Tea is one of the best trademark commodities grown in India. Some of the world’s perfect teas are cultivated in India. The primary demand for world tea imports is completed from India.
Cropping, filtering, trading, and exporting tea make a classified industry. The Indian tea industry creates massive employment and profitability by furnishing international demand.
The Indian government has put certain efforts into marketing tea. The Tea Board of India is the government unit operating in all value chain regions, direct from harvesting to the final user having tea in India. India exports several hundred million dollars’ worth of tea every year (see the figures below).
Regardless of the vast base, the trade has seen a YoY development of 5% from 2014 to 2018. India is the second-biggest tea producer and exporter around the world. The business of tea export from India is one of the significant businesses for various Indian tea providers.
Tea Board of India- Controls the Tea Trading and Export from India
The Tea Board of India was created in the 1953’s Tea Act, and it has been working since April 1954. The main office of the Tea Board of India is located in Kolkata. Rather than that, there are also seventeen offices all over India.
The Tea Board of India deals with administrative functions and launches marketing-related activities, which involve arranging global fairs and expos, simplifying an interface for buyers and sellers, and sending a trade council to market the country’s exports.
The board is also involved in tackling market-oriented activities such as market study, market surveys, assessing customer behavior, and allocating responsive information to business owners engaged in tea export from India.
IEC Code and Its Importance in Exporting Tea
In India, the IEC code is given by the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade). The IEC code applies to people who wish to enter the export business. It is necessary to mention that the IEC code is not an alternative need. Instead, it is assigned by the government to all importers and exporters.
In brief, nobody can import or export goods without an IEC code. With the IEC code at the back, one can export and import products as per the rules specified under foreign trade policy. The IEC code is linked to each shipping document associated with qualified exportable goods.
Tea Production and Export Demographics in FY-19 and 20
In Financial Year 2019, the overall tea export in India was held at 830.90 million USD; simultaneously, in Financial Year 2020, the export worth was 826.47 million USD.
As India is the top tea producer internationally, the country has got fourth place in tea export after African countries, China, and Sri Lanka.
In 2019, India seized the 2nd position internationally in the sense of production amount, which was 1,339.70 million kilograms, to be precise. All through Jan-Feb 2020, the predicted cultivation of tea accounted for 30.54 million kilograms.
From April to August 2020, the complete tea manufacturing was 281.39 million USD.
India grows large varieties of teas like organic tea, orthodox tea, green tea, and CTC tea. Unlike different tea-producing countries, India has an expansive manufacturing setup for CTC, orthodox, and green tea.
Tea grown in high-range Nilgiris, Darjeeling, and Assam sticks to the top quality because of its unique fragrance, taste, and color. The manufacturing from these states endows significantly to tea export from India.
Key Advantages of Having IEC Code for Tea Exporters in India
Essential benefits of having an IEC code for tea exporters in India are given below.
Grow Market Size
This is one of the apparent benefits of having the IEC code at your end. Exporters with this code can export tea to other countries and different access markets situated worldwide. The expanded market size assists in enhancing tea export from India.
Validity for Whole Life
An IEC does not expire and does not need to be renewed, but since 2021 the DGFT has required holders to update or confirm their IEC details online every year between April and June; an IEC that is not updated is deactivated.
When your business is going well, you do not need to face the unneeded trouble of restoring the license frequently. And, this is one of the most effective benefits of having an IEC code.
Inconsequential Compliances
Fundamentally, an import-export or IEC number license does not bring in any substantial compliance. IEC listing is much more comparable to different taxes because there is no accountability to file a return or any extra details.
As soon as you get this code, you will be qualified for running exporting business in India for your whole life. In this way, you can run a tea export business from India without any problem while keeping the redundant complication out of the way.
Access to Various Schemes
Exporters who have the IEC code can have access to different government schemes as well as incentives. The government introduced these incentives and schemes to increase business activities in the country.
How to Get an IEC Number for Tea Exporters in India?
IEC numbers can be obtained by going to the portal of the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade). You can choose the option Apply for New IEC or Change current IEC on the home page.
After that, you have to enter the PAN and press the search button. This will provide you with page access where you enter the organization’s name and date of incorporation. The portal will check the given details from the CBDT PAN web server. After complete verification of the details, you will get the IEC code application’s e-form.
Conclusion
India is a prominent tea exporter in the entire world. The production quantity of tea in India is enormous and has stayed constant over the years. Also, this makes the export of tea the most suitable business choice for novel entrepreneurs.
So, if you are eager to establish a tea export business from India, you need to get an IEC code in the initial place. And for that, you can visit Amazon Global Selling India to explore selling tea to overseas buyers online; you will still need the registrations described above.
