WTO was established with an intention of expanding the scope of the organisation by including services, investment and intellectual property rights.
Main objectives of WTO:
1. Improving living standards of people, ensuring full employment of resources, increase in world trade and production, optimizing use of economic resources.
2. Ensuring equitable division of the benefits of international trade.
3. Optimizing the resources of world resources so as to attain sustainable development.

"Clearing and forwarding agent" means any person who is engaged in providing any service, either directly or indirectly, concerned with the clearing and forwarding operations in any manner to any other person and includes a consignment agent.
A clearing and forwarding agent normally undertakes the following activities:
(a) Receiving the goods from the factories or premises of the principal or his agents;
(b) Warehousing these goods;
(c) Receiving'dispatch orders from the principal;
(d) Arranging "dispatch of goods as per the directions of the principal by engaging transport on his own or through the authorised transporters of the principal;
(e) Maintaining records of the receipt and dispatch of goods and the stock available at the warehouse.

Meaning of Indent House: Import of goods from a foreign country can be affected in two ways. The import of goods can take place directly or through a middleman. The import of goods through an intermediary is called an Indent House. Indent Houses are of two types. They may be representatives or agents of foreign producers or exporters or they may be independent firms engaged in foreign trade. At the time of securing order, the indent firm requests the merchant to sign an Indent Form which services as a letter of authority by the merchant to the Indent House to go for order of the specified items stated in the form. The Indent House brings the following advantages:
(i) It helps the small dealers to participate in foreign trade.
(ii) The bargaining is done by the Indent Forms and therefore helps in getting the goods at a cheaper rate.
(iii) The financing of import trade is facilitated by the Indent House
Dock Challan: When all formalities of customs are completed then dock charges are required to be paid. When he pays these charges, the importer or his clearing agent specifies the amount of dock dues in a challan or in any firm. It is called Dock Challan.

(i) UNCTAD: The United Nation Conference on Trade and Development, or UNCTAD, was established in 1964 with the objective of integrating the developing countries with the world economy through discussions. It undertakes activities such as collecting research and data for policy making and extending technical assistance to the less developed countries as per their requirements.
(ii) MIGA: The Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency, or MIGA, was established in April 1988 with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investment in the less developed countries. It aims at insuring investors against political and noncommercial risks, providing advisory services, etc.
(iii) World Bank: The World Bank (the World Bank was known as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) before its growth and expansion) was set up to assist the reconstruction of war affected countries and to facilitate the development of the under-developed nations of the world. Moreover, apart from investing in infrastructure development, agriculture, health and industry, the World Bank is significantly involved in programmes to remove poverty, increasing the income of the poor and providing technological support.
(iv) ITPO: The ITPO, or the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation, was formed on January 1, 1992, under the Companies Act, 1956. Its main objective is to maintain close interactions among traders, industry and the government. In order to fulfil this objective, the ITPO organises trade fairs and exhibitions within and outside the country, thereby helping export firms to interact with international trade bodies
(v) IMF: The IMF, or the International Monetary Fund, came into existence in 1945 with the objective of creating and ensuring a healthy international monetary system. It aims at facilitating a system of international payments and adjustments in exchange rates among national currencies in order to bring about balanced growth at the international level and increase the levels of employment and income

The following are the major affiliated bodies of the World Bank.
(a) IBRD: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) was established in 1945 to assist in the reconstruction of war affected countries. It mainly aims at facilitating the development of the poor nations of the world.
(b) IFC: The IFC, or the International Finance Corporation, was formed in 1956 as a separate legal entity to provide finance to the private sector in developing nations. The IFC is part of the World Bank Group. It has its own funds and functions. It is managed independently.
(c) MIGA: MIGA refers to the Multinational Investment Guarantee Agency. It was established in April 1988 with the objective of encouraging foreign direct investments in the less developed countries, insuring investors against political and noncommercial risks, providing advisory services, etc.
(d) IDA: The IDA, or the International Development Association, was established in 1960. Its basic objective is to provide loans and grants at concessional rates to countries whose per-capita income is very low. The loans provided by the IDA have high flexibility.

Letter of Credit is issued by the bank of an importer guaranteeing to honour a draft of a certain amount drawn on it by the exporter. It is an important document because, in international transactions, there is always a risk of the importer defaulting on payment once the goods are received. Thus, to minimise the risk of such defaults, the exporter often demands a letter of credit. A letter of credit enables the exporter to assess the credit worthiness of the importer. It is the most appropriate and secure method of payment for settling an international transaction.

Bill of Lading is an essential document required at the time of an export transaction. It is issued by the shipping company as a token of acceptance that the goods have been put on board in its vessel. A Bill of Lading is an undertaking from the shipping company to transfer the goods to the port of destination. Bills of Lading are freely transferable.
In contrast, a Bill of Entry is required at the time of an import transaction. It is a form supplied by the customs office and filled by the importer once the goods are received. A Bill of Entry is submitted at the customs office with information such as the name and address of the importer, name of the ship in which the goods were transported, number of packages, marks on the package, description of imported goods, quantity and value of the imported goods, name and address of the exporter, port of destination and customs duty payable.

Excise duty is the amount payable on raw materials used in the manufacture of goods. Exporters are required to pay excise duty and get excise clearance. In order to get excise clearance, a manufacturer must first submit an invoice to the Regional Excise Commissioner. The Excise Commissioner then examines the invoice and, if satisfied, issues the excise clearance to the manufacturer. However, in many cases, the government may either exempt a manufacturer from payment of excise duty or refund it after payment in case the manufactured goods are meant for export. The basic objective of such exemptions is to promote the export of goods and provide a competitive market for Indian exports in the world market.

As soon as order is confirmed and letter of credit is received, the exporter approaches the bank to receive pre-shipment finance which he needs to buy raw materials and other inputs to produce good to be exported. Firms require finance for various activities such as purchase of raw material and manufacture of goods. In the case of exporters, this finance is obtained from banks in the form of advances known as pre-shipment finance. These advances are called pre-shipment finance as they are used in operations completed before the final shipment of goods takes place. This type of credit is obtained by an exporter from his or her banker after the order has been confirmed and the letter of credit has been received from the importer. Once the bank extends credit, the exporter uses the funds to purchase raw materials to undertake production. Preshipment finance is also used for processing and packaging goods and transporting them to ports for shipment.

If a firm wants to export goods, then it must first obtain an export license. In order to obtain an export license, the firm is required to register itself with the Appropriate Export Promotion Council, such as the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) and the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). Such councils are set up by the government for promoting the export of various goods falling under their purview. Once the registration is complete, the firm obtains the Registration-Cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC). This in turn enables it to take advantage of the benefits made available to export firms by the government. Thus, it is necessary for export firms to register themselves with an Export Promotion Council.