State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Friday announced that buyers from neighbouring countries Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal can now directly participate in its online coal auctions, eliminating the need for Indian intermediaries.
The initiative is aimed at better utilisation of surplus coal resources while enhancing transparency in cross-border coal trade.
Previously, consumers from neighbouring countries could access CIL’s coal only through domestic traders, who were permitted to buy and sell coal without any end-use restrictions.
“In a first, effective January 1, 2026, CIL has permitted coal consumers located in the neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, who wish to import coal from India, to directly participate in the Single Window Mode Agnostic (SWMA) auctions conducted by the company,” CIL said in a statement.
The SWMA auction is a unified and simplified e-auction platform introduced in 2022 to replace multiple auction windows such as Spot, Special Spot and Forward auctions, with the objective of making coal procurement easier, more transparent and market-driven.
To enable this change, the CIL board recently approved modifications to the SWMA auction mechanism.
“Opening SWMA e-auctions to foreign buyers reflects CIL’s calibrated approach to market expansion while fully safeguarding domestic coal requirements. This step enhances transparency, competition and global market integration,” said a senior company official.
Under the revised framework, foreign buyers will be able to participate in SWMA auctions alongside domestic buyers.
The updated scheme incorporates all operational and procedural modalities, including provisions for one-time registration, digital bidding, advance electronic payments and exports through notified logistics channels for foreign buyers.
Payments will be processed transparently in line with Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) norms. Buyers from Nepal will be allowed to make payments in either Indian rupees or US dollars, while buyers from Bangladesh and Bhutan will have to pay in US dollars, with the value assessed in Indian rupees.
Earlier, CIL held discussions with prospective overseas coal consumers to frame enabling provisions and assess their requirements ahead of implementing the revised framework.
