Government notifies commodity trading contract as financial product for IFSC GIFT City

New Delhi: The government on Friday notified commodity trading contracts as financial products under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Act, 2019, with a view to making IFSC GIFT City a global commodity trading hub.

The central government notifies 'commodity trading contract' as a financial product under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019, a gazette notification said.

'Commodity trading contract' would mean a contract under which a unit of an International Financial Services Centre trades a commodity with another party, it said.


This notification shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette, it said.

IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India. At present, GIFT IFSC is the maiden international financial services centre in India.

Prior to the establishment of IFSCA, the domestic financial regulators, namely, RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDAI regulated the business in IFSC.

The main objective of IFSCA is to develop a strong global connect and focus on the needs of the Indian economy as well as to serve as an international financial platform for the entire region and the global economy as a whole.

Earlier this year, the board of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) approved establishing a Global Commodity Trading Platform (GCTP) at GIFT City.

The proposed platform is expected to provide an integrated ecosystem for global commodity trading, merchanting trade, trade finance, and risk management services. This will enable India to capture a larger share of international commodity trade currently routed through overseas hubs such as Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong and Switzerland.

An expert committee constituted by IFSCA in 2024 had noted that India, as one of the world's largest importers of crude oil, metals and other commodities, remains vulnerable to global price volatility and supply-chain disruptions.

The panel recommended creating a dedicated framework to facilitate commodity trading and related services from GIFT IFSC.