The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has been urged by the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to reopen its office in Goa. The DGFT was informed by the GCCI that since the closure of the DGFT office at St Inez in 2018, foreign trade and exports from Goa have been badly affected. This is the result of Goan businessmen being forced to travel to Mumbai to complete basic formalities.
DGFT deputy director R Sampath and GCCI president Ralph de Sousa met recently, at a meeting convened by the Reserve Bank of India. During the meeting, Sousa told Sampath that the online portal of DGFT and the helpline numbers were a stumbling block for local exporters and entrepreneurs. “Sampath was sympathetic to the matter,” Sousa said, commenting on the meeting.
While Sampath acknowledged the need for a dedicated office in Goa, he informed GCCI that a final decision on restarting the DGFT office in Goa has yet to be taken.
To optimise human resources and bring in online services, DGFT closed its office in 2018. Due to procedural issues, consignments of local entrepreneurs and exporters were often stuck at ports and customs warehouses. Repeated dissatisfaction has been expressed by industrialists with the services provided by the DGFT office in Mumbai, which has jurisdiction over Goa.
“For small matters, Goan businessmen had to approach the Mumbai office physically, wasting valuable time and effort. GCCI had previously raised concern that exports from Goa were badly affected due to poor online services. The helpline number given was also not being attended to,” said Sousa.
If Goa has to play a role in meeting the goal of a US $ 5 trillion economy, the GCCI president said, foreign exports need to be encouraged, for which a dedicated DGFT office is required in the state. The GCCI has aldo written to the state and Union governments in this regard.
