APEDA Registration: Process, Required Documents, Advantages

What is APEDA (Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority)?

Governed and administered by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, APEDA i.e. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority is an online portal which is developed to provide all relevant and important information on Indian agricultural products to the international buyers.

Apart from providing the relevant information, APEDA also serves as a universal online meeting point for the exporters and importers wherein they can receive trade enquiries and offers and can also make demands and specific queries.

Constituted under Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act 1985, APEDA provides financial assistance, information, along with formulation and implementation of the standards in order to develop the products and thus enhance the export of scheduled products. To gain the benefits of APEDA, all the exporters of scheduled products need to register themselves with the APEDA.

What is APEDA? – APEDA Registration Process & Advantages

Administered and governed by the central government, it has assigned various functions to APEDA in order to meet its main objective of promoting the export of the scheduled products and thus the concerned authority of APEDA needs to implement the rules and guidelines framed by the central government.

Products monitored by APEDA

The products scheduled under APEDA are as below:

Floriculture and seeds
Fresh fruits and vegetables
Processed foods
Meat and meat products
Dairy Products
Confectionery, biscuits and bakery products
Honey, jaggery and sugar products
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts
Pickles, papads and chutneys
Guar Gum
Herbal and medicinal plants
Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds
Poultry and poultry products
Cereals
Organic Products

Assigned Functions to APEDA Authority

Central government has assigned various functions to the APEDA authority in order to meet its objectives, such as:

To improve the packaging of the scheduled products;
To improve the marketing of the scheduled products on international level;
Timely development of the scheduled products along with promotion of export oriented production of scheduled products;
To fix the standards and specifications for the scheduled products for export purpose;
Timely inspection of meat and related products in slaughter houses; processing plants, storage plants and any other places where the products are stored after their production so that the quality of the product is not compromised.
Registration of exporters of the scheduled products on payment of the complete fees.
To provide financial assistance for the development of the industries for the production of scheduled and export oriented products.
Timely collection of statistics from the owners of the factories which are engaged in different functions such as production, processing, packaging, marketing or export of the scheduled products.

Composition of the APEDA Authority

As per the central government guidelines, APEDA authority consists of following members:

A chairman, appointed by the Central Government
The Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Government of India, ex-official.
One member, appointed by the Central Government, representing the Planning Commission.
Three members of parliament, wherein two are selected by the House of People and one by the Council of States.
Eight members appointed by the Central Government from the following ministries:
- Commerce
- Finance
- Food
- Civil Aviation
- Shipping and transport
- Civil supplies
- Industry
- Agriculture and Rural Development
Five members appointed by the Central Government in rotation of the alphabetical order as per the States and the Union Territories.
Seven members appointed by the Central Government representing the following:
- National Horticultural Board
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research
- National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation
- Central Food Technological Research Institute
- Indian Institute of Packaging
- Spices Export Promotion Council
- Cashew Export Promotion Council.
Twelve members appointed by the Central Government representing the following:
- Packaging Industry
- Meat, Poultry and Dairy Products Industries
- Fruit and Vegetable Product Industries
- Other Scheduled Products Industries

APEDA Regional & Virtual Offices in India

Having its head office in New Delhi, APEDA has 5 regional offices and 13 virtual offices, namely:

Regional Offices

Mumbai
Kolkata
Bangalore
Hyderabad
Guwahati

Virtual Offices

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)
Bhubaneshwar (Orissa)
Srinagar (J&K)
Chandigarh
Imphal (Manipur)
Agartala (tripura)
Kohima (Nagaland)
Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
Raipur (Chattisgarh)
Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and
Panaji (Goa)

Advantages of APEDA Registration

Advantages of APEDA are listed as below:

It is a one-time registration.
It enables the registered exporters to avail the financial assistance schemes of APEDA.
It is a mandatory registration.
It serves as a meeting point for the registered members to meet and to participate in various training programs.
It ensures the timely production and quality of scheduled products.

Documents Required for APEDA Registration

For getting yourself registered as an exporter with APEDA, you need to submit the required filled form along with set of following documents:

Self-certified copy of import-export code issued by D.G.F.T
Application form dully filled and signed by the authorized signatory.
List of Directors/Partners/Proprietor on company’s letterhead in triplicate
Self-attested copy of PAN Card.
Bank certificate duly signed by the authorities.
In case of Pvt. Ltd./Public Ltd. Co.’s/ societies, a copy of Memorandum and Articles of Association and in case of partnerships, notarized partnership deed should be submitted.
In case you, as an exporter want to register yourself as a Manufacturer Exporter, you need to submit the copy of company’s registration with FFO, Directorate of Industries, State Department of Horticulture/Agmark/EIA etc

APEDA Registration Fee

The exporter may submit registration fees of Rs. 5000 + GST. Exporters can make online payment through Master and Visa Debit & Credit Card or make demand draft in favour of “APEDA” payable at respective cities of APEDA offices in India.

APEDA Registration Online Process

Step 1 – Visit APEDA Official Website and click on "Register as Member" tab on home page

Step 2 – When you click on "Register as Member" tab, you will have to fill your IE Code, Company Name, E-mail ID and Mobile Number.

Step 3 – You will receive OTP on your E-mail and Mobile Number. After enter the OTP details on verification screen, click on “Submit” to proceed for application.

Step 4 - After verification confirmation, exporter will required to fill online application and upload the required documents in JPEG, PDF or PNG formats only.

Step 5 – You have to make online payment through MasterCard/Visa Debit or Credit Card.

Step 6 - After the completion of payment process, you will receive an application number.

Step 7 – You will receive Login details in your registered email id.

Step 8 – Exporter can login in to their account through “Exporter’s Login” link given at APEDA website.

Step 9 - Exporter can view the status of RCMC application by clicking the “Track Application" link to view the status of application by submitting the IE Code and Application number until it is issued.

Step 10 - After the approval of RCMC from APEDA officials, exporter may take printout of their RCMC Certificate through their APEDA Login under the heading of “View RCMC Certificate” under RCMC Menu.