RCMC Certificate To Be Exempted For Low-value Exports

Chennai: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has proposed exempting low-value export consignments from the requirement to obtain a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC).

At present, all exporters must obtain an RCMC from the relevant Export Promotion Council (EPC) or commodity board to apply for DGFT authorisations and claim benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy, irrespective of the value of the shipment.

The draft amendment proposes that exporters shipping consignments with an FOB value of Rs 10,000 or less will no longer require an RCMC, except for exports of restricted items. The proposal aims to reduce compliance costs for small exporters, particularly those using postal, courier and e-commerce channels.

However, RCMC is not free. Annual membership fees charged by EPCs generally range from Rs 5,000 to Rs 16,000, with several councils also charging one-time admission fees of Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000, in addition to 18% GST. For micro-exporters, these costs can be significant.

According to GTRI, the proposal is a step in the right direction, but the ₹10,000 FOB limit is too low to make a meaningful difference. “Most exports of this value are small e-commerce shipments that rarely use DGFT authorisations or FTP benefits. Instead of a shipment-value threshold, the exemption should apply to exporters with an annual export turnover of up to ₹25 lakh,” it said.

“DGFT should consider abolishing the RCMC requirement altogether. RCMC is a legacy document created in the pre-internet era when exporter credentials could not be verified electronically. Today, with the IEC, GST, Customs and other government databases digitally integrated, the RCMC has little regulatory value while adding unnecessary costs and paperwork for exporters,” said Ajay Srivastava, founder of GTRI.