India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has set a March 31, 2027, deadline to digitize Directorate General of Foreign Trade services, with the change intended to end required office visits.
Goyal directed officials to put DGFT license and permit applications, approvals for Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET), and other services online by that date. The ministry also included historical information held by DGFT’s regional authorities in the digitization work. Its release did not list every service that will be covered.
For people using covered services, the ministry says office visits should no longer be expected from April 1, 2027. Goyal proposed that small counters be available to check original documents and support uploading when paper verification is needed. Separately, he suggested computers be installed at office entrances. He also called on officials to encourage self-certification and simplify procedures, formats and forms.
Goyal announced the deadline while virtually inaugurating Vanijya Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan in Jaipur. The ministry described Jaipur as the first city where the Commerce and Industry Ministry’s departments and affiliated offices share a site; it said the city is also the first state capital to adopt that arrangement. The ministry wants to extend the shared-office model, particularly to other state capitals, and make the centers service hubs for exporters, importers and investors.
The ministry said it has about 500 offices and 46 organizations. It said shared centers should help people access services across those organizations even when officials are not based at the same site. The ministry tied the initiative to simpler compliance, transparency and accountability. Very large campuses, including ECGC’s Mumbai office, are expected to continue operating independently. Goyal also asked departments to shorten processing times and use deemed approvals when possible.
The release gives no process for handling original-document checks under the no-visit expectation. DGFT services are due online by March 31, 2027, and the no-visit expectation starts April 1.
