The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has extended its special drive for expedited issuance of Export Obligation Discharge Certificates (EODCs) under Advance Authorisation (AA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) schemes until May 31, 2026. Initially conducted from March 1 to March 31, 2026, the drive resulted in issuance of 11,791 EODCs, significantly reducing pendency. The extension aims to further clear older and deficient applications, particularly those delayed due to incomplete documentation or lack of responses from authorisation holders. Trade participants are encouraged to review pending cases, submit required documents promptly, and engage with Regional Authorities for resolution. The initiative is expected to ease compliance burdens, enable timely closure of authorisations, and facilitate customs-related actions such as bond redemption and release of bank guarantees. Authorities will prioritize age-wise clearance of applications to ensure efficient and time-bound disposal of pending cases.
Government of India
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Department of Commerce
Directorate General of Foreign Trade
Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi
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Trade Notice No. 34/2026-27-DGFT | Dated: April 1, 2026
To,
- Members of Trade and Industry
- Export Promotion Councils / Commodity Boards
- Regional Authorities of DGFT
- Authorisation Holders under AA and EPCG Schemes
Subject: Special drive for expeditious issuance of EODCs under Advance Authorisation (AA) and EPCG Schemes – extension up to May 31, 2026 -regarding.
Attention of trade and industry is invited to the special drive undertaken by DGFT during the period March 01, 2026 to March 31, 2026 for expeditious disposal of pending cases relating to issuance of Export Obligation Discharge Certificates (EODCs) under the Advance Authorisation (AA) and Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Schemes.
2. During the said special drive, DGFT Regional Authorities issued a total of 11,791 EODCs (till March 28, 2026), comprising:
- 7,518 EODCs under Advance Authorisation, and
- 4,273 EODCs under EPCG Scheme.
This has resulted in substantial reduction in the regular pendency of EODC applications.
3. In order to build upon the gains achieved during the month of March 2026, it has been decided to extend the special drive for a further period from April 01, 2026 to May 31, 2026.
4. The extended drive shall place special emphasis on disposal of:
- older pending EODC applications;
- deficient applications pending for long durations; and
- cases where closure has been delayed for want of timely submission of complete documents / clarification by the authorisation holder.
5. Trade and authorisation holders are advised to make full use of this extended opportunity and extend timely cooperation to the concerned Regional Authorities by:
- reviewing the status of their pending EODC applications;
- promptly furnishing pending documents / clarifications, wherever required;
- responding to deficiency communications within the prescribed timelines; and,
- approaching the concerned RA during facilitation interactions / Jan Sunwai, wherever organised for resolution of old cases.
6. It is expected that the extended drive would facilitate time-bound closure of old AA/EPCG authorisations and help in reducing compliance burden on exporters. It is further expected that issuance of EODCs would also enable consequential action at the Customs end relating to redemption of Bonds and release of Bank Guarantees, wherever applicable.
7. Regional Authorities have been advised to adopt an age-wise pendency clearance strategy and to prioritise older cases during the extended drive.
8. Difficulties, if any, in implementation of this Trade Notice may be brought to the notice of the concerned Regional Authority or to DGFT Headquarters.
(Raman Kumar )
Joint Director General of Foreign Trade
E-mail:ramankumar@nic.in
(Issued from File No.18/47/AM-26/P-5 /EPCG/EODC/2026)
