関税および特別追加関税分については利息が免除されるため、利息負担が大幅に軽減され、輸出者の救済につながると期待されます。