Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) is the official export certification body of India set up by the Government of India under Section 3 of Export (Quality Control & Inspection) Act, 1963 for sound development of India’s exports.

The Central Government is empowered under the Act to:

•	Notify commodities and establish standards of quality;
•	Specify the type of quality control and/or inspection; and
•	Prohibit the export in the course of international trade of a notified commodity unless it is accompanied by a certificate issued under Section 7 of the Act.

Nearly 1000 commodities ranging from Food & Agriculture, Chemicals, Engineering, Footwear, Jute & Jute Products etc. have been notified & EIC offers services, either directly or through Export Inspection Agencies, its field organizations, having head offices at Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata & Mumbai with 41 Sub-Offices including laboratories spread all over the country.

EIC’s certification is internationally recognized in the following areas:

•	Basmati Rice by European Commission (for Certificates of Authenticity).
•	Black Pepper by United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) as per which any consignment of black pepper from India not accompanied by EIA’s certificate, is detained on arrival in USA.
•	Fish & Fishery Products by European Commission as per which, the processing units are specifically approved for export to European Union and the names of approved units sent to the European Commission for formal notification, after which they can export to EU countries.
•	Fish & Fishery Products by Australian Quarantine & Inspection Services (AQIS) Australia’s official import control agency as per which seafood consignments from India accompanied by EIC’s certificates will undergo only random verification sampling not exceeding 5% of the consignments and health certificates issued by EIC will be accepted.
•	85 items like food, cement, electrical appliances, chemicals etc. by Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) for the purpose of regulatory import inspection scheme of Sri Lanka.

n the WTO regime, as India’s trading partners are installing regulatory import controls under the provisions of SPS and TBT Agreements, EIC has refashioned its role to introduce voluntary certification programmes besides regulatory export control, especially in food sector, and is seeking recognition for EIC’s certification by official import control agencies of India’s trading partners as per provisions of WTO agreements to facilitate easier access to their markets for Indian exporters. Such recognition ensures acceptance of Indian goods without or with reduced level of inspection on arrival thus minimizing high costs of testing on arrival, recall and destruction. They also provide a forum for Indian exporters to take issues like appeal, retesting and technical issues with the other country officially through EIC. EIC is also undertaking preparation of database on importing countries regulatory standards and conformity assessment systems and has intensified training to the industry especially in international standards on food safety/quality/environment management systems under its Human Resource & Quality Development Centre to help the exporters and become a facilitator.