# Centre operationalises inventory-based framework for e-commerce exports 2026-08-05T23:12:49+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk The commerce ministry has operationalised a regulatory framework for inventory-based cross-border e-commerce, restricted solely to exports, under an order effective 5 August that follows a Foreign Direct Investment policy change made through Press Note No. 3 of 2026, Hindustan Times reported. Under the framework, a registered exporter-on-record must buy goods from Indian sellers-on-record only against confirmed overseas orders, then export them under its own name while handling documentation, customs, testing, certification, packaging, labelling and logistics in the destination country. Export stock has to be tracked through a digital repository and kept separate from goods meant for India's domestic market, with sellers guaranteed timely payment regardless of when the exporter is paid, visibility into final sale prices and shipment status, proportional rebates and refunds, and defined handling of returned or rejected consignments. Annual compliance certification is mandatory under the framework. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Hindustan Times reports the framework through the commerce ministry's own statement, and the safeguards it lists, procurement only against confirmed export orders, segregated digital inventory, a bar on diverting export stock to the domestic market, payment to sellers within a prescribed timeline and proportional pass-through of rebates, are commitments on paper at this stage. The ministry ties the framework to the Foreign Trade Policy of 31 March 2023 and its treatment of cross-border e-commerce as a route for Indian manufacturers, artisans and MSMEs to reach global markets. The first annual compliance certification, once that cycle falls due, is where these obligations get tested. ## Coverage - www.hindustantimes.com Tags: Ministry of Commerce and Industry Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/govt-operationalises-inventory-based-cross-border-e-commerce-export-framework/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/govt-operationalises-inventory-based-cross-border-e-commerce-export-framework/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.