An E-commerce Export Hub (ECEH) is a designated area meant to give cross-border e-commerce exporters favourable infrastructure, run in public-private-partnership mode. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) invited proposals for pilot hubs in August 2024. As of 9 November 2026, we could not confirm from an official page which hubs are live or open to individual sellers.
What a hub is meant to do
According to a PTI report of 23 August 2024, hubs are meant to give predictable, fast turnaround for e-commerce exports, allow easy re-import of returns or rejects, and bring cross-border stakeholders under one roof. They would offer warehousing, returns processing, labelling, testing and repackaging. The same report describes two parts: a fulfilment area for packing, labelling and storage, and a customs station where goods are cleared once a buyer is found.
What was announced
- The Budget announced hubs to promote exports through e-commerce in PPP mode.
- DGFT invited industry proposals for examination, support and hand-holding, with a pilot launch planned.
- Initially 10 to 15 hubs were planned.
- Software for faster export clearances was still to be finalised at that time.
Later pilot selections, operators and locations are not confirmed from a page we opened.
What a seller should do now
Do not plan around an ECEH until a hub operator publishes terms. For export routes available today, read our guide to the ECEH policy, the Amazon Global Selling guide and exporting from India to Dubai.
The pilot
A report dated 16 November 2024 says the government selected Shiprocket and Cargo Service Centre on a pilot basis, with hubs in and around Delhi airport expected to begin operations in February 2025. It adds that returned shipments and rejected goods can come back without import duty, and that pilot feedback will shape guidelines for more hubs. We did not confirm whether the hubs opened on that schedule.
Why it matters to a small exporter
The PTI report puts India's e-commerce exports at about USD 5 billion a year, against China's USD 300 billion, and says small producers of items such as jewellery, apparel and handicrafts could sell through aggregators using a hub. Another report quotes a different figure for China, USD 250 billion, so the comparison is approximate.
Blooprint, a Bengaluru e-commerce agency, helps sellers set up marketplace export listings through Amazon account management. This is general information, not trade or legal advice.