By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MAR 16, 2017: THE Government of India intends to set up an online fully integrated Single Window system for comprehensively providing all information and services to importers & exporters relating to the entire canvas of International Trade, inter-alia, involving all EXIM approvals/ clearances/ trade agreements for import and exports of goods, including those related to accessing benefits under export promotion and export incentive schemes, across regulatory / service provision agencies / entities including, but not confined to, Customs, Central Excise / GST, State VAT / GST, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of General Foreign Trade, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Animal / Plant Quarantine, Drug Controller, Wireless Planning & full Coordination Division, approval agencies for Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) / licensed / restricted / prohibited goods, Seaports, Airports, Inland Container Depots (ICDs)/ Container Freight Stations (CFSs), Carriers, Agents, Banks, Reserve Bank of India, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) etc.

The proposed single window project would allow importers and exporters the facility to lodge their applications / clearance documents and obtain all necessary approvals / benefits electronically at a single point only in a digital paperless mode without any requirement of physical submission. Required permissions, if any, including port/ shipping carrier from other regulatory agencies would be obtained online without the trader having to approach these agencies. This would eliminate multiple interface with Government agencies, dwell time, track goods/ delivery from door to door and the cost of doing business.

In this regard, DIPP intends to on-board a reputed consulting agency to carry out a detailed study of different functionalities currently provided under the foreign trade umbrella across departments and identify gaps in integration that are found desirable to bridge and recommend specific actionable steps for achieving the proposed integration under single portal through suitable transformation / migration / upgradation, without disrupting the activity levels happening or which is in pipeline under each system, also utilizing the existing IT assets across departments. The recommended optimal integration option and associated migration / upgradation path shall be based on an examination of the pros and cons for India of different models of global best practice in vogue across the world. In this regard, the agency shall study at least three countries with similar scenario as compared to India in terms of rules & regulations and examine their faster approval mechanism.