DGFT Enhances Ease of Doing Business for Exporters of Leather

• 29 May 2025
• 387 Views

On 26 May 2025, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, published Notification No. 15/2025-26, which removes important procedural constraints pertaining to the export of leather goods with added value. This decision is expected to reduce the burden of compliance as well as improve ease of doing business for the leather exporters.

Exporting finished leather, wet blue leather and EI tanned leather from any port or inland container depot (ICD) is now possible due to the removal of port limitations. These exports were previously limited to a few designated ports. Additionally, the Central Leather Research Institute's testing and certification requirements for the export of finished leather, wet blue leather, crust leather and EI tanned leather have been waived.

The initial purpose of these procedural restrictions was to keep an eye on the export of leather goods with added value and differentiate them from raw hides and dutiable goods. However, the current checks were deemed unnecessary as export tariffs were removed on such leather categories and processed and raw leather could be distinguished physically.

The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Leather Exporters and the Council for Leather Exports were among the stakeholders consulted before the decision was made. It is anticipated to assist MSME exporters specifically, expedite export processes and lower transaction costs.

The changes also help India maintain transparency and quality requirements under general customs laws while boosting export competitiveness in the global leather value chain.

For additional information, we request you to visit the official DGFT portal.

Source: PIB