The Directorate General of Foreign Trade on 28th September 2021 has extended the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) by six months till March 31, 2022. The present Policy which came into force on 1st April, 2015, is for 5 years and has validity upto 31st March, 2020. In view of the unprecedented current situation arising out of the pandemic Novel COVID-19, the Govt. has decided to continue relief under various export promotion schemes by granting extension of the existing Foreign Trade Policy by another one year i.e. up to 31st March, 2021, and was further extended till 30th September 2021.
The Foreign Trade Policy provides guidelines pertaining to imports and exports in India and offers incentives under various import-linked export schemes such as duty-free import authorization and export promotion capital goods.
The Policy aims to enable India to respond to the challenges of the external environment, keeping in step with a rapidly evolving international trading architecture and make trade a major contributor to the country’s economic growth and development.
FTP 2015-20 introduces two new schemes, namely ‘Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)’ for export of specified goods to specified markets and ‘Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)’ for increasing exports of notified services.
