Progress of Trade Facilitation in India: A Quantitative Assessment

Abstract

In this paper, the authors present a long-term quantitative assessment of the trade facilitative environment in India. This pioneering exercise uses average cargo release time as a performance indicator, drawing upon secondary data sources based on transaction-level digital timestamps, as distinct from perception-based global surveys. It concludes that the unsegregated average import cargo release time has improved from 14 days in 2010–2011 to 86 hours and 44 hours for marine and air cargo, respectively, in 2023, yet falling short of 48 hours and 24 hours respective target set by the government. Highlighting the trade facilitation measures that have worked, the paper recommends focusing on the quality of regulatory measures, infrastructural improvement and wider adoption for the next generation of reforms. JEL Classifications: F1, F14, F18, F19