Summary: Notification No. 05/2026–Central Tax (Rate), dated 27 October 2026, amends the definition of “Nominated Agency” under Notification No. 26/2018–Central Tax (Rate), effective 1 November 2026. The amendment concerns the CGST exemption available on specified intra-State supplies of gold, silver and platinum by nominated agencies to registered exporters under the Foreign Trade Policy framework. Previously, the GST definition identified nominated agencies by referring to lists contained in Customs notifications. The revised definition instead refers directly to entities specified in Appendix 4B of the Handbook of Procedures, as amended by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade from time to time. This aligns the GST exemption with the DGFT’s maintained list of approved agencies and avoids the need for corresponding GST amendments whenever that list changes. The substantive exemption conditions remain unchanged. Exporters must comply with the applicable Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures, export jewellery manufactured from the supplied metal within 90 days and provide the prescribed export documents within 120 days. If export evidence is not furnished within the stipulated period, the nominated agency is liable to pay the applicable CGST with interest on the quantity not exported. Exporters and supplying agencies should therefore verify Appendix 4B eligibility and maintain transaction-wise records of export deadlines and supporting documents.
Notification 05/2026 Central Tax (Rate): New Meaning of Nominated Agency for Gold Supplied to Exporters
A small notification with a clear purpose
Notification No. 05/2026 Central Tax (Rate) dated 27 October 2026 changes just one definition. It replaces the meaning of “Nominated Agency” in Notification No. 26/2018 Central Tax (Rate) dated 31 December 2018. The change takes effect from 1 November 2026.
Most readers will never deal with this notification directly. But jewellery exporters, and the banks and trading agencies that supply them precious metal, should know what it means.
The scheme behind it
India’s jewellery exporters need gold, silver and platinum as raw material. Under the Foreign Trade Policy there is a scheme called “Export Against Supply by Nominated Agency” (paragraph 4.40 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, read with Chapter 4 of the Handbook of Procedures). Under it, certain approved agencies, called Nominated Agencies, import the metal and supply it to the exporter, who makes jewellery and exports it.
To keep the exporter’s cost low, Notification No. 26/2018 Central Tax (Rate) fully exempts from CGST the intra State supply of gold, silver or platinum (Chapter 71) by a Nominated Agency to a registered exporter under this scheme. The State tax notifications give the same exemption for SGST. The conditions are simple but strict:
1. both the Nominated Agency and the exporter must follow the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures;
2. the exporter must export the jewellery made from that metal within 90 days of receiving it, and give the Nominated Agency a copy of the shipping bill or bill of export with his GSTIN, along with the export invoice, within 120 days of the supply; and
3. if proof of export is not given in time, the Nominated Agency must pay the CGST on the quantity not exported, with interest from the date the tax would have been payable but for the exemption.
What exactly has changed
The whole exemption depends on who is a “Nominated Agency”. That is defined in clause (c) of the Explanation to Notification 26/2018.
This definition has always borrowed a list from a Customs notification. Originally it pointed to List 32 of Notification No. 50/2017 Customs. From 1 November 2025, it was changed to point to Lists 13, 14 and 15 appended to Table 1 of Notification No. 45/2025 Customs dated 24 October 2025.
From 1 November 2026, the new clause (c) reads:
“Nominated Agency” means entities mentioned in Appendix 4B of Handbook of Procedures, as amended by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade from time to time.
So the GST definition no longer depends on a Customs notification. It now follows the DGFT’s own list, which is where these agencies are actually approved. The words “as amended from time to time” matter. Whenever DGFT adds or removes an agency in Appendix 4B, the GST exemption follows automatically, without the CBIC having to issue a fresh amendment each time, as it had to do in 2025.
Who should take note
For the jewellery exporter, nothing changes in day to day work. He still gets the metal tax free, and he still has to export within 90 days and send the shipping bill within 120 days.
What he should do is simple. Before taking a supply on exemption after 1 November 2026, check that the supplying agency or bank appears in Appendix 4B of the Handbook of Procedures as it stands on that date. If the supplier is not in that list, the exemption is not available, and the CGST becomes payable.
For the Nominated Agency, the risk is bigger, because it is the agency that pays the tax with interest if the exporter fails to produce proof of export in time. Agencies should keep a close watch on the 120 day deadline for every lot supplied.
It is a small amendment, but it removes a recurring source of mismatch between GST and the foreign trade rules.
