EIA/EIC
- • The Export Inspection Council (EIC) was set up by the Government of India under Section 3 of The Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963 (22 of 1963), in order to ensure sound development of export trade of India through Quality Control and Inspection and for matters connected thereof.
- • EIC is an advisory body to the Central Government, which is empowered under the Act to: Notify commodities which will be subjected to quality control and / or inspection prior to export, Establish standards of quality for such notified commodities, and Specify the type of quality control and / or inspection to be applied to such commodities..
- • Besides its advisory role, the Export Inspection Council, also exercises technical and administrative control over the five Export Inspection Agencies (EIAs), one each at Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata and Mumbai established by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, under Section 7 of the Act for the purpose of implementing the various measures and policies formulated by the Export Inspection Council.
- • Export Inspection Council, either directly or through Export Inspection Agencies, its field organization renders services in the areas of: Certification of quality of export commodities through installation of quality assurance systems in the exporting units.
- • The certification is of two types – (1) Consignment wise inspection and (2) Certification of quality of food items for export through installation of Food safety Management System in the food processing units. Another major service of EIC is to issue of Certificates of origin to exporters under various preferential tariff schemes for export products.
- Organisation Setup
- • Under the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963, the Council, which is constituted by the Central Government, is the apex body, and has powers to constitute specialist committees to assist it in discharge of its functions.
- List of Council Members
- • In pursuance of Section 3 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963(22 of 1963) and in pursuance of rule 3 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Rules; 1964, the Central Government vide its S.O. no. 2856(E) dated 09.11.2009, reconstituted the Export Inspection Council consisting of the following persons, for the period as indicated in column(3), namely :-
- • S.O. 3379 (E)- dated 29.9.2020, In exercise of the powers under Section 3 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963 (22 of 1963) read with rule 3 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Rules, 1964, the Central Government hereby reconstitutes the Export Inspection Council and nominates the following persons, for a period of two years from the date of publication of this notification namely; -
- • The EIC, through its field organizations i.e. Export Inspection Agencies (EIAs) exercise quality control and inspection in respect of products notified under Export (Quality Control And Inspection) Act, 1963, in order to ensure that the products meant for export are in compliance to the importing country’s requirements. The type of quality control And inspection could be Consignment-wise or Food Safety Management System based. The EIC has three tier surveillance mechanism to exercise control on the approved establishments. Currently, the list of products notified for mandatory pre-shipment inspection and certification prior to export from India, can be referred in detail through the following link https://eicindia.gov.in/WebApp1/pages/menuInfo/documents.xhtml
- • Voluntary Certification Scheme: In cases, the products which are not notified under Export (Quality Control And Inspection) Act, 1963, but importing country require Certificate of Compliance from Competent Authority of exporting country, the EIC has developed Voluntary Certification Scheme (Hyperlink) to facilitate the export trade. Refer the following link for details : https://eicindia.gov.in/WebApp1/pages/menuInfo/documents.xhtml
