Directorate General of Foreign Trade

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 the 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

Q1) What is Goods and Services Tax (GST)?

 It is an indirect tax (not directly paid by customers to the government), that came into effect from 1 July 2017 through the implementation of the 101st Amendment to the Constitution of India by the Indian government. It has actually replaced various indirect taxes such as - service taxes, VAT, excise and others in the country.It is levied on the manufacturer or seller of goods and the providers of services.

Source: After industry flags concerns, DGFT steps in with exemptions on quality control orders