International Speed Post, also referred to as EMS is premium service brought to you by India Post that deals with international postal delivery and courier services. It is quite popular for the fast delivery, cost-effectiveness and tracking services for documents and merchandise.
Cross-border trade has given Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) a great chance to explore the international market and sell their products to a greater audience overseas. The Government of India has introduced various policies like the MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) Policy to support cross-border trade from India. The primary objective of the new FTP: MEIS 2015-20 is to increase exports to USD 900 billion by the year 2019-20 from USD 466.
In the last blog, we spoke of two important factors while selling internationally – the shipping and the De-minimis value per country. Now let’s move forward with other important considerations.
When you think of cross-border trade, a huge international market is waiting to be explored. The Amazon 2017 consensus states that India has seen a 244% growth in Indian exporters. Exporters are selling a vast variety of items through their channels. These range from home decor materials, bed sheets, Art supplies and even leather bags. These items are a huge hit in the west and people are looking to buy them. By 2025 the e-commerce sector in India is expected to reach $220 billion. Thus, it is a good time to get out there and sell your products internationally. The market is growing and the process has never been easier.
Selling across continents may sound easy but it involves a lot of groundwork before you can make the plunge. Thus, this series will guide you through the various considerations you need to review before selling internationally.
As eCommerce has broken geographical boundaries, a significant part of it requires shipping to international locations. However, international shipping may come with some catches. There may be instances when you may need to pay more due to hidden fees and costs. As such it is always good to have an idea of these hidden fees and come up with strategies to reduce them.
The government of India has introduced the Goods and Services Tax (GST) across the country. This has been done to increase revenue and also make the whole taxation process more flexible. As exports and import trade ranks among the important revenue generators in the country, it remains to be seen who this new tax system has impacted the sector. As a trader, once you applied for it, you may want to know the different schemes available under the GST scheme, the tax filing and refund process and lots more. The government has already shared some notification regarding the same so that businesses get the information that they are looking for.