More flexible policies needed to achieve USD 200-300 bn e-commerce exports by 2030: EY-Assocham report

New Delhi [India], July 18 : Adopting more flexible policies and addressing existing challenges in customs, payments, and logistics will help Indian exports meet the target of USD 200-300 billion in e-commerce export by 2030, says a report released by EY in association with ASSOCHAM.

To meet the ambitious targets, the report suggested some suggestions to bolster e-commerce sector exports. The report titled 'Enabling e-commerce exports from India' further recommended that facilitating re-imports, removing the variance cap on realised payments, and extending the proceeds realization deadline will be a significant boost to the e-commerce export.
"Prescribing clear guidelines for re-import transactions to allow duty-free re-import of consignments up to USD 600 and for consignments above this threshold, formulating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to recognise returns as re-imports of returned goods," the report added.
The report further recommended the need to clearly define the responsibilities of exporters on record and sellers on record. It advocated for extending the export incentives to e-commerce exports and effectively implementing e-commerce export hubs.
Other key recommendations of the report include creating separate customs supervision codes for e-commerce exports and increasing the consignment limit for courier exports.
The report suggests that adopting more flexible policies and addressing existing challenges in customs, payments, and logistics could help boost e-commerce exports and achieve the government's target of USD 200-300 billion by FY 2030.
Additionally, the report emphasises facilitating re-imports, removing the variance cap on realised payments, and extending the proceeds realization deadline.
As per the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the total exports of merchandise and services in financial year 2024-25 begin with strong growth of 6.88 per cent; estimated at USD 64.56 Billion in April 2024 as compared to USD 60.40 Billion in April 2023.
India's total exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April 2024 are estimated to be USD 64.56 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 6.88 per cent over April 2023.
The report made recommendations such as easing customs procedures, enabling robust reconciliations and payment settlement mechanisms and various policy interventions for achieving exponential growth in e-commerce sector.
To bolster e-commerce exports, amendments to the Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Regulations, 2010 are proposed, which include increasing the consignment limit of courier exports to USD 50,000.
In addition, the report also asked to reduce the cost of payment reconciliation by levying them as a percentage of consignment value to ease financial burdens on small-scale e-commerce exporters. Enabling periodic shipping bill reconciliation and removing the 25 per cent variation clause on realized payments, as well as extending payment realization and repatriation periods up to 18 months aligned with global practices.
The EY-ASSOCHAM report also calls for extending export promotion incentives to e-commerce exporters under the Courier Import and Export Regulations, 2010 to stimulate sector growth.