Procedure for the allocation of quotas for the export of broken rice for humanitarian and food security reasons, based on requests from governments of other countries
The DGFT video Trade Notice No. 08/2023 of June 20, 2023 issued a procedure for allocating quotas for the export of broken rice for humanitarian and food security reasons, based on requests from governments of other countries.
The Government of India has changed the Export Policy of Broken Rice under HS Code 1006 40 00 from ‘Free’ to ‘Prohibited’ vide Notification No. 31/2015-2020 dated September 8, 2022. The Notification entered into force on September 9, 2022 The provisions under paragraph 1.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 with regard to the transitional arrangement shall not apply to this Broken Rice Export Notice. During the period from September 9, 2022 to September 15, 2022, which was later extended to October 15, 2022, the following batches of broken rice were allowed to be exported:
i. if loading of broken rice on the ship has commenced prior to this Notice;
ii. where the shipping account has been filed and ships have already docked or arrived and anchored in Indian ports and their rotation number has been assigned prior to this notification; Approval of loading into such vessels will only be granted upon confirmation by the relevant port authorities regarding the anchoring/mooring of the vessel for the purpose of loading broken rice prior to the Notification; And
iii. where the broken rice consignment has been handed over to Customs before this notification and registered in their system / where the broken rice consignment entered the customs station for export prior to this notification and is registered in the electronic systems of the relevant custodian of the customs office with verifiable evidence of date and time stamp of these goods that entered the customs station before September 8, 2022. The export period is until November 30, 2022.”
The Government of India has further amended the Broken Rice Export Policy vide Notification No. 07/2023 dated May 24, 2023 to include the following policy condition:
“Exports will be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Government of India to other countries to meet their food security needs and at the request of their government”.
The requests received from the governments of Senegal, Gambia and Indonesia for the importation of broken rice from India during the financial year 2023-24 have been approved by the competent authority.
Accordingly, applications are made to exporters of rice for quota allocation. In order to maintain objectivity and utmost transparency in the allocation of the quotas, the method of allocation is determined as follows:-
i. Applications can be submitted through an online portal;
ii. Only those exporters are eligible to apply that have exported rice (all varieties) to Senegal, Gambia and Indonesia in three years prior to FY when the product was banned.
iii. Allocation can be made with a minimum threshold of 8000 tons by sea.
iv. Application would only be allowed if the exporter requests a quantity greater than the minimum threshold.
v. Allocation is made first based on the average exports of rice (all varieties) in proportion to the country concerned in three years prior to FY in which the item was banned and the quantity requested, whichever is less subject to minimum threshold .
vi. Any unused quantity will then be reallocated to the eligible exporters on a pro rata basis as in point V.
Based on the above method of allocation, the procedure for applying for the export license under approved quota is described as follows:-
A. Exporters can apply online through DGFT’s ECOM system for export licenses for non-SCOMET restricted items (see Trade Notice No. 03/2021-22 of May 10, 2021. It is not necessary to send a hard copy of the application by post or mail.
B. Validity of the export license is until December 31, 2023.
C. Online applications submitted between June 21, 2023 and June 30, 2023 will only be considered.
D. The documents to be submitted with the application must include the following:
i. Export data from three years prior to FY in which the item was banned;
All applicants seeking an export license for restricted items can apply online by going to the DGFT website (https://www.dgft.gov.in) -> Services -> Export Management Systems -> Restricted Export License.
Deficient applications or applications received by email or post will not be considered.
The exporters to whom the quota of broken rice has been allocated shall submit the ‘Landing Certificate’ within one month after the completion of the export of the allocated quota of broken rice.
The Trade Notice is available at: https://content.dgft.gov.in/Website/dgftprod/d2a001b3-7011-42ca-bde5-b6ce51964525/Trade%20Notice%20No.%2008-2023.pdf