New Delhi, 26 February (H.S.): The World Trade Organization (WTO) will conduct India's eighth Trade Policy Review in July, subjecting the nation's trade regime to comprehensive evaluation by member states.The Finance Ministry announced Thursday that a delegation led by Customs Commissioner Surjeet Bhujbal presented India's digital customs reforms and Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) implementation at WTO ahead of the review. These sessions on February 24 in Geneva drew delegates from nearly 40 countries, signaling strong global interest in India's best practices.
India has fulfilled 100% of its WTO TFA commitments on time and is advancing TFA Plus measures under the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP 3.0), surpassing minimum standards with global benchmarks. Bhujbal highlighted a decade of customs digitization boosting trade growth and supply chain integration, while Ambassador Senthil Pandian termed trade facilitation a cornerstone of India's policy.
The ministry emphasized a whole-of-government push for faceless, contactless, paperless customs via extensive digitalization—linking traders, banks, logistics firms, and authorities to cut costs, speed clearances, and simplify cross-border trade. India's seventh review occurred in January 2021.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
