Cross-border E-Commerce Export Framework

Until now, a foreign-funded platform couldn’t own goods and sell them in India. It still can’t — but now it can own them and export them.

MCQ Questions

IndEco0219

Cross-border E-Commerce Export Framework

India opens inventory-based FDI, but only for exports.

2

New registered roles: Exporter-on-Record and Seller-on-Record

DGFT

Issuing authority, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry

5 Aug

2026 — the framework’s operationalisation date

ANF 9A

The form used to register as an Exporter-on-Record

5 Yrs

Record-retention period, even after registration ends

No speculation allowed: an Exporter-on-Record can only stock goods against confirmed overseas orders. It cannot build up export inventory on a guess, and cannot sell that inventory inside India.

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Must Know

• India operationalised its inventory-based Cross-border E-Commerce Export Framework on 5 August 2026.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, issued it.
• It sits within the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 and its Handbook of Procedures.
• The framework creates two new registered roles: the Exporter-on-Record (EOR) and the Seller-on-Record (SOR).
• An EOR procures goods from Indian SORs, and exports them under its own name.
• The EOR handles customs clearance, regulatory compliance, and destination-country requirements.
• This follows an FDI policy change, DPIIT Press Note 3 (2026 Series). It permits inventory-based FDI, but only for exports.

Good to Know

• An EOR can only build export inventory against confirmed overseas orders. Speculative stockpiling is not allowed.
• Export inventory must stay separate from domestic stock, with digital record-keeping throughout.
• Returned or rejected goods cannot enter the Indian domestic market. They must be re-exported, returned to the supplier, or destroyed under the rules.
• Registration happens through the Aayaat Niryat Form (ANF) 9A.
• Registered entities must file annual compliance certificates, and retain records for 5 years, even after their registration ends.
• Sellers-on-Record are guaranteed timely payment, and a share of any export incentives their goods earn.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which authority issued India’s inventory-based Cross-border E-Commerce Export Framework?

Reserve Bank of India

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)

Securities and Exchange Board of India

NITI Aayog

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Great to Know

• Don’t confuse this with India’s marketplace e-commerce model. A marketplace platform never owns the goods it sells, and already gets 100% FDI under the automatic route.
• The inventory-based model is different. It has been barred for domestic sales since 2016 — this framework opens it up, but strictly for exports, not for selling inside India.
• The framework specifically targets manufacturers, artisans, and MSMEs. It aims to give them an organised export channel, not just large foreign platforms.

Current Affairs

• 5 August 2026: DGFT notified the framework, through Notification No. 27/2026-27 and Public Notice No. 25/2026-27. (Source: ANI)
• It follows the DPIIT’s FDI policy amendment, under Press Note 3 (2026 Series). (Source: India Briefing)
• The government’s stated aim is to give Indian manufacturers, artisans, and MSMEs a more organised route into cross-border e-commerce exports. (Source: India Briefing)