Centre boosts ease of doing business for leather exporters

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification to remove key procedural restrictions applicable to the export of value-added leather products.

This step is expected to reduce compliance burden and improve ease of doing business for exporters, according to the Ministry of Commerce,

Port restrictions have been withdrawn, allowing export of Finished Leather, Wet Blue Leather, and EI Tanned Leather from any port or Inland Container Depot (ICD).

Earlier, these exports were restricted to specific notified ports. The mandatory requirement for testing and certification by the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) for export of Finished Leather, Wet Blue Leather, Crust Leather, and EI Tanned Leather has also been dispensed with.

These procedural requirements were originally instituted to monitor export of value-added leather products and distinguish them from raw hides and dutiable items.

However, with the removal of export duties on such leather categories and the clear physical distinction between processed and raw leather, the existing checks were considered redundant, said the ministry.

The decision follows consultations with stakeholders, including the Council for Leather Exports, Leather exporters and central leather research institute (CLRI). It is expected to streamline export procedures, reduce transaction costs, and benefit MSME exporters in particular.

The reforms also support India’s efforts to enhance export competitiveness in the global leather value chain while maintaining transparency and quality standards under general customs provisions.

India’s leather and non-leather footwear exports have seen a significant rise of nearly 25 per cent in the 2024-25 financial year (FY25), reaching $5.7 billion.

The industry is expected to surpass the $6.5 billion mark in the current fiscal year (FY26), according to the Council for Leather Exports (CLE). The CLE, which represents footwear exporters, mentioned that demand from both developed and developing countries remains strong, contributing to the impressive growth.

The footwear industry is labour-intensive, providing employment to approximately 42 lakh people. With an overall turnover of 19 billion dollar, the sector includes $5 billion in exports.