The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has operationalised a new set of rules to strengthen and streamline ecommerce exports from the country.

Under the new rules, the ministry has removed the ₹10 Lakh value cap per consignment on courier exports and introduced a streamlined framework for handling returned and rejected parcels. The new rules also introduce a legally-backed return to origin (RTO) mechanism for uncleared shipments.

In a statement, the finance ministry said that these new export norms aim to enhance the ease of doing business, reduce logistics inefficiencies and strengthen India’s global export competitiveness. It also noted that these measures are expected to reduce dwell time, lower transaction costs and provide significant relief to export startups.

The rules came into effect from today (April 1).

The removal of the cap is expected to offer greater flexibility in shipment value and reduce the need to divert such shipments to cost-heavy conventional air or sea cargo.

Meanwhile, to address delays in disposal of unclaimed imported goods, the CBIC has introduced a RTO facility. Under this, non-restricted or non-prohibited goods that remain uncleared for more than 15 days would be returned to the origin following a simplified procedure.

The board has also simplified the procedure for re-import of returned or rejected ecommerce goods. The statement noted that a dedicated return module has been developed in the Express Cargo Clearance System to facilitate smooth processing of such returns.

The new rules come two months after finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman announced the measures in her Budget 2026 speech. In her address, she proposed removing the value cap and announced the rollout of Customs Integrated System (CIS) over the next two years and a digital window for cargo clearance approvals.

The operationalisation of these new norms is expected to give a major fillip to the domestic ecommerce ecosystem. The measures are expected to enable D2C brands to ship high-value products globally without restrictive caps. These norms also simplify the logistics and scaling process for Indian brands looking at international markets.

Besides improving ease of doing business for startups in cross-border manufacturing, hardware and electronics startups will also benefit from faster turnaround times and lower friction for imported components.

At the heart of all this is the Indian ecommerce market, which is projected to become a $345 Bn opportunity in 2030. As per an EY report, ecommerce exports from India stood at between $4 Bn to $5 Bn in FY23.

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