Budget 2025: Commerce Ministry seeks more steps to boost e-commerce export hubs

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The Commerce Ministry is seeking a further boost to its initiatives on dedicated e-commerce hubs across the nation, including easier policies for return of goods, in the upcoming budget for 2025-26.

The hubs are part of the government’s plan to achieve the goal of $1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030 and was announced in the previous budget.

“The hubs may require other measures, such as an effective return policy, given that 15-20 percent of goods are returned, and there could be issues around financing of e-commerce exporters,” a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

The first e-commerce export hub in the country is expected to start functioning from March this year. Five firms, including logistics aggregator Shiprocket and air cargo handling company Cargo Service Centre, have been given approval for the pilot-launch of these hubs in Delhi.

The Commerce Ministry has sent recommendations to the Finance Ministry on measures to further improve and streamline the export hubs ahead of Budget 2025-26, the official added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget on February 1.

In its suggestions, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), too, had suggested prioritising the implementation of the key initiatives announced in Budget 2024-25, including setting up e-commerce export hubs in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode to help small and medium industries and artisans access global markets.

Currently, India’s e-commerce exports are much smaller, compared to those in China, South Korea, and Vietnam. Various industry estimates suggest these exports are in the $3-5 billion range, compared to China’s $350 billion annually.

Exports via e-commerce help small and medium-scale industries, which are often the suppliers of various goods sold on such platforms.

E-commerce export hubs aim to facilitate trade and export-related services under one roof.

This initiative is crucial to bridging the gap between the country's e-commerce exports that are only around $5 billion, compared to about $300 billion of China.