Objectives of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation

In line with India’s association with the WTO agreement on trade facilitation in April 2016, the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan was introduced as an important step by the Government of India to facilitate trade. The action points in the plan are mapped to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) has been constituted as a part of the mandatory institutional arrangement following the trade facilitation agreement.

The objective of the NCTF is to form a national-level body that will facilitate domestic coordination and implementation of trade facilitation provisions. It will play a key role in developing the road map for trade facilitation across India. Its responsibility is to synergize the various trade facilitation programs across the country and to focus on bringing all stakeholders of trade facilitation on one platform that has been instrumental in facilitating the trading process involving imports and exports. 

The NCTF acts as a controlling authority to simplify and automate information exchange and facilitate communication between the government and the private sector. The role of the NCTF would include planning and implementing a national trade facilitation plan, assessing and removing bottlenecks, and making policy recommendations. The committee functions as a regulatory and advisory body and is empowered with authority and responsibility to implement necessary trade facilitation measures.

Trade facilitation refers to the procedures and controls by the government intending to improve the movement of goods across national borders. It takes care of the legitimate regulatory objectives of trade practices while reducing associated bottlenecks, optimizing cost involvement, and maximizing efficiency. 

National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) is an important institutional body for coordinating and controlling trade procedures with balanced private and public sector participation. It also enables the planning and implementation of necessary reforms for successful trade facilitation. The primary goal of trade facilitation is to help make imports and exports more streamlined, cost-effective, and reliable while complying with safety and legal norms.