The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India has issued Trade Notice No. 09/2026-27 dated 01 July 2026 regarding amendments to the Guidelines for Trade Regulations, Accreditation and Compliance Enablement under Export Promotion Mission (EPM) – Niryat Disha.
The amendments have been issued in continuation of Trade Notice No. 26/2025-26 dated 20 February 2026, with the objective of bringing greater operational clarity and certainty in the implementation of the TRACE intervention under EPM – Niryat Disha.
As per Trade Notice No. 09/2026-27, the earlier reference to the Positive List and Priority Positive List of testing, inspections and certifications has been replaced with the List of Eligible Testing, Inspections and Certifications. This list shall remain dynamic and will be periodically reviewed for inclusion or exclusion of certifications based on stakeholder consultations, monitoring of international standards notifications and trade facilitation considerations.
The Trade Notice has revised the level of financial assistance for MSMEs. Micro and Small Enterprises shall be eligible for support up to 95% of the actual cost, net of applicable taxes, duties and cess, or the notified ceiling, whichever is lower. Medium Enterprises shall be eligible for support up to 80% of the actual cost, net of applicable taxes, duties and cess, or the notified ceiling, whichever is lower.
The maximum cumulative reimbursement admissible under TRACE has been enhanced to ₹50 lakh per IEC per financial year. Cases requiring support beyond ₹50 lakh may be considered on a case-to-case basis after detailed examination by the Sub-Committee.
The amended guidelines also provide for disbursement of approved support in two instalments. The first instalment, being 50% of the approved support, shall be released upon successful completion of certification and submission of the relevant certificate. The remaining 50% shall be disbursed upon completion of exports linked to the relevant certification.
For reimbursement claims, the process has now been divided into two stages. Under RC-1, the eligible entity shall file the first claim after obtaining the certification, inspection report, test report or compliance document, along with invoice, proof of payment and evidence of mandatory or market-driven requirement. Under RC-2, the second claim shall be filed after demonstrating exports linked to the relevant certification, along with evidence of exports and proof of realisation.
The Trade Notice further provides that disbursements shall be made directly to the bank account specified in the IEC, in accordance with the two-instalment mechanism prescribed under the amended guidelines.
In cases where an applicant fails to submit a reimbursement application against the Intent-to-Claim within a period of two years, the claim shall automatically lapse and such applicant shall be ineligible for claims for the next financial year period. Where the first instalment has already been disbursed, the applicant must submit evidence of exports linked to the relevant certification within two years of such disbursement, failing which the second instalment shall lapse and the first instalment may be subject to recovery.
The role of the Sub-Committee has also been amended. The Sub-Committee shall recommend the level and applicable ceilings of financial assistance under TRACE, inclusion, revision or deletion of entries in the list of eligible testing, inspections and certifications, and the list of tariff lines eligible for support to Merchant Exporters under TRACE.
The amended Annexure-I contains the List of Eligible Testing, Inspections and Certifications under Trade Regulations, Accreditation and Compliance Enablement, which has been expanded to 462 entries.
All other provisions of Trade Notice No. 26/2025-26 dated 20 February 2026 shall remain unchanged. 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-No.09-2026-Amendment-to-TRACE-Guidelines.pdf
