Citizen Charter
DGFT service timelines: what the Citizen Charter promises and how to escalate
Published working-day timelines for IEC, Advance Authorisation, EPCG, EODC and refunds, the complete-application rule that resets the clock, the escalation ladder, and the daily Jan Sunwai video hearing.
By Aaryan Kakani · · 9 min read
What service timelines does the DGFT Citizen Charter actually commit to?
The DGFT Citizen Charter is a published document that assigns a disposal timeline to every service the Directorate delivers. Two framing rules apply to every single figure in it, and both matter more than the numbers themselves. First, every timeline is expressed in working days , not calendar days, so weekends and public holidays are excluded. Second, every timeline runs from the receipt of a complete application. A phrase that does far more work than it appears to, and that section 2 unpacks.
With those two rules in mind, the charter splits into a fast tier and a slow tier. The fast tier is issuance: things DGFT creates for you. The slow tier is closure: things DGFT has to verify against your performance before releasing you.
| Service | Working days from a complete application |
|---|---|
| IEC issuance | 2 |
| Advance Authorisation / DFIA | 3 |
| EPCG issuance | 3 |
| Revalidation and EO extension by RA | 3 |
| BG or LUT acceptance | 3 |
| Status certificate | 3 |
| Amendment of authorisation | 3 |
| Chapter 3 schemes | 3 |
| AA/DFIA redemption or EODC | 15 |
| EPCG redemption + BG/LUT release | 30 |
| Drawback / TED deemed export refund | 30 |
| Brand rate fixation | 30 |
| Public grievance | 60 |
| Norm fixation | 120 |
| Uncategorised | 10 |
A few of these rows deserve unpacking. The 3-working-day Advance Authorisation figure is not one service but four: AA under notified norms, AA under Para 4.07 of the Handbook of Procedures 2023, AA for Annual Requirement, and DFIA all carry the same 3-day commitment. Gems and jewellery authorisations also sit at 3 days. And the last row is the sleeper: any service the charter has not otherwise categorised carries a residual 10-working-day timeline, which means there is no DGFT service without a published deadline.
Source for the whole table: DGFT Citizen Charter . The charter is reviewed yearly, so check the version date before you quote a figure in correspondence.
Why does a three-day service take three weeks?
The complete-application rule is the whole answer. Because every charter timeline runs from a complete application, a deficiency letter does not pause the clock. It resets it. The counter starts again when the file becomes complete. Nothing in the charter caps the number of deficiency rounds, so a nominal 3-working-day service can stretch indefinitely while the department remains, on paper, entirely within its commitment.
Worked example: a 3-day EPCG amendment that took 26 days
- :
Read the example carefully and the lesson is not that DGFT is slow. It is that the applicant controls most of the clock . Two deficiency rounds cost 23 days here, and both were avoidable at submission. The practical defence has two halves.
| Defence | What it means in practice | What it buys you |
|---|---|---|
| Front-load the file | Assemble and self-check every annexure, figure and scan before the first submission, on the assumption that you get exactly one attempt | Removes the reset events entirely. This is the only lever that actually shortens the elapsed time |
| Timestamp every round | Pull View Life Cycle under Submitted Applications on the DGFT portal and record when each deficiency was raised and when it was answered | Gives you evidence of departmental rather than applicant delay. The single thing that makes an escalation letter land |
What is the export obligation extension cliff and why does timing decide your route?
This is the single highest-value structural point on the page, because it is the one place where a date you control determines whether you face a three-day counter service or a multi-month committee case.
While the export obligation period is still alive , extension by the Regional Authority is an ordinary 3-working-day Citizen Charter service. Once the export obligation period has lapsed , the Regional Authority has no condonation power at all. The only remaining route is the Policy Relaxation Committee at DGFT Headquarters under Para 2.58 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023. A fortnightly, physical-mode committee, filed on ANF-2D with a fee of INR 2,000, and with an approval that still has to be carried back to the Regional Authority to be given effect.
| Dimension | Filed inside the EO period | Filed after the EO period has lapsed |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding authority | Your Regional Authority | Policy Relaxation Committee, DGFT Headquarters |
| Legal basis | Ordinary RA extension power | FTP 2023 Para 2.58 relaxation |
| Form | Ordinary extension application to the RA | ANF-2D |
| Fee | Ordinary RA application fee | INR 2,000 |
| Charter timeline | 3 working days | Committee cycle, not a charter service timeline |
| Cadence | Continuous, over the counter | Fortnightly, physical mode |
| After approval | Effect given by the RA directly | Approval must be taken back to the RA to be given effect. A second leg with its own queue |
The same asymmetry applies to revalidation and to late redemption . In every case the pattern is identical: inside the window the Regional Authority can act, and acts fast; outside the window only DGFT Headquarters can act, and acts on a committee calendar.
How do you escalate a delayed DGFT file, in the right order?
The Citizen Charter sets out a three-rung ladder, and the order is not decorative. Skipping a rung usually results in being sent back down it.
The escalation ladder
- 1 Head of the Regional Authority. In writing A written representation to the head of the Regional Authority handling your file. Written matters: a verbal follow-up triggers no obligation and leaves no record for the next rung. Keep the acknowledgement.
- 2 The concerned Additional or Joint DGFT. With a prior appointment The charter contemplates a prior appointment rather than a walk-in. Arrive with the written representation from rung one and its acknowledgement.
- 3 The DG DGFT. For inordinate delay Reserve this rung for genuinely inordinate delay. Using it early costs you credibility on the files that actually need it.
Alongside the ladder, the charter creates several standing access routes that most exporters never use.
| Route | Detail |
|---|---|
| Daily grievance hour | Every Regional Authority allots one hour daily to grievances |
| Grievance Redressal Committees | Exist at Headquarters and at the Zonal Additional DGFT offices, constituted by Trade Notification No. 14 dated 24 August 2016 |
| Named nodal officer | Shri Abhinav Gupta, Additional DGFT, Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi 110011, telephone +91-11-23038735 |
| Right of representation to the PRC | Every exporter and importer has a right of representation to the Policy Relaxation Committee, which under the charter comprises all Additional DGFTs and Joint DGFTs under the chairmanship of the DG |
| Charter review | The Citizen Charter is reviewed yearly. Confirm the current version before quoting a timeline in writing |
What is Jan Sunwai and how do you join a DGFT video hearing?
Jan Sunwai is a daily open video hearing run by DGFT. There is no form, no fee, no file number and no appointment . You join the published meeting for the office concerned and put your issue to an officer. It is the cheapest escalation available anywhere in the DGFT system, and essentially no exporter knows it exists.
| Level | Timing | Joining detail |
|---|---|---|
| DGFT Headquarters | 10:00. 12:00 | Meeting number 2643 275 3098 |
| Regional Authorities | 10:30. 11:30 daily | Meeting numbers and passwords are published per office on the DGFT VC links page |
Twenty-five offices are listed: Headquarters plus Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panipat, Pune, Rajkot, Srinagar, Surat, Vadodara, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam. Per-office meeting numbers and passwords are on the DGFT VC links page .
Which DGFT office handles what, and how big is the network?
Escalating well requires knowing who actually holds your file. The DGFT network is Headquarters at Vanijya Bhawan, 'A' Wing, 16 Akbar Road, New Delhi 110011; four Zonal Offices at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai; and 24 Regional Authorities.
Territorial jurisdiction governs most filings under Para 2.04 of the Handbook of Procedures. You file with the Regional Authority for your area. The notable exception worth remembering is that restricted import authorisations on ANF-2M go to DGFT Headquarters and are decided by the EXIM Facilitation Committee, not by your Regional Authority.
| Committee at HQ | Sitting | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Policy Relaxation Committee | 2nd and 4th Wednesday | Physical |
| EPCG Committee | 2nd and 4th Wednesday | Physical |
| Norms Committee | 2nd and 4th Tuesday | Physical |
Read the committee calendar together with section 3 and the cost of the export obligation cliff becomes concrete: a fortnightly physical sitting means that missing a cycle costs a fortnight before the hearing, and the approval still has to travel back to the Regional Authority afterwards.
Internal audit within DGFT is run by a Joint DGFT in each Zonal Additional DGFT office, auditing both its own office and every Regional Authority in the zone. Which is why the Zonal Additional DGFT is a meaningful escalation target and not merely a postal address.
| Contact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Helpline | 1800-572-1550 |
| Helpline | 1800-111-550 |
| dgftedi@nic.in | |
| Headquarters | Vanijya Bhawan, 'A' Wing, 16 Akbar Road, New Delhi 110011 |
What happens when a delayed file turns into an enforcement case?
A delay is a service problem. A default is something else. Where a default matures (an unfulfilled obligation, a lapsed authorisation left unaddressed) the file leaves service delivery and enters adjudication, and the Citizen Charter timelines stop being the relevant frame.
On the DGFT portal, Services >> Enforcement Cum Adjudication does two things: it lets you check the status of proceedings, and it lets you file an appeal or review against an adjudication order. The statutory basis is the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act and its Rules, published under Regulations > Acts & Rules.
There is one downstream consequence worth knowing before you let a file drift. DGFT publishes a public register of Orders Passed by DGFT Headquarters, carrying more than 306 entries from 2022 to August 2026. Each row carries the party name and the IEC, which means the register is searchable by IEC. By anyone.
| Register attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Coverage | More than 306 entries, 2022 to August 2026 |
| Fields per row | Party name and IEC. Therefore searchable by IEC |
| Order categories | Order-in-Original, Order-in-Appeal, Order-in-Review, upheld appeals, remands and rejections |
| Effect of a remand | Restarts the case at the level below and extends the timeline. A "win" on appeal is often more months, not fewer |
| Parallel register | A separate register covers orders passed by Regional Authorities and SEZs |
Delay and escalation checklist
Establish the facts
- Identify the Citizen Charter timeline for your exact service, and count working days from the date your application became complete. Not from the date you first submitted it
- If your service is not named in the charter table, use the 10-working-day residual timeline
- Pull View Life Cycle under Submitted Applications and screenshot every deficiency date and every response date
Check whether your deadline is still alive
- Determine whether the export obligation period, revalidation window or redemption deadline has lapsed. This single fact decides RA versus PRC
- If it is still alive, file the 3-working-day Regional Authority extension now , before anything else on this list
- If it has lapsed, go to ANF-2D under FTP Para 2.58 and plan around a fortnightly physical committee plus a return trip to the Regional Authority
Escalate in order
- Put the first escalation in writing to the head of the Regional Authority and keep the acknowledgement
- Use the daily Jan Sunwai slot for the office concerned while the written escalation is pending
- Book an appointment before approaching the concerned Additional or Joint DGFT
- Reserve the DG DGFT for genuinely inordinate delay
- Never rely on a verbal follow-up. It triggers no obligation and leaves no record
Rule out a Customs-side cause first
- Where the delay may be on the Customs side rather than DGFT's, check transmission through the anonymous Authorisation Details lookup under Services > Verify UDIN / Info for Custom Authorities
- That lookup shows the DGFT-to-CBIC transmission status and settles whether the fault is DGFT-side at all. Run it before you escalate
- Remember Para 2.20(d) of the Handbook of Procedures gives fee-free revalidation for a transmission failure if you claim within one month of final acceptance on the Customs server
Update history
- First published.