On 17 February 2026, CHEMEXCIL issued a circular informing members about Directorate General of Foreign Trade Trade Notice No. 24/2025–26 dated 09 February 2026, which invites comments from exporters and industry stakeholders on the draft Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026. The proposed legislation is a significant step toward building a legally recognised, secure, and interoperable digital trade environment to enhance cross-border commerce and ease of doing business.
The draft Bill seeks to create a statutory and operational framework for paperless trade by formally recognising digital systems used in international transactions and strengthening trust in electronic processes.
Key objectives of the draft Bill include:
1. Granting legal recognition to electronic trade documents, enabling their use in place of physical documentation
2. Establishing trusted digital verification and authentication mechanisms for trade-related transactions
3. Enabling secure cross-border exchange of trade data and records
4. Creating a regulatory framework for digital identity management and trust services
5. Ensuring interoperability with global digital trade platforms and systems
CHEMEXCIL has requested members to examine the draft and submit sector-specific inputs, particularly on:
1. Practical challenges in electronic documentation for exports and imports
2. Issues related to digital authentication and verification workflows
3. Concerns regarding cross-border acceptance of digital trade records
4. Recommendations relevant to the chemicals, cosmetics, and dyes sectors
The last date for submission of stakeholder comments is 10 March 2026.
Overall, the initiative aims to align India’s trade processes with global digital standards, reduce transaction time and cost, improve compliance efficiency, and accelerate the transition toward a fully digital, trust-based international trade ecosystem.
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