The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, or commonly known APEDA, was established in 1985 as per the prescriptions mentioned in the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act of 1985 aimed for the development and the promotion of export of scheduled products. It has been formed to offer financial assistance, guidelines and information concerning the development of scheduled products. These scheduled products have been listed in the aforementioned Act, and the exporters of such products are required to register themselves under the APEDA. In this article, we look at APEDA Registration and the essentials surrounding the same.

All the exporters of the scheduled products are required to register themselves with APEDA. However, it is significant to note that any person willing to obtain APEDA registration needs to first obtain registration for Import Export Code. Further, the application for APEDA registration shall be made within one month from the date of an undertaking of such export. Furthermore, this registration is a one-time registration process and shall be valid unless the concerned Authority cancels it. In this article, we will be talking about the APEDA registration together with all the essentials concerning it.

What is APEDA RCMC Registration?

RCMC stands for Registration Cum Membership Certificate. It is a membership certificate issued by the Export Promotional Councils (EPCs) or Commodity Boards of India. RCMC is a proof that the exporter is registered with the Export Promotional Council / Commodity Boards.

The application for registration under APEDA shall be made within 1 month from the date of undertaking of export. A person can be registered either as a vendor exporter or as a manufacturing exporter.

The objective of APEDA is to promote schedule products export and to achieve this various functions has been undertaken by this body under the regulation of central government. Central government lays down the rules and regulation and implements through this body for the efficient administration of APEDA Act.

• These authorities promote the export-oriented products and develop the scheduled products
• It sets the standards and specifications for scheduled products.
• This agency also registers the exporters of scheduled products, once the required fee is paid.
• It also gives expert advice, for instance in the case of packaging and marketing of the scheduled products
• Along with this, it also carries out an inspection of products for the sake of ensuring the quality of such products.
• Furthermore, it provides training in various aspects of the industries connected with the scheduled products.
• Moreover, it helps in the development of industries related to scheduled products and undertakes survery, feasibility studies and so on.
• It also collects statistics from the owners of factories or establishments and publishes such statistics.
• It also conducts inspections on meat and meat products in places such as slaughterhouses, processing plants, storage premises, conveyances, including other places where meat related products are kept/handled. This is done to ensure the standard and quality of these products.

It is the responsibility of the APEDA to promote and develop the activities of export of the following mentioned products that are covered as the Scheduled Products Category as per the APEDA Act.

• Meat and meat products
• Fruits, vegetables and their products
• Poultry and poultry products
• Dairy products
• Honey, jaggery and sugar products
• Confectionery, biscuits and bakery products
• Cocoa and its products, including chocolates of every kind.
• Groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts
• Cereal and cereal products
• Pickles, papads and chutneys
• Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
• Guar gum
• Herbal and medicinal plants
• Floriculture and Floriculture products
• Along with these products, one of the primary responsibility of the APEDA is to monitor the import of sugar.

The applicant is required to submit an application form to register themselves under APEDA within a month from the date of undertaking the business. In the case where the exporter fails to register themselves in the given timeline with sufficient cause, the timeline could be extended by the concerned authority only.

Once the applicant completed the required forms and pays the requisite fee, the concerned authority will issue a Registration-cum-Membership-Certificate (RCMC). This is a one-time registration, and the rules and regulations under the APEDA Act govern the registered members.

Online Process

Step 1: Log on to the APEDA webpage to register yourself.

Step 2: Click on the Register as Member tab.

Step 3: Enter necessary details such as Import-Export Code, Email Address and Mobile Number. Then, click on the Submit icon.

Step 4: A One-Time Password/ OTP would be sent on your registered Email Address and the Mobile Number in order to confirm the given details. The same would be required to be entered in the field provided for the same on the verification screen. Click on the Submit icon to continue.

Step 5: Once the verification is done, the online application has to be completed with appropriate information and the essential documents have to be uploaded.

Note: The documents that have to be uploaded must be in the JPEG, PDF or PNG formats only.

Step 6: The online application may be completed in more than one session by visiting the same page with the appropriate OTP. Once the essential information is entered in its respective fields, the form has to be saved. The entered data may be edited until the payment is made online.

Step 7: The registration fee is INR 5000 excluding taxes, and can be made through any of the following modes of payment:

• Credit Card (MasterCard and Visa)
• Debit Card (MasterCard and Visa)
• Demand draft in favour of  APEDA is payable at respective cities.

Step 8: After the payment has been made successfully, an Application Number will be generated. This would be required for future references.

Step 9: On issuance of the RCMC, the login credentials will be sent to your registered Email Address. You may log in into your APEDA account by clicking on the Exporter Login tab that can be found on the APEDA homepage.

Step 10: The status of the RCMC application may be viewed by clicking the Track Application tab, and by submitting the Import-Export Code along with the Application Number.

Step 11: If there are any shortcomings in the submitted application, the exporter will be required to re-submit the application and documents online.

Step 12: The final step is the approval of the RCMC by the APEDA Officials. Once the approval is granted, the Certificate may be obtained using the APEDA portal under the tab of View RCMC Certificate under the RCMC Menu.

NOTE:

The following documents are to be submitted along with the application form. It should be noted that the hard copy of any document is NOT required for applying RCMC from the APEDA.

• Self-certified copy of the Import-Export Code issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.
• Bank Certificate that is duly signed by the concerned authorities.
• If you desire to register yourself as a Manufacturer Exporter, you must furnish a self-attested copy of the company registration along with certifications from relevant certification agencies for the following products.

• Duly signed an application form
• Copy of Import-Export code issued by D.G.F.T. (Directorate General of Foreign Trade)
• Bank Certificate which is duly signed by the authorities
• Bank account statement of the bank account of the firm (for latest 2 months)
• Cancelled cheque

Following are the Benefits annexed with the concept of APEDA Registration:

• Obtaining APEDA Registration is compulsory for doing exports of the scheduled products (agricultural and processed food products).
• The exporters can make use of the provided APEDA subsidies for the development of export infrastructure, market development, quality development activities after obtaining APEDA Registration.
• The exporters can easily get updated with the latest export quality standards, infrastructure support, trade fairs, and agri-exchange reports.
• The exporters will become eligible to attend various training programs organized by the APEDA for skill and business development.
• Provide guidelines to exporters about the various scheduled products and countries for export.

• Rs. 5000 (exclusive of GST).
• Payment can be made either online (credit/debit cards) or Offline (Demand Draft in favour of APEDA payable in respective cities of APEDA Offices).
• Government fees paid will be refunded by the registering authority in case of refusal of registration.

• APEDA RCMC Registration is valid for 5 Financial Years.
• After the completion of 5 years, you need to renew your APEDA RCMC certificate.

Having APEDA Registration for the exporter who are dealing in the export of the scheduled products is mandatory. Registered members under APEDA can participate in various training programs organized by APEDA on various scheduled products in several aspects of the Industries and on how to improve their business.

The registration can be cancelled by the authority upon:

• Furnishing false information.
• Breach of rules by the registering authority.
• Breach of conditions imposed in the certificate of registration.
• Failure to export the scheduled product for 12 consecutive months

For registering under APEDA, the applicant should submit the application form within one month from the date of undertaking the business. If the Exporter of scheduled products fails to register within that time limit due to sufficient cause, such date can be extended only by the Authority.