Amendment in Para 2.05 relating to Importer-Exporter Code(IEC) of Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020

Circular No.ES/151/2018-19 August 10, 2018

To: Members of the Council

Sub: Amendment in Para 2.05 relating to Importer-Exporter Code(IEC) of Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020

Dear Member,

The Council would like to inform you that O/o DGFT has issued Notification No. 24/ 2015-2020 dated 8^th August, 2018 informing about the amendment in Para 2.05 relating to Importer-Exporter Code(IEC) under Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 which are given below.

As you are aware, an IEC is a 10-character alpha-numeric number allotted to a person that is mandatory for undertaking any export/import activities. With a view to maintain the unique identity of an entity (firm/company/LLP etc.), consequent upon introduction / implementation of GST, IEC will be equal to PAN and will be separately issued by DGFT based on an application.

Existing Paragraph 2.05	Revised Paragraph 2.05
(I)
Application for obtaining IEC may be filed online in ANF 2A with applicable fees and submitted with digital signature.
When an e-IEC is approved by the competent authority, applicant is informed through e-mail that a computer generated e-IEC is available on the DGFT website. By clicking on “Application Status” after having filled and submitted the requisite details in “Online IEC Application” webpage, applicant can view and print his e-IEC.
The applicant may submit online application with the following details /documents (scanned copies to be submitted/ uploaded) along with the IEC application:
(i) Digital photograph of the signatory applicant;
(ii) Copy of the PAN card of the business entity in whose name Import/Export would be done (Applicant individual in case of Proprietorship firms);
(iii) Cancelled cheque bearing entity’s pre-printed name or Bank certificate in prescribed format ANF-2A(I)
(d) For modification in IEC, applicants may submit online application through digital signature (Class-II or Class-III), by paying applicable fees and uploading requisite documents, corresponding to the changes sought.
(e) Detailed guidelines for applying for e-IEC is available at http://dgft.gov.in/exim/2000/iec ant/i ecanf.htm
(II) No Export/Import without IEC:
(i) No export or import shall be made by any person without obtaining an IEC number unless specifically exempted.	(a) No export or import shall be made by any person without obtaining an IEC number unless specifically exempted. For services exports, IEC shall be necessary as per the provisions in Chapter 3 only when the service provider is taking benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy.
(ii) Exempt categories and corresponding permanent IEC numbers are given in Para 2.07 of Handbook of Procedures.	(b) Exempt categories and corresponding permanent IEC numbers are given in Para 2.07 of Handbook of Procedures.
	(c) Application process for IEC is completely online and IEC can be generated by the applicant as per the procedure detailed in the Handbook of Procedure.