The Office of the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ahmedabad, has recently issued a trade notice aimed at discouraging physical visits by trade and industry stakeholders. Instead, the office encourages increased utilization of online and Video Conferencing (VC) facilities for interacting with officers. This initiative follows the issuance of similar notices by the DGFT New Delhi and aims to streamline processes, reduce unnecessary physical interactions, and enhance efficiency. This article dives deep into what these new guidelines mean for trade and industry.
A Push for Digital Transformation: The DGFT’s office in Ahmedabad is not alone in making this push. Similar digital transformation efforts have been ongoing across various government departments to save time and reduce physical touchpoints. The guidelines set out a clear roadmap for trade and industry to interact with DGFT officers virtually, and it’s essential to understand these rules to adapt and comply.
Terms and Conditions: The notice lays down several conditions for those who, under exceptional circumstances, might still need to visit the DGFT office:
i. Only authorized personnel such as Directors, Partners, or Proprietors can attend these physical meetings.
ii. In case of authorization holders or employees, proper authorization from the Board or managing partners is necessary.
iii. Such authorizations should not be more than 6 months old.
The provision regarding proper authorization will be strictly enforced from September 15, 2023, onwards.
Additional Facilities: The notice also mentions that the VC facility for trade facilitation, available daily from 10:30 am to 11:30 am, will continue to operate. This adds another layer of flexibility for those wishing to discuss their cases without making a physical visit.
Feedback Mechanism: The notice also encourages trade and industry stakeholders to provide feedback for any difficulties or suggestions they might have regarding this new shift. Such a mechanism indicates that the DGFT is open to continuous improvement.
Conclusion: The Office of the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade in Ahmedabad is proactively encouraging a shift from physical visits to online and VC interactions to streamline processes and increase efficiency. While the office has provided a framework and the tools required for these online interactions, it also keeps the door open for exceptional cases requiring physical visits, albeit under strict conditions. The move is aligned with broader digital transformation trends within governmental operations and represents a step towards modernizing trade interactions. It also shows the office’s commitment to adapting and improving its services based on feedback from the trade and industry sectors.
*****
Government of India
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Office of the Addl. Director General of Foreign Trade
3rd Floor, HUDCO Bhavan, Ishwar Bhavan Road, Navrangpura
Ahmedabad 380009
E-mail: ahmedabad-dgft@nic.in
Tel : 079 — 25506297
Trade Notice No. 03/2023 Dated: 08/09/2023
Sub. Discouraging physical visits by trade and industry and more use of Online/VC facility for interaction with officers of this office.
Trade and Industry is already aware that, Organization of DGFT, including RA Ahmedabad has been taking various steps to encourage use of online /VC facility for interaction with officers of this office and to discourage physical visits by the trade and industry.
2. Trade Notice No.06/2023-24 dated 31/05/2023 issued by Directorate General of Foreign Trade, New Delhi and Trade Notice No.2/2023 dated 05/06/2023 issued by the 0/o Addl. DGFT, Ahmedabad may be referred in this regard.
3. Trade and industry serviced by this office is requested to avail online/VC facility for interacting, if required, with officers of the level of Astt DGFT and above for discussing their cases. Upon request, concerned officers would provide suitable time as well as link for the virtual hearing through the online/VC facility. The procedure to apply for VC facility for online hearing on the DGFT website is already given in the Trade Notice No.06/2023-24 dated 31/05/2023. In addition, The VC facility introduced earlier for trade facilitation from 10.30 am to 11.30 am daily is also being continued for better trade facilitations.
4. Physical visits by trade and industry to this office are strongly discouraged and exporters are strongly advised not to visit this office in person and instead discuss their cases through online/VC facility only.
5. However, in exceptional circumstances with valid reasons, trade and industry can meet the concerned officers in person under following conditions:
- Only Director/Partner/Proprietor or their authorized representatives/employees are allowed to attend such physical meeting.
- In case of Authorisation holders/Employees of the firms, authorizations must be approved by the Board in case of Limited and LLP companies, by the Managing Partner or by at least two partners in case of Partnership firms and by the proprietor in case of proprietorship concerns.
- Authorization must not have been issued more than 6 months earlier (on the date of its production at reception of the office).
- Apart from above, no other person would be allowed entry in the office to meet the officers in the office.
- This provision of requirement of proper authorization would be strictly enforced from 15th September 2023 onwards.
6. Difficulties or suggestions, if any, by the trade and industry in the above context may be brought to the notice of the undersigned for improvement, if any.
(VIJAY KUMAR) 8/9/2023
Additional Director General of Foreign Trade
To
All Export Promotion Councils/Chambers
Notice Board
