Compulsory Filing of Non-preferential Origin Certificate through DGFT Portal Postponed to 31 Mar 2022

· Trade and Chambers of Commerce Protest on Compliance Burden

[DGFT Trade Notice No. 32/2021-22 dated 24 January 2022]

Subject: Extension of Date for Mandatory electronic filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) through the Common Digital Platform to 31st March 2022

In continuation to the earlier Trade Notice 24/2021-22 dated 15.11.2021, Trade Notice 42/2020-2021 dated 19.02.2021, 48/2020-2021 dated 25.03.2021, 10/2021-2022 dated 19.07.2021, 19/2021-2022 dated 01.10.2021 and 21/2021-22 dated 18.10.2021, it is informed that the electronic platform for Certificate of Origin (CoO) (URL: https://coo.dgft.gov.in ) has been implemented to facilitate electronic filing and issuance for Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin (CoO) besides Preferential CoOs. The objective of this platform is to provide an electronic, contact-less single window for the CoO related processes.

2. In this reference, it is informed that the transition period for mandatory filing of applications for Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin through the e-CoO Platform has been extended till 31^st March 2022. The existing systems for submitting and processing non-preferential CoO applications in manual/ paper mode is permitted for the stated time period and the electronic system is not being made mandatory.

3. It is informed that feedbacks and suggestions for further ease of operations, received from exporters and issuing agencies are duly being taken into consideration. Various enhancements rolled out or proposed to be rolled out are –

i. Bulk upload of line items from file (to save efforts on keying-in each item)

ii. Creation of duplicate/cloned application from an existing application (to save efforts on repetitive entries)

iii. E-Wallet facility for bulk payments of user charges (to avoid payment gateway interaction in each CoO submission)

iv. Aadhaar e-sign facility for authentication (in-lieu of Digital Signature Certificates)

4. Exporters and Issuing Agencies already on boarded are advised to make maximum use of the e-CoO platform for process familiarisation and ease of operations. The issuing agencies are also advised to issue suitable advisories to the members/exporters to register and familiarise with the e-CoO platform before the stated timelines.

5. Agencies as notified under Appendix-2E are required to ensure they are on boarded before 31^st March 2022, failing which the agencies shall be de-notified. The concerned agencies may reach out over email to ddg2egov-dgft[at]gov[dot]in for any guidance or clarifications in regard to the on-boarding process. Any other technical/procedural issues may be brought to the attention of the CoO Helpdesk within the time prescribed. For guidance on Exporter registration and application submission process, the Help Manual & FAQs may be accessed on the e-CoO Platform landing page (https://coo.dgft.gov.in )

This issues with the approval of the competent authority.

(Issued from File No. 01/02/54/AM21/EG&TF[E-24628])