Key Challenges in Current Regulations
- Manual Reconciliation Issues
- Matching shipping bills with inward remittances (IRMs) manually is impractical for high-volume e-commerce exports.
- Current system leads to delays, excessive documentation, and operational inefficiencies.
- High Compliance Costs
- Shipping bill regularization fees range from ₹200 to ₹2,500 per shipment, disrupting cash flow.
- Small exporters face excessive banking fees, unpredictable logistics costs, and high warehousing expenses.
- Documentation Burden
- Exporters must submit cover letters, Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates (FIRCs), payment gateway statements, and CA certificates.
- Delays in shipping bill closure worsen cash flow constraints.
- Logistics Challenges
- High shipping costs make small-value shipments ($25 or 2 kg) unviable.
- Fluctuating shipping rates and expensive warehousing solutions further reduce profit margins.
Industry Proposals to the RBI
- Automation of Reconciliation via AI
- Request for an AI-powered system within the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) to auto-match IRMs with shipping bills.
- The system should account for marketplace fees, refunds, and variations in remittance amounts.
- Enable bulk transaction uploads to eliminate manual processing of each bill.
- Reduction in Compliance Costs
- Standardized fees for shipping bill regularization (e.g., ₹5,000 annual reconciliation fee for exporters under ₹5 crore turnover).
- Limit per-bill charges to ₹100 for transactions over $1,000.
- Remove CA certificate requirement for MSMEs with turnover ≤ ₹5 crore, replacing it with self-declaration forms.
- Simplification of Reporting for Small Shipments
- Exempt small shipments (under $1,000) from EDPMS reporting.
- Allow annual declaration of these transactions via a simplified system.
- Establishment of a Digital Dispute Resolution Portal
- To address unfair penalties, processing delays, and disputes within seven days.
Industry’s Urgent Call for Action
- Government’s $200 billion e-commerce export target by 2030 requires regulatory streamlining to sustain and expand MSME participation.
- High regulatory costs & procedural bottlenecks discourage small exporters, impacting India’s global e-commerce trade potential.
- MSME bodies urge RBI to take swift action to ease compliance and reduce financial burdens.
Way Forward
- AI-driven automation, fee standardization, and reduced documentation are essential to enhance efficiency in e-commerce exports.
- Addressing logistics, compliance, and reconciliation challenges will help small exporters scale operations and improve cash flow.
- RBI’s policy interventions can unleash the full potential of MSME-driven e-commerce exports and accelerate India’s export growth.
