DGFT Keeps Prepared Culture Media Exports Free but Adds CAPEXIL Shipment-Clearance and Health-Certificate Steps

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has amended the export policy for prepared culture media under ITC(HS) 38210000 through Notification No. 44/2026-27, dated 12 October 2026, effective immediately. The headline for exporters is reassuring: these products remain Free to export. What the notification adds is a clear procedure for the certificates that destination countries may demand — a Shipment Clearance Certificate and a Health Certificate — so that genuine export shipments are not held up by documentary gaps at the far end.

What Happened

• Exports of prepared culture media (culture media for growing or maintaining micro-organisms, viruses and similar organisms, and plant, human or animal cells — HS heading 3821) remain Free, subject to the conditions in the revised policy.
• The notification sets out a Shipment Clearance Certificate, issued per consignment by CAPEXIL (the Chemicals and Allied Export Promotion Council of India), covering exporter and plant details (including plant approval number and IEC), product and quantity, invoice number and date, and ports of loading and destination.
• It also describes a Health Certificate, issued per consignment after shipment and handed to the buyer, covering HS code, packaging, origin, destination, vessel name, departure date and applicable health requirements. Where the importing country requires it, the Health Certificate is issued jointly by CAPEXIL and the Regional Animal Quarantine Officer (Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries).
• The certificates are to be arranged where the importing country requires them — they are a facilitation framework, not a blanket new licensing condition.

Why / Background

Prepared culture media are used in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, food testing and research, and many importing countries apply biosafety or animal-health import controls on media that may contain animal-derived components. Previously, exporters sometimes struggled to produce the exact certificate an overseas regulator wanted, risking delays or rejections at destination. By formalising who issues what — CAPEXIL for shipment clearance, and CAPEXIL with the quarantine authority for health certification — DGFT has given exporters a defined, repeatable route to meet those destination requirements while keeping the export itself unrestricted.

Who's Affected

Exporters of prepared culture media (HS 3821) — diagnostic and life-sciences manufacturers in particular — are the primary audience, especially those shipping to markets with animal-health or biosafety import rules. CAPEXIL and the Regional Animal Quarantine Officers are the issuing authorities. Freight forwarders and CHAs handling these consignments should factor the certificate timing into booking and documentation schedules, noting that the Health Certificate is issued after shipment.

What Exporters and Forwarders Should Do Now

• Check the destination country's import requirements first — the certificates are needed only where the importing regulator requires them, so confirm before every new-market shipment.
• Register and coordinate with CAPEXIL for the Shipment Clearance Certificate, and ensure your plant approval number and IEC are correctly recorded.
• Build the Health Certificate into your post-shipment workflow, since it is issued after dispatch and handed to the buyer; align with the Regional Animal Quarantine Officer where joint issuance applies.
• Keep accurate, consignment-level records — exporter and plant details, invoice data, ports, vessel and departure dates — as these feed directly into the certificates.
• Brief your overseas buyers on which certificate they will receive and when, to avoid clearance disputes at destination.

The Bigger Picture

The amendment reflects a steady Indian approach of keeping sensitive bio-products export-free while tightening the documentary chain that governs their acceptance abroad. For life-sciences exporters, destination-country compliance — not Indian export licensing — is increasingly where shipments succeed or stall. A defined certificate route reduces that friction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are prepared culture media still free to export? Yes. Notification No. 44/2026-27 keeps them Free, subject to the conditions in the revised policy.

Do I always need the certificates? No. They are required where the importing country demands them. Confirm the destination's rules before each shipment.

Who issues the Health Certificate? It is issued per consignment after shipment; where the importing country requires it, CAPEXIL and the Regional Animal Quarantine Officer issue it jointly.

When is the Shipment Clearance Certificate issued? Per consignment by CAPEXIL, covering exporter, plant, product, invoice and port details.

Conclusion

DGFT has preserved free export of prepared culture media while giving exporters a structured way to satisfy destination-country certificate requirements through CAPEXIL and, where needed, the animal-quarantine authority. Exporters should verify destination rules, engage CAPEXIL early, and build the post-shipment Health Certificate into their process.

This summary is for general guidance. Verify the exact conditions and certificate procedure against DGFT Notification No. 44/2026-27 on the official DGFT portal (dgft.gov.in) and with CAPEXIL before acting.