DGFT Expands List Of Countries for Mandatory Halal Certification for Export of Meat & Products Under I-CAS [Read Notification]
DGFT has added 20 more countries for mandatory Halal certification under I-CAS for export of specified meat and meat products.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has issued Notification No. 59/2025-26 dated 09 February 2026, expanding the list of countries where Halal certification is mandatory for export of specified meat and meat products under the India Conformity Assessment Scheme (I-CAS) Halal framework.
The notification amends the list of countries earlier provided in DGFT Notification No. 34/2024-25 dated 01 October 2024. DGFT said the change is being made to streamline the Halal certification process for exports and strengthen compliance for importing country requirements.
As per the notification, the list of notified countries has been expanded by adding 20 additional countries. These include Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Senegal, Maldives, Brunei, Libya, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Yemen, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya and Morocco.
DGFT has also specified when the Halal compliance requirements will apply for these additional countries under I-CAS Halal.
For all the newly added countries except Egypt, the mandatory compliance will start after a transition period of two weeks from the date of the notification. For Egypt, the requirement will apply after six months from the date of the notification, to support system readiness and onboarding of certification bodies.
DGFT clarified that all other policy conditions remain unchanged. This includes the requirement that certification must be done by NABCB-accredited bodies, and exporters must also comply with the importing country’s regulations, as already stated in the earlier Notification No. 34/2024-25.
Key points for exporters are:
20 more countries have been added for mandatory Halal certification under I-CAS.
Compliance starts after 2 weeks for all new countries except Egypt.
For Egypt, compliance starts after 6 months.
NABCB-accredited Halal certification remains compulsory.
This update is important for Indian exporters of meat and meat products, especially those exporting to West Asia, Africa, and Central Asia. Exporters will now need to ensure Halal certification is arranged in advance for shipments to the newly added destinations, to avoid clearance delays and rejection at the importing country level.
DGFT said the effect of the notification is that twenty additional countries are now covered under the mandatory Halal certification list under the I-CAS framework for specified meat and meat products.
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