TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Request for comments on the draft of ‘The Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026’
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....n prepared for 'The Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026' to address these requirements. 2. The proposed 'Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026' seeks to provide statutory recognition to electronic trade documents, enable trusted digital verification mechanisms, and facilitate secure cross-border exchange of trade records. A copy of the draft Bill is placed at Annexure to this Trade Notice for soliciting feedback, comments and suggestions of the ecosystem stakeholders and the industry experts. 3. Inputs must be submitted within 30 days of issuance of this Trade Notice at the e-mail: [email protected]. This Trade Notice is issued with the approval of the Competent Authority. (Md. Moin Afaque) Joint Director General of Foreign Trade (Issued from F.No. 01/02/14/AM-26/EG&TF/e- 42735) ANNEXURE The Digital Trade Facilitation Bill, 2026 A Bill to provide legal recognition, validity and enforceability to electronic trade documents and to regulate the use, management and cross-border recognition of digital identity and trust services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY Short title and commence....
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....ntity management service provider" means a person who has been granted an authority to provide identity management services. (k) "identity management system" means a set of processes and technologies used to identify, authenticate, and verify the identity of a person, system, or device, using reliable methods as may be prescribed. (l) "paper trade document" means any trade document or instrument, in physical paper form, specified in the First Schedule, which entitles the holder thereof to claim the performance of the obligation indicated therein. (m)"relying party" means a person who acts on the basis of the result of identity management services or trust services; (n) "subscriber" means a person who enters into an arrangement for the provision of identity management services or trust services with an identity management service provider or a trust service provider; (o) "trust services" means an electronic service that provides assurance of certain qualities of a data message or an electronic trade document and includes the services for creating and managing electronic signatures, electronic seals, electronic time stamps, website au....
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.... (a) the electronic trade document contains at least the information required to be contained in a corresponding paper trade document. (b) a reliable method is used, - (i) To identify the electronic trade document. (ii) To render that electronic trade document capable of being subject to control from its creation until it ceases to have any effect or validity. (iii) To retain the integrity of that electronic trade document; and, (iv) to provide a verifiable audit trail from the creation to the extinction of the document. (c) the method used to establish control, integrity and authenticity is deemed to be reliable as specified under this Chapter or as notified by the Central Government. (2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Chapter, including but not limited to - (a) prescribing standards and methods for ensuring the authenticity, integrity, and control of electronic trade documents. (b) specifying, determining, or prescribing what constitutes a reliable method for the purposes of this Chapter. Provided that the impl....
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.... (a) a reliable method for the change of form in accordance with this chapter is used, and, (b) a statement that the document has been converted is included in the document in its new form. (2) Where a document is converted in accordance with subsection (1), in such case, - (a) the document in its old form ceases to have effect, and, (b) all rights, obligations and liabilities relating to the document continue to have effect in relation to the document in its new form. CHAPTER III IDENTITY MANAGEMENT AND TRUST SERVICES Legal Recognition of Identity Management Services and Trust Services 10. The result of electronic identification, the use of an identity management service or credential, or the use of a trust service shall not be denied legal effect, validity, enforceability, or admissibility as evidence solely on the ground that such identification, service, credential, or trust service is in electronic form. Reliability Standards for Identity Management Services and Trust Services 11. (1) Where the law requires- (a) the identification of a person for any purpose, such requirement shall be deemed to be satisfied....
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....s reliable by the Central Government or any authority notified by it in this behalf shall be presumed to be reliable. (6) The presumption under sub-section (5) shall not limit- (a) the ability of any person to establish in any other manner the reliability of a method; or, (b) the right of any person to adduce evidence of the non-reliability of a method used by an identity management service or trust service notified as reliable. Obligations and Liabilities of Service Providers 12. (1) Every identity management service provider or trust service provider, as the case may be, shall (a) establish and maintain operational rules, policies, and practices appropriate to the purpose and design of the service, including, where applicable,- (i) in case of identity management services, enrolment and identity proofing, attribute updates, issuing, activating, suspending, revoking, and renewing credentials, and managing identification factors and mechanisms; and, (ii) in case of trust services, a plan to ensure continuity in case of termination of activity. (b) act in accordance with its operational rules, policies, practices, a....
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....at transaction. (5) Every identity management service provider or trust service provider, as the case may be, shall comply with the financial, managerial, operational, technical, and information security measures as may be prescribed by the Central Government. Obligations of subscribers 13. Every subscriber to an identity management service or trust service shall notify the respective service provider, using the means provided by the service provider or otherwise using reasonable means, if- (a) the subscriber knows that the subscriber's identity credentials or the data or means used for access to or use of the trust service have been compromised; or, (b) circumstances known to the subscriber give rise to a substantial risk that the subscriber's identity credentials or the data or means used for access to or use of the trust service may have been compromised. Notification of identity management service and trust services 14. (1)The Central Government or any authority notified by the Central Government in this behalf may, subject to the provisions of this Bill, notify any identity management service or trust service, taking into account relevant....
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....can be demonstrated to detect any alteration to the data message after that time and date, apart from the addition of any endorsement and any change that arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display; and (d) to retain such information, if any, as enables the identification of the origin and destination of a data message and the time and date when it was sent or received. (5) Where a law requires a document, record or information to be delivered by registered mail or similar service, or provides consequences for the absence of delivery, that requirement shall be deemed to have been met in relation to a data message if a reliable method in accordance with Section 11 is used, - (a) to indicate the time and date when the data message was received for delivery and the time and date when it was delivered. (b) to detect any alteration to the data message after the time and date when the data message was received for delivery to the time and date when it was delivered, apart from the addition of any endorsement or information required by this section, and any change that arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display; an....
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....entiary value of electronic trade documents and trust services 18. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), an electronic trade document issued or transferred using a reliable method shall be presumed to be authentic and shall be admissible as evidence in any legal proceeding, including civil, commercial or regulatory proceedings, in accordance with the provisions of the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. (2) The presumption under sub-section (1) may be rebutted by evidence showing that the electronic trade document or trust service is not authentic or has been materially altered, unless such alteration occurred in the normal course of communication, storage, or display and is verifiably logged. (3) Where any law requires a trade document or signature to be presented, produced or retained for evidentiary purposes, such requirement shall be deemed to be satisfied if the corresponding electronic trade document or trust service complies with the requirements specified under this Bill and any rules made thereunder. (4) For the purposes of sub-section (1), a reliable method shall be deemed to include digital signatures or electronic records authenticated in accordance with the provisi....