On 29 January 2016, the Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry published Notification No. 34/2015-2020 notifying a reduction in the number of documents required to be submitted by applicants to obtain an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC). This code is required for businesses if they want to engage in international trading of goods. The number of required documents, which was 8 before, has been reduced to 2 plus the digital photograph of the applicant. Further, such application can be completely made online from 1 April 2016.