Trade facilitation matters for exports. Apart from reducing trade costs and bringing ease and efficiency in trade, paperless trading can also have significant environmental benefits, given that global supply chains usually involve the printing, dispatching, processing, exchanging and ultimately, discarding of vast quantities of paper documents. Further, it can also reduce red tape at the border via simplification, modernisation and harmonisation of customs procedures. India has taken multiple domestic reforms to improve its logistics performance and boost trade facilitation, which has been visible in its performance in global surveys and indices, as is discussed in the paper. Some of the major reforms in paperless trade by India include the introduction of Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade (SWIFT), e-Storage and computerised handling of indirect tax documents (e-SANCHIT), Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), etc. The outcomes of these have been positive and there is potential for India to improve its cross-border paperless trade. India also launched the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) 3.0 2024-27 to plug the existing gaps in paperless trading systems in India.
