The Government of India, through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), has issued Trade Notice No. 24/2025–26 dated 9 February 2026 inviting public comments on the draft Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026. The initiative follows the Union Budget 2025–26 announcement on implementing Bharat Trade Net as a digital public infrastructure for trade. DGFT noted that the existing legal framework does not adequately recognise electronic trade documents or provide a comprehensive foundation for cross-border digital trust services, which limits interoperability with global digital trade systems. To address these gaps, the draft Bill proposes statutory recognition of electronic trade documents, trusted digital verification mechanisms, and secure cross-border exchange of trade records. The draft Bill has been placed in the annexure to the Trade Notice for consultation. Exporters, trade bodies, export promotion councils, industry associations, academia, and legal experts are invited to submit their feedback and suggestions within 30 days of the notice through the designated DGFT email address.
Government of India
Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Department of Commerce
Directorate General of Foreign Trade
Trade Notice No. 24/2025-26 – DGFT | Dated: February 09, 2026
To,
All Exporters/Members of Trade and Industry
All Export Promotion Councils & Commodity Boards
Other Stakeholders & Trade and Industry Associations
Academia and Legal experts
Subject: Request for comments on the draft of ‘The Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026’ – regarding.
Reference is invited to the the announcement in the Union Budget 2025–26 for implementing Bharat Trade Net as a Digital Public Infrastructure for trade. However, it has been felt that the existing legal framework does not fully recognise electronic trade documents or provide a comprehensive basis for cross-border digital trust services, constraining interoperability with global digital trade systems. Accordingly, a draft has been prepared for ‘The Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026’ to address these requirements.
2. The proposed ‘Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026’ seeks to provide statutory recognition to electronic trade documents, enable trusted digital verification mechanisms, and facilitate secure cross-border exchange of trade records. A copy of the draft Bill is placed at Annexure to this Trade Notice for soliciting feedback, comments and suggestions of the ecosystem stakeholders and the industry experts.
3. Inputs must be submitted within 30 days of issuance of this Trade Notice at the e-mail: tradefinance-dgft@gov.in.
This Trade Notice is issued with the approval of the Competent Authority.
(Md. Moin Afaque)
Joint Director General of Foreign Trade
(Issued from F.No. 01/02/14/AM-26/EG&TF/e- 42735)
