Extension of filing deadline for agricultural and served-from-india scheme applications grants additional time to submit documentation.
Extension of the last date for submission of applications under the Served From India Scheme and the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana is granted as a facilitation measure due to representations about time needed to prepare documentation; the filing period is accordingly extended to provide additional time for applicants to submit required applications, as communicated in an official departmental circular.

Amendment to public notice corrects SPS Raw Sugar export quantity for EU, issued under Foreign Trade Policy powers.
Amendment corrects the export quantity of SPS Raw Sugar to the European Union in Public Notice No. 76 (26.12.2005), replacing the previously published erroneous figure with the intended tonnage; the change is made under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and issued in public interest for administrative and compliance purposes.

DEPB rate amendment: corrected export entitlements for specified engineering products with prescribed value caps.
Amendment to the Schedule of DEPB rates revises export entitlements for specified engineering products for the period 06.10.2004 to 29.03.2005. The Director General of Foreign Trade notifies corrected DEPB entries for Forged Crank Shaft made of Alloy Steel and Front Axle Beam Forging made of Alloy Steel, each at a 9% DEPB rate with specified per kilogram value caps, and circulates the notice to all concerned.

Preferential export quota for sugar requires designated agency, certification endorsements, and conditional white sugar exports.
Allocation of exportable sugar for fiscal 2005 sets a preferential export quota for raw sugar to the USA and EU, names the designated exporting agency under the relevant HS code, and prescribes certification procedures: EUR form endorsement by Customs and GSP certificates by Export Inspection Agency/Directorate General of Foreign Trade. A separate allocation for white sugar to the EU is conditional on factories meeting export obligations linked to raw sugar imports under Advance Licences.

Pre-shipment inspection suspension limited to the named branch; other branches remain unaffected pending investigation.
The Directorate clarifies that the temporary suspension on accepting Pre-shipment Inspection certificates pending investigation applies only to the particular branch of the PSI agency identified earlier and does not apply to other branches or the head office; certificates from unaffected offices remain acceptable subject to existing compliance, while the named branch's certificates are not accepted until due process is completed.

Unregistered raw material: exporters may re-export or use inputs for other export products; domestic diversion prohibited.
Unregistered raw material imported under the Advance Licensing Scheme shall not be diverted for domestic consumption. The authorisation holder may either re-export the imported raw material or use it to manufacture other finished goods for export, and the export obligation will be discharged to that extent. Customs shall ensure the exported material is the same as originally imported. The facility is available irrespective of the foreign buyer. If the export obligation period is not valid, the holder must pay a composition fee for extension; alternatively the inputs or finished goods may be destroyed under Excise Authority supervision after payment of customs duty with interest, with documentary evidence submitted to the Regional Authority.

Refund procedure for electronically paid application fees requires EFT bank verification and DDO/RP&AO processing for cheque issuance.
Paragraph 6, Sub para 3 of Appendix 21 C revises the refund procedure for application fees paid by Electronic Fund Transfer: the Regional Licensing Authority's Drawing & Disbursing Officer must verify receipt against a certificate from the designated EFT bank evidencing remittance to the Central Bank of India, with quoted cheque/draft details and supported by MIS 1 (attested), MIS 3 and MIS 4 generated by the RLAs, then forward the refund application to the Regional Pay & Accounts Officer for issuance of the refund cheque which the RLA delivers to the applicant.

Demand draft accuracy: incorrect payment details will lead to immediate return of online applications; include supplier IEC for invalidation.
Applicants must submit online applications with accurate Demand Draft particulars and correct payment-mode selection; deficient applications with incorrect DD number, date, amount or wrong payment-mode will be returned at first instance because such errors prevent proper reflection in the payment-monitoring system. Exporters must write their name, IEC number and file number on the reverse of the Demand Draft. Requests for invalidation letters must include the IEC number and full details of intermediate suppliers, as the new software mandates this information.

Amendment to export benefit list updates eligible fixed vegetable oils and sal oil cake under Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana.
Amendment to Appendix 37A of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) corrects product descriptions for the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana eligibility list, specifying neutralised and bleached variants of certain fixed vegetable oils and expressly listing oil cake and oil cake meal of sal fat/oil as qualifying items.

Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana duty credits can be used for customs duty on freely importable inputs and goods, capital goods excluded.
Duty credits under the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana may be used to pay customs duty on imports of inputs and goods that are freely importable under ITC (HS), including items in Chapters 1-24 subject to the notified negative list; import of capital goods is excluded until a separate eligible list is notified.

Deadline extension for Target Plus Scheme: final clarification setting a later last date for benefit claim submissions.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has extended the last date for filing applications to claim benefits under the Target Plus Scheme from 31 December 2005 to 31 March 2006, citing delays in obtaining bank documents and supplier information; this is declared the last and final extension and no further requests will be entertained.

Filing deadline extension for DFCE applications under Status Holder Scheme permitted until 31 March 2006 as the final extension.
The filing deadline for claiming benefits under the Duty Free Credit Entitlement (DFCE) component of the Status Holder Scheme is extended from 31 December 2005 to 31 March 2006 due to delays in obtaining bank documents and supplier information. The circular specifies this is the last and final extension and that no further requests for extension will be entertained, and it is issued with the approval of the competent authority.

Correction to Trade Handbook: insertion of Hodaideh, Yemen in Annexure II to Appendix V affecting location list.
Under authority of Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09, the Director General of Foreign Trade directs a correction to Annexure II to Appendix V of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I), inserting after entry (i) an additional entry (ii) reading "Hodaideh, Yemen".

Reimbursement of excise duty on fuels procured from domestic oil depots allowed where recipient does not claim CENVAT credit.
Excise duty paid on fuels procured from domestic oil depots by EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units will be reimbursable as terminal excise duty in addition to DGFT notified drawback rates, provided the recipient does not avail CENVAT credit or rebate; fuels taken directly from refineries continue to be exempt under CT3. Treatment of supplies to SEZs is under separate consideration.

Duty Free Entitlement eligibility for DTA supplies to SEZ units contingent on policy conditions and free foreign exchange realization.
Admissibility of benefits under the Duty Free Entitlement Certificate and the Target Plus Scheme is affirmed for supplies from Domestic Tariff Area units to SEZ units, subject to the eligibility conditions in paragraph 7.1(b) of the Foreign Trade Policy and provided payments are realized in free foreign exchange.

Tariff Rate Quota application deadline extended for the fiscal year; last submission date specified for TRQ imports.
The DGFT amends Para 2.61 of the Handbook of Procedures to add a line extending the last date for submission of application forms and required documents under the Tariff Rate Quota for the financial year 2005-06 to 12 December 2005, exercising powers under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009.

Import of air conditioners without ODS allowed freely under EPCG and normal imports, HCFC 22 policy under review.
Air conditioners that do not contain ODS substances are permitted to be imported freely under both the EPCG Scheme and normal imports; policy on air conditioners containing HCFC 22 is under review. The circular clarifies that Customs should allow clearance of non ODS units and addresses representations of denial of import clearance.

Handbook amendment: addition of Hodaideh Kuwait to Annexure II, Appendix V under Foreign Trade Policy.
The Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) is amended to add Hodaideh, Kuwait to Annexure II to Appendix V under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09, by Public Notice No. 71/2005.

Entitlement calculation for rough marble imports requires turnover under chapter classification and revised CA certificates; eligibility requires prior establishment.
Clarifies that entitlement for import of rough marble blocks/slabs is to be calculated solely from turnover of marble imports under the relevant import classification; importers may include complete turnover for the preceding year and must file revised Chartered Accountant certificates evidencing that turnover. Also clarifies that manufacturing/processing units must have been established when marble was under the SIL list or earlier, and applicants must produce documentary proof of establishment for eligibility.

Standard Input Output Norms updated to amend import-export input requirements and add new sectoral product entries.
This public notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 (2004-2009) by revising the Statement of Standard Input Output Norms: it adds new sectoral entries for chemicals, engineering, plastics and textiles; corrects and amends product descriptions and allowed import quantities; deletes a specified engineering norm; and inserts fuel (HSD) usage footnotes for certain leather sector norms. Annexures A-E set out the detailed textual and quantitative changes to the norms.