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Import export policy: Live animals and animal products (HS 1 to 5)
Is import or export free, restricted or prohibited for live animals and animal products? HS chapters 1 to 5: what each covers, DGFT policy lines, which licences apply and FY.
Official sources checked: 2 Oct 2026
Section I of the Harmonised System covers live animals and animal products. For each chapter below you see what it covers, whether export or import is free, restricted or prohibited in the DGFT documents we read, which India-side licences usually apply, and the official trade values for FY 2025-26.
| HS chapter | Exports, US$ million | Imports, US$ million | Export policy | Import policy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Live animals | 25 | 25 | Has restricted, prohibited or STE lines | 34 restricted code(s), 1 prohibited code(s) |
| 2: Meat and edible offal | 5,215 | 14 | Has restricted, prohibited or STE lines | 12 restricted code(s), 4 prohibited code(s) |
| 3: Fish and seafood | 7,016 | 290 | Has restricted, prohibited or STE lines | 7 restricted code(s), 1 prohibited code(s) |
| 4: Dairy, eggs and honey | 919 | 80 | Free in general | 5 restricted code(s), 1 prohibited code(s) |
| 5: Other animal products | 374 | 55 | Has restricted, prohibited or STE lines | 9 restricted code(s), 22 prohibited code(s) |
Trade values are in US$ million for the financial year 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026), as published by TradeStat, Department of Commerce (data from DGCI&S) and fetched on 2026-10-02. They can be revised later. Shares and changes are calculated from those figures. Year-on-year change compares 2025-26 with 2024-25.
"Free in general" means we found no restricted, prohibited or STE line for this chapter. Policy changes by DGFT notification. The import notes come from DGFT's lists of restricted (407 codes) and prohibited (88 codes) imports, both as on 12 June 2019. The export notes come from DGFT's chapter-wise export schedule, 2021 edition. Check your 8-digit code on DGFT's policy search for the current position.
Chapter by chapter
Chapter 1: Live animals
Horses, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, poultry and other live animals.
Exports from India
FY 2025-26: US$ 25 million, +28.8% on 2024-25. Largest destinations (US$ million): UAE (23), Bhutan (1), Uganda (0), Oman (0).
- Live horses of the Kathiawari, Marwari and Manipuri breeds, live cattle and buffaloes, and camels and other camelids are Restricted: exports are permitted only under licence.
Usually needed: APEDA, Animal health papers, DGFT policy lines
Imports into India
FY 2025-26: US$ 25 million, -6.6% on 2024-25. Largest sources (US$ million): UK (7), USA (5), France (3), Australia (3).
- Restricted: horses, asses, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats and breeding poultry (grandparent stock of poultry is freely importable, the list says).
- Prohibited: commercial dogs for breeding or any other commercial activity.
Usually needed: Animal quarantine, DGFT policy lines
Chapter 2: Meat and edible offal
Fresh, chilled or frozen meat and offal of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry.
Exports from India
FY 2025-26: US$ 5,215 million, +25.4% on 2024-25. Largest destinations (US$ million): Vietnam (934), Egypt (725), Malaysia (654), UAE (517).
- Beef of cows, oxen and calf, beef offal, and carcasses, half carcasses and cuts with bone of buffalo meat are Prohibited: not permitted to be exported.
Usually needed: APEDA, Animal health papers, DGFT policy lines
Imports into India
FY 2025-26: US$ 14 million, +77.1% on 2024-25. Largest sources (US$ million): Australia (7), Russia (2), Belgium (2), Thailand (1).
- Restricted: some bovine meat lines (carcasses, cuts with bone, boneless chilled and frozen) and bovine offal.
- Prohibited: fatty livers (foie gras), meat and offal of wild animals, and pig fat under heading 0209.
Usually needed: FSSAI, Animal quarantine, DGFT policy lines
Chapter 3: Fish and seafood
Live, fresh and frozen fish, shrimp, prawns, crabs, lobsters and molluscs.
Exports from India
FY 2025-26: US$ 7,016 million, +11.4% on 2024-25. Largest destinations (US$ million): USA (1,688), China (1,375), Vietnam (522), Japan (412).
- Species listed in the schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, beche-de-mer (irrespective of size), shark fins of all species, and undersized lobsters of the species DGFT lists are Prohibited.
- Fresh, chilled or frozen silver pomfrets weighing less than 300 grams are Restricted: exports are permitted under licence.
Usually needed: MPEDA, DGFT policy lines
Imports into India
FY 2025-26: US$ 290 million, +23.7% on 2024-25. Largest sources (US$ million): Bangladesh (86), USA (66), Myanmar (53), Vietnam (19).
- Restricted: live ornamental fish and some live fish such as trout, eels and carp.
- Prohibited: shark fins.
Usually needed: FSSAI, DGFT policy lines
Chapter 4: Dairy, eggs and honey
Milk, cream, butter, cheese, curd, birds' eggs and natural honey.
Exports from India
FY 2025-26: US$ 919 million, +7.6% on 2024-25. Largest destinations (US$ million): UAE (214), USA (194), Oman (64), Saudi Arabia (62).
- No restricted, prohibited or STE line found for this chapter in the schedule we read.
Usually needed: APEDA, Animal health papers
Imports into India
FY 2025-26: US$ 80 million, +74.8% on 2024-25. Largest sources (US$ million): France (29), Germany (9), Lithuania (6), Turkey (4).
- Restricted: birds' eggs in shell (fresh) and turtle eggs and salangane nests.
- Prohibited: edible products of animal origin from wild animals. A country-specific prohibition on milk and milk products, including chocolates, candies and food preparations with milk solids, from China is also listed.
Usually needed: FSSAI, Animal quarantine, Legal Metrology (if packed), DGFT policy lines
Chapter 5: Other animal products
Animal hair, bones, horn, ivory, feathers, semen, guts and similar products.
Exports from India
FY 2025-26: US$ 374 million, +28.9% on 2024-25. Largest destinations (US$ million): Myanmar (281), Vietnam (45), Japan (10), Malaysia (7).
- Gonads and other reproductive organs of buffaloes and germplasm of cattle and buffaloes are Restricted: exports permitted under licence.
- Human embryos, gametes and gonad tissues are Free but need a No Objection Certificate from the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Usually needed: FIEO, Animal health papers, DGFT policy lines
Imports into India
FY 2025-26: US$ 55 million, +22.7% on 2024-25. Largest sources (US$ million): USA (13), Germany (6), Hong Kong (5), France (4).
- Restricted: guts of cattle for natural food casings, bovine semen and some other animal products.
- Prohibited (22 codes): parts of wild animals and birds such as guts, bladders, feathers and down, bones, ivory, ambergris, musk and glands, fish waste (nails, tails), sinews and tendons of wild life, and human embryos except for research under health department guidelines.
Usually needed: Animal quarantine, Legal Metrology (if packed), DGFT policy lines
Common questions
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Related guides
Official sources for this page
- DGFT list of restricted items for import (407 codes, as on 12 June 2019)
- DGFT list of prohibited items for import (88 codes, updated 12 June 2019)
- DGFT ITC (HS) Schedule 2: chapter-wise Export Policy (2021 edition)
- DGFT ITC (HS) 2022 Schedule 1: General Notes regarding Import Policy
- DGFT ITC (HS) Schedule 2: General Notes to Export Policy
- DGFT Appendix 2T: list of Export Promotion Councils and Commodity Boards
- TradeStat, Department of Commerce (data from DGCI&S)
- DGFT ITC (HS) import and export policy search