TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
19 Oct 2026 
Sugar exports- a general discussion about policies which seems short -term and need to be long-term for benefit of sugar cane farmers, sugar manufacturers and sugar consumers. Ease of doing business is also required.
Related laws and regulations:
Foreign Trade (Development And Regulation) Act 1992
Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 (From 1-4-2015 to 4-12-17)
- Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 (From 1-4-2015 to 4-12-17)
- Chapter 1 - LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND TRADE FACILITATION
Notifications:
Notification No. 20/2015-20 Dated: 07-09-2015
Export policy of sugar.
Notification No. 3 /2015-2020 Dated: 20-04-2015
Export policy of sugar
By this study it is pointed out that there are so many restrictions and conditions imposed even for exports of product like sugar, which is for use of common man.
Discussion with some sugar manufacturers reveal that the process of export of sugar is still very complex and time consuming. Furthermore, there are many contingencies in in the process of exports. Policies may change frequently, because sugar price is a highly sensitive issue in our country and to keep sugar price low, governments policies are not conducive for sugar manufacturers. On the one hand sugar cane price is increased to keep earnings of sugar cane growers but sugar price is controlled by various means and methods including ban on export, free import and restricted exports.
In this write-up one of area of control is discussed by way of discussions on some of notifications and circulars. Some of which are reproduced below with highlights added and some discussions made by learned author.
These are only illustrative and not exhaustive. Purpose of this write-up is also to promote studies of related laws, rules and regulations and procedures in a combined manner.
Complete ban with some exceptions:
Sugar Exports to EU and US and some other exports in progress, and sugar of other varieties like pharma sugar and organic sugar, for example were allowed even during period of ban and thereafter as provided in relevant notifications.
Vide Notification No. 16/2026-27 dt.13th May, 2026 Export of sugar was banned till 30.09.2026. for amendment in Export Policy of Sugar - regarding.
The operative part of notification read as follows:
S.O. 2487 (E): The Central Government, in exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 read with Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No. 22 of 1992), as amended, read with Para 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, hereby amends the export policy of Sugar under Chapter 17 of ITC (HS), Schedule - II as under:
| ITC (HS) Code | Description | Existing Policy | Revised Policy | Policy Condition |
| 1701 14 90 1701 99 90 | Sugar (Raw Sugar, White Sugar and Refined Sugar) | Restricted | Prohibited | Export of Sugar is prohibited with immediate effect till September 30, 2026, or till further orders, whichever is earlier |
2. This prohibition shall not apply to Sugar being exported to the EU and USA under CXL and TRQ quota, as per the prescribed procedure in the respective Public Notices.
3. Export of Sugar under the Advance Authorization Scheme (AAS) shall continue to be governed as per existing provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 and the Handbook of Procedures, 2023.
4. This Notification shall come into effect immediately. The provisions of Para 1.05 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 regarding transitional arrangement shall not be applicable under this Notification. Notwithstanding the above prohibition, export of Sugar shall be permitted in respect of consignments fulfilling any one of the following conditions :-
(i). where loading of sugar on the ship has commenced before the date of publication of this Notification in the Official Gazette;
(ii). where the Shipping Bill has been filed and the vessel has berthed or arrived and anchored in an Indian port, with its rotation number allocated by the Port Authority, before the date of publication of this Notification in the Official Gazette. The approval for loading in such vessels shall be issued only after confirmation by the concerned Port Authority regarding berthing/anchoring prior to this Notification; or,
(iii). where the sugar consignment has been handed over to Customs/Custodian before the date of publication of this Notification in the Official Gazette and is registered in their electronic system, with verifiable evidence of the date and time of such handing over.
5. The export of the above products/ items, however, shall be allowed on the basis of permission granted by the Government of India to other countries to meet their food security needs and based on the request of their governments.
6. In case the date of prohibition on sugar exports under this Notification is not extended beyond September 30, 2026, the export policy for sugar falling under ITC (HS) Code 1701 14 90 and 1701 99 90 shall revert back to "Restricted".
Effect of this notification: The export policy of Sugar (Raw Sugar, White Sugar and Refined Sugar) under ITC (HS) Codes 1701 14 90 and 1701 99 90 is amended from 'Restricted' to 'Prohibited' with immediate effect till September 30, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. This prohibition is not applicable to Sugar being exported under: (i) EU and USA under CXL and TRQ quota, (ii) Advance Authorization Scheme (AAS), (iii) Government-to-Government exports, and, (iv) consignments already in physical export pipeline.
This is issued with the approval of the Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
Unquote:
Complete ban was imposed with some selective exceptions. For exports, conditions imposed are also highly restrictive and involves lengthy procedures.
After 30.09.2026 - Export allowed on selective basis:
After the ban period was over on 30.09.2026 and it appears to not yet extended), we find that exports are allowed by specific notification, for example:
Government of India
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Department of Commerce
Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi
Public Notice No. 32/2026-2027
Dated: 09 October, 2026
Subject: Allocation of quantity 5,841 MT of Sugar by EU for export from India under TRQ for the year 2026-27 (October 2026 to September 2027) -regarding.
In exercise of the powers conferred under Paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023, the Director General of Foreign Trade hereby allocates quantity of 5,841 MT for export of Sugar to EU from India under TRQ for the year 2025-26 (October 2025 to September 2026).
2. As per Notification No. 03/2015-20 dated April 20, 2015, export of sugar (HS Code 17010000) to EU under TRQ is 'Free' subject to the conditions notified in the 'Nature of Restrictions' in the above notification.
3. Certificate of Origin, if required, for preferential export of sugar to EU shall be issued by Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai on the recommendation of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) regarding entity and quantity for which eligible. Other certification requirements, if any, prescribed specifically for the export of sugar to EU would continue to be followed.
4. The quota will be operated by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), New Delhi, as the implementing agency for export of TRQ items to EU.
5. The reporting requirement as notified vide Notification No. 03/2015-2020 dated April 20, 2015 read with Notification No. 20/2015-2020 dated September 07, 2015 would be followed.
Effect of this Public Notice: The quantity of 5,841 MT Sugar to be exported to EU from India under TRQ for the year 2026-27 (October 2026 to September 2027) has been notified.
(Lav Agarwal)
Director General of Foreign Trade
& Ex-officio Additional Secretary, Government of India
E-mail: [email protected]
(Issued from F. No. 01/91/171/060/AM23/EC/E-33997)
Unquote:
The export release order is for small quantity and that too with so many restrictions and procedural requirement involving multiple agencies as can be observed from the above notification and circulars,
Export of organic sugar:
Vide Notification No. 51/2025-26 Dated: 29th December, 2025
Allowing Export of 50,000 MT of Organic Sugar per financial year was started.
Export of organic sugar under HS Codes 17011490 and 17019990 is allowed, subject to an overall ceiling of 50,000 MT per financial year as per the procedure prescribed in terms of FTP, 2023 from time to time and as per the modalities prescribed by APEDA separately.
Unquote:
The export policy is for small quantity and that too with additional requirement of certification of organic sugar besides so many other restrictions and procedural requirement involving multiple agencies as can be observed from the above notification.
Export policy of sugar - 03 /2015-2020 - Foreign Trade Policy
(To be Published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary Part-II, Section - 3, Sub-Section (ii))
Government of India
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Department of Commerce
Udyog Bhawan
Notification No 3/2015-2020
New Delhi, Dated : 20 April, 2015
Subject: Export policy of sugar.
S.O.(E)- In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No.22 of 1992) read with Para 1.02 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, the Central Government, with immediate effect, hereby makes the following amendments in Chapter 17 of Schedule 2 of ITC(HS) Classification of Export and Import Items.
2. Existing entries as per Notification No. 88(RE-2013)/2009-2014 Dated 04.07.2014
Existing entries:
Chapter 17
Sugars and Sugar Confectionery
| S. No. | Tariff Item HS Code | Unit | Item Description | Export Policy | Nature of Restriction |
| 93 | 1701 00 00 | Kg | (a) Sugar * | Free | Prior registration of quantity with DGFT. |
| Kg | (b) Preferential Quota Sugar to EU and USA | STE | Export permitted through M/s.Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Limited subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. |
* Sugar includes Organic Sugar. However, export of Pharmaceutical Grade Sugar [(i) Sucrose IP/BP/EP/USP/JP and (ii) Sucrose AR & LR] and Speciality Sugar [(i) Sugar cubes (ii) Sugar sachets (white & brown) (iii) Castor sugar (iv) Demerara sugar (v) Light brown sugar (vi) Icing sugar (vii) Fondant icing sugar (viii) Kathali sugar (ix) Candy sugar (x) Rainbow sugar (xi) Pearl sugar and (xii) Trimoline (invert sugar)] would not be subject to registration requirement.
Export Licensing Note of Chapter 17
Note 1
Deleted.
Note 2
Export of organic sugar without any quantity limits, will be permitted till the time export of sugar is "Free". Such export will be subject to following conditions:
(i) The sugar should be duly certified by APEDA as being organic sugar;
(ii) Prior registration of quantity with DGFT through online system.
Amended entries:
Chapter 17
Sugars and Sugar Confectionery
| S. No. | Tariff Item HS Code | Unit | Item Description | Export Policy | Nature of Restriction |
| 93 | 1701 00 00 | Kg | (a) Sugar * | Free | Prior registration of quantity with DGFT. |
| Kg | (b) Sugar to EU under CXL Quota | Free | The Certificate of Origin shall be issued by Additional DGFT, Mumbai. The exporters shall be required to furnish the details of actual exports (viz. quantity, value, destination, name & address of foreign buyer etc) to the Additional DGFT, Mumbai as well as to APEDA, New Delhi. This will be subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. | ||
| Kg | (c) Sugar to USA under TRQ | Free | The quota will be operated by APEDA, New Delhi as per the modalities and operational guidelines to be notified by APEDA. The exporters shall be required to furnish the details of actual exports (viz. quantity, value, destination, name & address of foreign buyer etc) to APEDA, New Delhi. Certificate of Origin, if required, shall be issued by Additional DGFT, Mumbai. This will be subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. |
* Sugar includes Organic Sugar. However, export of Pharmaceutical Grade Sugar [(i) Sucrose IP/BP/EP/USP/JP and (ii) Sucrose AR & LR] and Speciality Sugar [(i) Sugar cubes (ii) Sugar sachets (white & brown) (iii) Castor sugar (iv) Demerara sugar (v) Light brown sugar (vi) Icing sugar (vii) Fondant icing sugar (viii) Kathali sugar (ix) Candy sugar (x) Rainbow sugar (xi) Pearl sugar and (xii) Trimoline (invert sugar)] would not be subject to registration requirement.
Export Licensing Note of Chapter 17
Note 1
Deleted.
Note 2
Export of organic sugar without any quantity limits, will be permitted till the time export of sugar is "Free". Such export will be subject to following conditions:
(i) The sugar should be duly certified by APEDA as being organic sugar;
(ii) Prior registration of quantity with DGFT through online system.
3. Effect of this notification:
Export of Preferential Quota sugar to EU and USA has been moved from "STE" to "Free" regime subject to the conditions indicated in Nature of Restrictions.
(Pravir Kumar)
Director General of Foreign Trade
E-mail: dgft[at]nic[dot]in
(Issued from F.No.01/91/180/879/AM08/Export Cell)(Part)
Export policy of sugar. - 20/2015-20 - Foreign Trade Policy
(To be Published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary Part-II, Section - 3, Sub-Section (ii))
Government of India
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Department of Commerce
Udyog Bhawan
Notification No 20 /2015-20
New Delhi, Dated: 7 September, 2015
Subject: Export policy of sugar.
S.O.(E) In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No.22 of 1992) read with Para 1.02 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20, the Central Government, with immediate effect, hereby makes the following amendments Notification No. 3/2015-20 dated 20.04.2015.
2. Existing entries as per Notification No. 3/2015-20 Dated 20.04.2015
Existing entries:
Chapter 17
Sugars and Sugar Confectionery
| S.No. | Tariff Item HS Code | Unit | Item Description | Export Policy | Nature of Restriction |
| 93 | 1701 00 00 | Kg | (a) Sugar * | Free | Prior registration of quantity with DGFT. |
| Kg | (b) Sugar to EU under CXL Quota | Free | The Certificate of Origin shall be issued by Additional DGFT, Mumbai. The exporters Shall be required to furnish the details of actual exports (viz. quantity, value, destination, name & address of foreign buyer etc) to the Additional DGFT, Mumbai as well as to APEDA, New Delhi. This will be subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. | ||
| Kg | (c) Sugar to USA under TRQ | Free | The quota will be operated by APEDA, New Delhi as per the modalities and operational guidelines to be notified by APEDA. The exporters shall be required to furnish the details of actual exports (viz. quantity, value, destination, name & address of foreign buyer etc) to APEDA, New Delhi. Certificate of Origin, if required, shall be issued by Additional DGFT, Mumbai. This will be subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. |
* Sugar includes Organic Sugar. However, export of Pharmaceutical Grade Sugar [(i) Sucrose IP/BP/EP/USP/JP and (ii) Sucrose AR & LR] and Speciality Sugar [(i) Sugar cubes (ii) Sugar sachets (white & brown) (iii) Castor sugar (iv) Demerara sugar (v) Light brown sugar (vi) Icing sugar (vii) Fondant icing sugar (viii) Kathali sugar (ix) Candy sugar (x) Rainbow sugar (xi) Pearl sugar and (xii) Trimoline (invert sugar)] would not be subject to registration requirement.
Export Licensing Note of Chapter 17
Note 1
Deleted.
Note 2
Export of organic sugar without any quantity limits, will be permitted till the time export of sugar is "Free". Such export will be subject to following conditions:
(i) The sugar should be duly certified by APEDA as being organic sugar;
(ii) Prior registration of quantity with DGFT through online system.
Amended entries:
Chapter 17
Sugars and Sugar Confectionery
| S.No. | Tariff Item HS Code | Unit | Item Description | Export Policy | Nature of Restriction |
| 93 | 1701 00 00 | Kg | (a) Sugar | Free | |
| Kg | (b) Sugar to EU under CXL Quota | Free | The Certificate of Origin shall be issued by Additional DGFT, Mumbai. The exporters Shall be required to furnish the details of actual exports (viz. quantity, value, destination, name & address of foreign buyer etc) to the Additional DGFT, Mumbai as well as to APEDA, New Delhi. This will be subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. | ||
| Kg | (c) Sugar to USA under TRQ | Free | The quota will be operated by APEDA, New Delhi as per the modalities and operational guidelines to be notified by APEDA. The exporters shall be required to furnish the details of actual exports (viz. quantity, value, destination, name & address of foreign buyer etc.) to APEDA, New Delhi. Certificate of Origin, if required, shall be issued by Additional DGFT, Mumbai. This will be subject to quantitative ceiling notified by DGFT from time to time. |
* Sugar includes Organic Sugar. However, export of Pharmaceutical Grade Sugar [(i) Sucrose IP/BP/EP/USP/JP and (ii) Sucrose AR & LR] and Speciality Sugar [(i) Sugar cubes (ii) Sugar sachets (white & brown) (iii) Castor sugar (iv) Demerara sugar (v) Light brown sugar (vi) Icing sugar (vii) Fondant icing sugar (viii) Kathali sugar (ix) Candy sugar (x) Rainbow sugar (xi) Pearl sugar and (xii) Trimoline (invert sugar)] would not be subject to registration requirement.
Export Licensing Note of Chapter 17
Note 1
Deleted.
Export Licensing Note of Chapter 17
Note 1
Deleted.
Note 2
Export of organic sugar without any quantity limits, will be permitted till the time export of sugar is "Free". Such export will be subject to the condition that the sugar should be duly certified by APEDA as being organic sugar.
3. Effect of this notification:
The requirement of registration of quantity with DGFT for export of sugar has been dispensed with.
(Anup Wadhawan)
Director General of Foreign Trade
E-mail: dgft[at]nic[dot]in
(Issued from F.No.01/91/180/879/AM08/Export Cell)(Part)
Earlier circulars for allocation of sugar for export to EU and US, as per popular terms 'export quota' are listed below. These shows that the policies are based on short term outlook and are not even based on medium term policies.
For ease of doing business the policies need to be long-term policies. This is also required for long-term views about production of sugar cane, sugar and allied products.