The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has expanded the list of countries requiring mandatory halal certification under the India Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS). 

The newly added countries are Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Kenya, Morocco, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Brunei.

With this expansion, exporters of meat and meat products must ensure halal certification through the prescribed Indian conformity framework before shipping consignments to these destinations.

The notification has been issued in exercise of powers under Section 3 read with Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992, read with Paras 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023. It amends Notification No. 34/2024-25 dated October 1, 2024, which originally introduced mandatory halal certification under the i-CAS framework for exports of specified meat and meat products to certain notified countries.

Phased implementation timelines

Recognising the need for operational readiness, the DGFT has provided differentiated timelines for the enforcement of compliance requirements.

The i-CAS–Halal compliance requirements will become effective after a transition period of two weeks from the date of the notification.

A longer transition period of six months has been granted. According to the notification, this extended window is intended to facilitate system preparedness and onboarding of certification bodies.

The DGFT has clarified that all other policy conditions remain unchanged. This includes mandatory certification by NABCB-accredited certification bodies, and compliance with importing country regulations, as already stipulated under Notification No. 34/2024-25.

The notification explicitly states that, with immediate effect, 20 additional countries are now covered under the mandatory halal certification regime for specified meat and meat products exported from India. While the move is expected to enhance acceptance of Indian exports in halal-sensitive markets, exporters will need to quickly align internal processes, certification timelines, and logistics planning to avoid shipment disruptions.

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