About Directorate General of Foreign Trade:
- It is a government organization in India responsible for the formulation of exim guidelines and principles for Indian importers and Indian exporters of the country.
- Before 1991, DGFT was known as the Chief Controller of Imports & Exports (CCI&E). It is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is headed by Director General of Foreign Trade.
- It has been assigned the role of "facilitator". It is responsible for implementing the Foreign Trade Policy or Exim Policy with the main objective of promoting Indian exports.
- The DGFT also issues scrips/authorization to exporters and monitors their corresponding obligations through a network of 24 regional offices.
- Functions:
- To implement the Exim Policy or Foreign Trade Policy of India by introducing various schemes and guidelines through its network of dgft regional offices thought-out the country.
- To Grant Exporter Importer Code Number to Indian Exporter and Importers. IEC Number is a unique 10 digit code required by the traders or manufacturers for the purpose of import and export in India.
- It permits or regulate Transit of Goods from India or to countries adjacent to India in accordance with the bilateral treaties between India and other countries.
- To promote trade with neighboring countries.
- To grant the permission of free export in Export Policy Schedule 2.
- Setting standard input-output norms is also controlled by the DGFT.
- Headquarter: New Delhi
