DGFT RA office of Ahmedabad Encourages Exporters to avail Online/VC facility for interaction with Officers w.e.f. September 15, 2023

The Additional Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ahmedabad, has issued Trade Notice No. 3/2023 on September 8, 2023, with the aim of reducing in-person visits by businesses and encouraging them to utilize online or video conferencing options for interacting with the officials.

The office serving trade and industry kindly urges everyone to make use of the online or video conferencing (VC) option when needed for discussions with officers at the rank of Assistant Director General of Foreign Trade (Astt DGFT) and higher regarding their cases.

Upon request, these officers will arrange a suitable time and provide a link for a virtual meeting through the online or VC platform. The process for applying for the VC facility for online meetings can be found in Trade Notice No.06/2023-24 on the DGFT website. Additionally, the VC facility, which was previously introduced for trade assistance between 10:30 AM and 11:30 AM daily, will continue to be available to enhance trade facilitation.

The DGFT office strongly discouraged trade and industry from making in-person visits to this office. Exporters are strongly recommended to refrain from visiting this office in person and, instead, to engage in discussions regarding their cases exclusively through the online or video conferencing (VC) facility.

However, in exceptional circumstances with valid reasons, trade and industry can meet the concerned officers in person under following conditions:

1. Only Director/Partner/Proprietor or their authorised representatives/employees are allowed to attend such physical meetings.
2. In case of Authorisation holders/Employees of the firms, authorizations must be approved by the Board in case of Limited and LLP companies, by the Managing Partner or by at least two partners in case of Partnership firms and by the proprietor in case of proprietorship concerns.
3. Authorization must not have been issued more than 6 months earlier (on the date of its production at reception of the office).
4. Apart from above, no other person would be allowed entry in the office to meet the officers in the office.

This provision of requirement of proper authorization would be strictly enforced from 15th September 2023 onwards

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