The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has issued Trade Notice No. 13/2026-27 dated 14 July 2026, providing detailed operational clarifications regarding Interest Subvention Support for Pre- and Post-Shipment Export Credit under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) – Niryat Protsahan. The clarifications address issues raised by lending institutions concerning historical claims, timelines for claim submission, generation and use of Unique Identification Numbers (UINs), and treatment of running export credit accounts spanning more than one financial year.
The Trade Notice refers to the guidelines issued earlier through Trade Notice No. 20/2025-26 dated 2 January 2026, Trade Notice No. 22/2025-26 dated 16 January 2026, Trade Notice No. 33/2025-26 dated 20 March 2026, Trade Notice No. 01/2026-27 dated 20 April 2026, and Trade Notice No. 03/2026-27 dated 13 May 2026. The latest clarification has been issued after representations were received from various lending institutions regarding operational and technical compliance issues under the revised framework.
In a major clarification concerning past claims, DGFT has stated that banks may submit additional claims for eligible cases covered under Trade Notice No. 03/2026-27 on or before 31 July 2026, provided the export credit was disbursed on or after 2 January 2026 and the relevant UIN was generated on or before 31 May 2026. This provision is intended to facilitate eligible revised or additional claims relating to the earlier implementation period.
DGFT has clarified that the relaxation allowing UIN generation up to 31 May 2026 applies only to eligible export credit disbursed during FY 2025-26 on or after 2 January 2026. The relaxation does not apply to disbursements made during FY 2026-27. For FY 2026-27 onwards, the prescribed requirement of generating a UIN within 15 days from the date of original disbursal will continue to apply.
In cases where eligible export credit is disbursed towards the end of a month and UIN generation is permissible within 15 days from the date of disbursal, banks may submit the corresponding claim before the last date of the month following the month of disbursal. Accordingly, the effective time limit for filing such a claim will be one month from the date of disbursement.
The Trade Notice has also clarified that a single UIN cannot be used for both pre-shipment and post-shipment interest subvention benefits. Where an exporter has availed both facilities, separate UINs must be generated and the UIN corresponding to the relevant credit facility must be used while claiming the respective interest subvention benefit.
On running or revolving pre-shipment credit facilities that extend across financial years, DGFT has reiterated the requirement for year-specific UIN and claim mapping. Where the original disbursal was made in FY 2025-26 and the credit remains outstanding into FY 2026-27, the FY 2025-26 UIN will remain valid only for claiming interest subvention for the period falling within FY 2025-26, up to 31 March 2026. Interest subvention for the subsequent financial year will require a fresh or revised UIN for FY 2026-27, in accordance with the applicable scheme provisions.
DGFT has further clarified that interest subvention is admissible from the date of loan disbursal and not merely from the date of UIN generation, subject to the applicable eligibility conditions. However, where the export credit continues into a subsequent financial year, banks must ensure that claims are filed against the UIN corresponding to the financial year for which the interest subvention benefit is being claimed. Claims should not be cross-mapped against UINs belonging to a different financial year.
For past eligible cases where the interest subvention benefit was not passed upfront because a UIN was not available at the time of disbursement, banks may submit additional claims through the online module before 31 July 2026, subject to the relaxation provided under Trade Notice No. 03/2026-27 and fulfilment of the prescribed conditions.
Additional claims pertaining to past periods, including the months from January 2026 to May 2026, are required to be submitted separately through the online DGFT module. Such claims must not be clubbed with or included in the regular monthly claim for June 2026. The applicable requirement for an external auditor’s certificate will continue to apply to such additional claims for the specified eligible period, which must also be filed before 31 July 2026.
The clarifications are aimed at ensuring uniform implementation, smooth processing of claims and greater ease of doing business for exporters and lending institutions participating in the interest subvention framework under the Export Promotion Mission. The Trade Notice has been issued with the approval of the Competent Authority.
The Trade Notice can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Trade-Notice-13-dated-14.7.2026-digitally-signed.pdf
