Joint DGFT Manjeet Bhatoya Relieved from Directorate Headquarters

Dr Manjeet Bhatoya, Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, has been relieved from the DGFT headquarters to join her new place of posting. She is an officer of the Indian Trade Service.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and administers the Foreign Trade Policy. Joint DGFTs head regional authorities in major cities or run divisions at the headquarters in Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi. The rank carries authority to issue authorisations, decide applications under export promotion schemes, and pass orders in adjudication proceedings against exporters for non-fulfilment of export obligations. Regional authorities operate in cities including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ludhiana and Kanpur, and handle applications from exporters registered in their jurisdiction. Joint DGFTs heading these offices decide licence applications, hear representations from exporters and pass orders in cases of default on export obligations.

The Indian Trade Service is a Group A central service recruited through the civil services examination and attached to the DGFT. Officers work on trade policy formulation, the negotiation support for free trade agreements, the administration of licensing and remission schemes, and the export data analysis that feeds into policy decisions. The service is small compared with the revenue or railway services, and its officers also go on deputation to trade-related bodies, export promotion councils and as Chief Vigilance Officers in central organisations. The service also supplies officers for posting in Indian missions abroad as commercial representatives, where they work on market access questions, trade barriers faced by Indian exporters and the promotion of Indian goods. Officers rotate between headquarters, regional authorities, deputation and overseas assignments through their careers.

At headquarters, Joint DGFTs handle divisions covering policy, specific schemes, the online systems and the coordination with regional authorities. The relieving order allows Bhatoya to take charge at her new posting, which follows the routine rotation of officers between headquarters divisions and regional authorities. Divisions at headquarters are organised around subjects such as policy, export promotion schemes, import management, and the systems that run the online platform, with each headed by a Joint DGFT reporting to an Additional DGG. The headquarters also handles the ministry interface on trade policy decisions requiring Cabinet or committee approval.

The DGFT has been reorganising its processing arrangements, including the establishment of a Central Processing Department to run faceless handling of licence applications. Postings of Joint DGFT rank officers are being adjusted as divisions are restructured around the new arrangement. The directorate is also handling implementation of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, which moved from a fixed end-date policy to one that is amended as required. The directorate has also been issuing amendments to the Foreign Trade Policy through public notices and notifications as scheme parameters change, and officers at headquarters handle the drafting and the consultation with industry bodies that precedes them. Policy changes in areas such as import monitoring and quality control orders draw representations from both importers and domestic manufacturers.

India's merchandise and services exports together crossed the 800 billion dollar mark in recent years, and the DGFT's operational load reflects that volume through the number of authorisations issued and export obligations monitored. Officers at Joint DGFT level also handle representations from export promotion councils and industry bodies on scheme interpretation, and the adjudication cases that arise when export obligations are not met within the prescribed period. The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products scheme, which replaced the earlier merchandise export incentive scheme after it was found inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules, is administered through rates notified for each tariff line. Reviewing and revising those rates is a continuing headquarters function.

Bhatoya has been relieved from DGFT headquarters. She belongs to the Indian Trade Service.