DGFT Issues Application Fee Refund Procedure for Gold Bullion TRQ under India-UAE CEPA 2025-26 [Read Notification]

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade ( DGFT ) has issued a Trade Notice prescribing the procedure for refund of application fees deposited by applicants for the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) for the import of Gold Bullion under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) for the financial year 2025-26.

The Trade Notice aligns with the decisions taken during a meeting held on October 16, 2025, regarding allocation of TRQs under the India-UAE CEPA. The DGFT clarified that the provisional allocations made during the earlier EFC meeting dated April 29, 2025, stand cancelled. Accordingly, applicants who had applied for allocation of TRQs for gold bullion imports are now eligible to claim refunds of the application fees paid.

Under the India-UAE CEPA framework, specific TRQs are allotted every year for import of gold bullion at preferential tariff rates that are fixed based on quotas. These allocations are managed by DGFT to ensure fair and transparent distribution among eligible importers.

However, with the cancellation of provisional allocations for FY 2025–26, the DGFT has initiated a mechanism to refund fees paid by applicants for the now-void applications.

Refund Procedure

The refunds shall be effectuated through a digital process. Once the status of the TRQ applications filed under Trade Notice No. 30/2024-25 dated February 12, 2025 changes to “closed” on the DGFT portal, applicants can submit refund requests online through the DGFT website and navigating to:

Services → e-Miscellaneous Payment Service → Apply for Refund.

Applicants must provide the file number of the corresponding restricted import authorisation application and specify a validated bank account that is in the name of the Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) holder. Authentication may be completed using an e-sign or Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

For guidance, applicants may refer to the Refund Help Document available on the DGFT website.

DGFT further informed that a separate Public/Trade Notice will be issued in due course to announce the new procedure for filing fresh applications for Gold TRQ under the India-UAE CEPA for FY 2025-26.

The Trade Notice has been signed by Raman Kurhar, Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade with the approval of the competent authority.

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