MSME bodies urge RBI to tweak norms for ecom exports

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) industry bodies have requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for certain changes in the regulations for ecommerce exports.

- HARSH KUMAR

These MSME bodies met the central bank in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, last week.

"The industry bodies told the RBI that the current system of manually matching shipping bills with inward remittances (IRMs) is impractical for high-volume ecommerce exports," an industry source privy to the development said.

The source noted that they have requested the RBI to develop an automated reconciliation system within the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS), leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, to match IRMs with shipping bills based on exporter records, even when amounts vary due to marketplace fees or refunds.

"This system should also allow bulk uploads of transactions, reducing the need for exporters to handle each bill individually. Additionally, the requirement for CA certificates for small exporters should be removed, replacing it with self-declaration forms for MSME with an annual turnover of ₹5 crore or less," the source said.