The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified, with immediate effect, the operational procedures for implementing India's inventory-based cross-border e-commerce facilitation framework, according to a public notice carried by The Hindu BusinessLine. Issued by the commerce ministry on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, the notification sets out the procedural requirements that online companies must follow when undertaking inventory-based cross-border e-commerce exports. The notification follows the government's recent decision, reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, to allow e-commerce firms with foreign stakes to keep inventory only for export purposes.
What the notified framework covers
According to the DGFT public notice, the operational procedures cover the operational and compliance requirements of the inventory-based cross-border e-commerce facilitation framework. The notice lists the following components:
- Registration of exporters-on-record
- Inventory management
- Seller visibility
- Reverse logistics
- Compliance certification
- Dispute resolution
- Related procedural requirements of exporters-on-record
The DGFT stated in the public notice:
The operational procedures for the implementation of the inventory-based cross border e-commerce facilitation framework, including registration of exporters-on-record, inventory management, seller visibility, reverse logistics, compliance certification, dispute resolution, and related procedural requirements of exporters-on-record are hereby notified with immediate effect.
Export-only inventory for foreign-invested e-commerce firms
The procedural notification is tied to a broader policy change under which the government recently allowed e-commerce firms having foreign stakes to keep inventory only for export purposes. The commerce ministry notified the procedures on Wednesday, and the DGFT notice states the procedures are notified with immediate effect. For online companies operating inventory-based cross-border e-commerce exports, the framework's procedural requirements therefore apply from August 5, 2026, the date of publication, according to The Hindu BusinessLine.
Key facts at a glance
The following key facts are drawn from the DGFT public notice as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Notifying authority | Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), commerce ministry |
| Date of notification | Wednesday, August 5, 2026 |
| Effective status | Notified with immediate effect |
| Scope | Inventory-based cross-border e-commerce exports by online companies |
| Permitted inventory | Export-only inventory for e-commerce firms with foreign stakes |
| Framework components | Registration of exporters-on-record; inventory management; seller visibility; reverse logistics; compliance certification; dispute resolution; related exporter-of-record requirements |
What sellers and compliance teams need to do
For cross-border e-commerce sellers, marketplace operators, B2B platform managers and e-commerce logistics teams, the notified framework names the operational areas that now carry formal procedural requirements in inventory-based export flows. The components explicitly listed in the DGFT notice — registration of exporters-on-record, inventory management, seller visibility, reverse logistics, compliance certification and dispute resolution — indicate where sellers and their logistics and compliance partners should align their internal processes. Because the procedures apply with immediate effect, exporters of record and the online companies running the export inventory model will need to ensure their workflows match the notified requirements, including documented processes for reverse logistics and compliance certification. The report by PTI was published by The Hindu BusinessLine on August 5, 2026.
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