Export House Certificate

The Government of India launched the Star Export House Certificate / Status Holder Certificate as an export promotion scheme under foreign trade policy. The Certificate/Status is granted to business leaders who have excelled in international trade and have successfully contributed to the country’s foreign trade. Export house status is provided to all goods, services, and technology exporters with an import-export code (IE Code). Export house status recognition is based on the export performance of the company in each financial year (FOB / FOR value).

Export House Status Holder

Status Holders are business leaders who have excelled in international trade and have successfully contributed to the country’s foreign trade. Status Holders are expected to contribute to India’s exports and provide guidance and handholding to new entrepreneurs. The exporter may become a Status Holder by applying for a Status Holder Certificate. If your application for the requested Status House is approved, you shall be issued a Status Holder Certificate.

Obtaining an Export House Certificate

An exporter involved in the export of goods or services can obtain an export house certificate. An applicant would be eligible for and be categorized upon reaching a specific minimum export performance in the current and previous two financial years.

The calculation of Export performance is based on the FOB (Free on Board) value of export earnings in free foreign exchange.
In the case of deemed exports, it converts the FOR value of exports in Indian rupees into USD at the exchange rate by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, as applicable for 1st April of each financial year.

Export House Status Eligibility Criteria

As mentioned above, all goods, services, and technology exporters with an import-export code (IEC) number shall be eligible for recognition as a status holder.
Status recognition will depend on export performance.
An applicant shall be categorized as the status holder on achieving export performance during the current and previous three financial years.
For the Gems & Jewelry Sector, the performance during the current and previous two financial years shall be considered for recognition as status holders.
For granting status, export performance is necessary for at least two out of four years.

Export House Status Holder Categories

Sl.No	Status Category	Export Performance FOB / FOR (as converted) Value (in US $ million)
1	One Star Export House	3
2	Two-Star Export House	25
3	Three-Star Export House	100
4	Four Star Export House	500
5	Five Star Export House	2000

Criteria for receiving Double Weightage

As an IEC-holder exporter, you can get double weightage if you meet any one of the following criteria:

You have an MSME/SSI Certificate.
You have manufacturing units that operate as per the ISO/BIS standards.
Your business units are situated in Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, and other northeastern states.
Your business units are situated in the Agri Export Zones.
Incidentally, the grant of double weightage is only for the One Star Export House Status category.

Conditions for Grant of Export House Status

In addition to the above, it does not permit the transformation of the export performance of one IE Code holder to another IE Code holder. Further, exports made on a re-export basis, the export of items under authorization, and SCOMET items would also not be counted towards export performance.

Star Export House Benefits

A Status Holder shall be eligible for privileges as specified by the Foreign Trade Policy. On being recognized as a star export house, the exporter enjoys various benefits and privileges such as:

Authorization and customs clearance for imports and exports may be allowed on a self-declaration basis.
Exemption from the furnishing bank guarantee for Schemes under Foreign Trade Promotion unless specified otherwise.
Input-output norms may be fixed on priority within 60 days by the Norms Committee.
Exemption from compulsory negotiation of documents through banks. Remittances or receipts should, however, be received through banking channels.
Two-star and above export houses are permitted to establish export warehouses as per Department of Revenue guidelines.
Three-star and above export houses are permitted to get benefits of the Accredited Clients Programme, as per the Central Board of Excise and Customs guidelines.
Status holders would be entitled to preferential and priority treatment while handling consignments by concerned agencies.
Status holders are eligible to export freely exportable items on free of cost basis for export promotion subject to an annual limit of Rs.10 lakhs or 2% of average annual export realization during the proceeding three licensing years, whichever is higher.
Exporters involved in manufacturing would be eligible to self-certify their goods they originated from India.

Pre-requisites to avail benefits under Status Holder Certificate

To avail of benefits under a Status holder certificate, the following is required:

The DGFT user profile must be linked with an IEC
A valid DSC must be registered in the system

Documents Required for Status Holder Certificate

The following documents are mandatory for submission of the application:

Certificate of Exports where Double Weightage has been claimed (Applicable only if the application is for One Star Export House)
Certificate of Foreign Exchange Earned by Supply of Service
Certificate of FOR value of Deemed Exports
Exports from SEZs / EOUs / EHTPs / STPs / BTPs units which are included in IEC and are taken for calculation of grant of status
Annexure to ANF 3C

Online Application Procedure for Status Holder Certificate

The applications for status holders are required to be submitted online on the DGFT website through the importer/exporter's dashboard. No Physical submission of the document is required. The new procedure is designed to be paperless and contactless to grant the status. Any communication, correction, clarification, and approval of submitted applications are electronic from 22.02.2021 onwards.

Visit the DGFT Website and Login into the portal with valid credentials.
From the Services tab, select Certificate Management, click on the applicable certificate and then choose Status Holder Certificate.
There are two ways to start the application for a status holder certificate: "Start a fresh application” or “Proceed with an Existing Application” if the application is already saved in draft.
After clicking on the “Start fresh application” tab, the main screen for the Status Holder application will appear.
Import Export Code (IEC) number of the applicant, Company Name, Exporter Type, Mobile Number, and Email ID would be auto Populated as per the IEC profile.
Select the sector of export.

Note: If Applicant chooses Gems and Jewellery, then the only export performance of 2 years out of 4 years is required in IEC Profile; otherwise, the export performance of 3 years out of 4 years

The next tab would be “Status Holder Details,” from where the applicant can select the Category of Status applied for. There are five categories for the Status Holder/Export House Certificate.
Provide all Fill out Export Performance
Exports of Goods and Services with double weightage - In the case of the 1- star category only.
Export of Goods without weightage - the first row in the below screenshot will be enterable by the applicant.
Export of Services without weightage - the second row in the below screenshot will be enterable by the applicant.
FOR value converted in US$ for Deemed Exports – this will be the Deemed Exports done by the applicant
Exports of goods to SEZs/EOUs/EHTOs/STPs/BTPs will be the Supplies to EOU/BHP/EHTP/EHTP/STPI + Supplies to SEZs.
On the Attachment page, the documents mentioned above have to be attached with the sign and stamp of the authorized person of the firm applying for the status certificate.
Under the declaration tab, accept the terms and conditions by clicking on the check. Sign the online application using the Digital Token or Aadhar card.
You may proceed with signing with any of the following options:
- Aadhaar e-Sign
- Digital Signature Certificate
After the Declaration tab, next would be the Application summary; the applicant can submit the Status Holder application.
Submit the Export House application to the relevant DGFT office after selecting it from the drop-down menu.