India has emerged as a major player in global trade, evidenced by its position as the sixth largest economy worldwide. However, fully realizing India's immense potential requires strengthening regulatory frameworks around governance and compliance. This paper examines India's complex trade compliance landscape, analyzing the remit of key bodies like the DGFT, CBIC, and RBI. It explores major legislative pillars like the Foreign Trade Act and Customs Act that shape India's trade trajectory. Divergences from international best practices are assessed across areas like tariffs, IPR, e-commerce rules, and agricultural subsidies. For instance, India's stance on pharmaceutical patents often varies from global IP norms favoring strong protections. The drivers behind these deviations, from balancing domestic interests to jurisdictional ambiguities, are analyzed. Avenues for greater harmonization are proposed, including trade agreements, adopting international standards, and enhancing research capacities. However, legal and economic hurdles to wholesale standardization are acknowledged, necessitating nuanced localized adaptations. Pragmatic reforms like consolidating legislation, institutional strengthening, stakeholder participation and fostering global collaborations are recommended to strategically align India with international trade governance frameworks. This strategic yet balanced approach can enable India to reduce compliance burdens, gain market access and bolster exports, thereby maximizing its global trade prospects.
