RELIEF Export Scheme Extended Till 31 March 2027

Exporters shipping to the Gulf and the wider West Asian sea corridor will keep a safety net for another year. The Department of Commerce has stretched the timelines of Component II of RELIEF, short for Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation, up to 31 March 2027. RELIEF is a time-bound measure that sits under the Export Promotion Mission. The extension was notified through Notification No. 37/2026-27, issued on 30 September 2026, and the reason given is the continuing geopolitical turmoil in West Asia and the damage it has done to shipping across the Gulf and nearby waters.

What Component II offers

The idea of Component II is to nudge exporters into taking cover from the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, known as ECGC, before they load their next consignment for the notified regions. It does so by offering 95 per cent risk coverage. The benefit applies to Standalone Policies as well as Whole Turnover Policies taken on or after 16 March 2026. An exporter who qualifies is also shielded on price: the premium payable cannot be pushed above the level that prevailed before the disruption began, for as long as the eligible period runs.

Which cargo is covered

Three categories of cargo come within the cover, namely Full Container Load, Less than Container Load and refrigerated or reefer containers. Energy shipments are kept out of the scheme. Exporters who want the benefit have to file their claims with supporting papers on the ECGC customer portal. ECGC has also put up video tutorials on its official YouTube channel explaining how to generate a user identity and password, register as an exporter and lodge a claim.

Background

RELIEF was launched on 19 March 2026 as a focused answer to an unusual problem: freight rates that had shot up, insurance premia that had climbed with them and war-linked risks facing cargo bound for the Gulf and the West Asian maritime corridor. By carrying the measure forward, the government is signalling that it intends to hold trade flows steady and keep exporters covered while the uncertainty lasts.