Special Import Licence settlement by monetary replacement permits regularising audit objections instead of licence surrender.
Where audit objections would have required surrender of Special Import Licence, such cases may be settled by payment equal to one per cent of the SIL value to be surrendered. Regional offices of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade shall effect settlement by receipt deposited at the authorised branch of the Central Bank of India under the specified Foreign Trade and Export Promotion account head, applying where instructions permit surrender and SIL is defunct.

Removal of DEPB value caps eliminates capped limits on listed export duty entitlement entries under export policy authority.
Removal of DEPB value caps for specified Appendix 28A entries under Paragraph 4.11 of the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002. Public Notice No. 42 (RE 01)/1997 2002 dated 18 October 2001 amends the Handbook (Vol. I) by deleting the value caps for the DEPB entries listed in Annexure 1, which identifies affected product groups and product codes; the amendment is issued in public interest and takes effect upon publication.

Excise duty refund for bulk tea procured by EOU/EPZ units granted upon submission of proof covering pre-notification levy period.
Central Excise Duty paid on bulk tea procured from licensed auction centres by EOU/EPZ units for the period from the date of levy to the date before the Notification would be reimbursed by the Development Commissioner on submission of proof of payment, pursuant to DGFT policy following fixation of an All Industry Drawback Rate and subsequent Notification authorising reimbursement.

Office closure on Fridays: public services suspended, documents not accepted; submission deadlines extended to next working day.
The office will be closed to the public on Fridays until further notice; visitors will not be admitted, applications and documents will not be accepted, and licenses will not be delivered on Fridays except in emergencies. Call dates and last submission dates falling on Fridays are extended to the next working day. Emergency assistance is available through the Export Facilitation Cell/PRO or the Zonal Joint DGFT via designated contact channels.

Registration requirement for katha imports removed; import contracts from Nepal no longer require registration under the earlier public notice.
Removal of the registration requirement for import contracts for katha (catechu) from Nepal: the DGFT clarifies that Public Notice No.45 ITC(PN)/81 is no longer operative because quantitative restrictions on katha imports have been removed, and therefore prior registration under that notice is not required.

Agri Export Zone designation establishes district-level zones for pineapple, gherkin and lychee exports under Handbook amendment.
The Public Notice adds Appendix 59 to the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.1), formally designating Agri Export Zones: pineapple in specified districts of West Bengal; gherkins in specified districts of Karnataka; and lychees in specified districts of Uttranchal, with coverage limited to the districts listed and cross referenced to policy paragraphs governing Agri Export Zones.

Standard Input Output Norms updated to add and correct SION entries, revising permitted import inputs for specified exports.
DGFT Public Notice amends the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II, by revising the Standard Input Output Norms: substituting specified norms, correcting import item descriptions, and adding new SION entries for Chemicals and Allied Products (A 2761 to A 2779), Engineering Products (C 1695 to C 1699), Textile Products (J 348 to J 349) and Miscellaneous Products (K 142 to K 144). Annexure A contains discrete corrections and substitutions to existing norms; Annexures B-E set out the detailed composite input lists and permitted import quantities for the new entries.

Extension of export shipment deadline for specified coarse grains and maize, allowing additional time to complete authorized exports.
The Director General of Foreign Trade extended the last date for shipment/export of quantities of specified coarse grains and maize authorised by prior Public Notices to 31.10.2001, exercising powers under Paragraph 4.11 of the Export & Import Policy, 1997-2002; the extension covers grain and flour of barley, maize, bajra, ragi and jowar (excluding hybrid jowar grown as kharif crop) and is issued in the public interest.

Imports by the Directorate of Vanaspati now require annual authorization by the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils and Fats.
Public Notice No.38 (RE-2001)/1997-2002 amends Public Notice No.14(PN)/97-2002 under paragraph 4.11 of the Export and Import Policy, 1997-2002 by adding that authorization to make future imports shall be granted by the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils and Fats on an annual basis, thereby centralising grant of import permissions for vanaspati, vegetable oils and fats.

Maintenance of Average requirement continues during extended export obligation period under EPCG amnesty, requiring continued compliance.
Holders of EPCG licences availing the amnesty and extension under Public Notice No. 3/2001 must continue to maintain the average export obligation for the entire extended export obligation period until the obligation is fully completed. This requirement applies in addition to the existing conditional obligations such as execution of bank guarantees and other stipulated compliance for the amnesty facility.

Preferential sugar quota placement allocates white sugar export rights to EEC with certification endorsement and sole agency authorization.
The circular allocates a specified quantity of free-sale white sugar from the season's production as a preferential quota for export to the EEC, requires exports under this quota to bear a prescribed endorsement referencing the European Commission regulation and common sugar code for certification, and appoints the Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd. as the sole agency authorization to export against the preferential quota with Director General approval.

Condition on import of textile articles exempted for items brought in exclusively for export production under specified export provisions.
The import condition on textile and textile articles in paragraph 11 is not applicable to imports made under the export facilitation provisions of the Handbook of Procedures and to imports admitted under the customs notification provision permitting duty-free import by bona fide exporters; exempted items include labels, price tags, printed bags, stickers and similar articles imported for export production without a licence.

Regularisation of advance licences requires customs duty, interest and specified deposits when export obligations are short in quantity or value.
Revised regularisation under the Export and Import Policy 1997-2002 requires payment of customs duty with interest on unutilised imported material and deposits into the designated Head Account where export obligations fall short in quantity or value; deposits must, when multiplied and combined with realised FOB, satisfy minimum or positive value addition requirements. Earlier 1992-97 licences follow their governing procedures but must submit bank realisation certificates and face the same deposit mechanism for insufficient value addition. Administrative changes include a fee for lost shipping bills, DEPB rate list amendments with value caps and blended textiles guidance, and addition of an authorised Certificate of Origin issuer.

Advance license net contents declaration required to secure accountability of imported inputs and avoid post issue modifications by authorities.
Advance license issuance under Para 7.5 allows grant on self declaration where SION are not fixed, but applicants should declare net contents and technical specifications of inputs in the application and shipping bills because ALC may later fix norms on content or wastage bases and apply conditions equivalent to SION; declaring net contents avoids problems in regularisation and closure when norms are confirmed or export product descriptions are modified to ensure accountability of imported inputs.

Import liberalisation for CKD/SKD kits: quantitative restrictions removed, but pre-existing export obligations remain enforceable.
Removal of quantitative restrictions on imports of CKD/SKD kits/components takes effect on 1 April 2001, withdrawing the prior public notice. Importantly, parties that imported kits/components up to that date under MOUs remain bound to satisfy their existing export obligations within the original timeframes unless the Government grants extensions for sufficient reasons.

Standard Input Output Norms amendments update permitted input items and quantities for exports, including alternate inputs and calculation notes.
Amendments to the Standard Input Output Norms revise, add and delete SION entries in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2, specifying updated input items and permitted quantities for Chemicals, Engineering and Plastic products; introduce alternate input options, multipart input bills of materials, calculation notes for pro rata adjustments and calorific conversions for energy inputs, and corrections to item descriptions and applicability notes for scheme exclusions.

Extension counter for foreign trade services enables local submission and processing of license and IEC applications with weekly transfer.
An Extension Counter of the Zonal Joint Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, has opened at Vidarbha Industries Association, Nagpur, where applicants under Mumbai Zonal jurisdiction may submit applications and obtain licences, IEC numbers and other documents by hand delivery or post. The counter will process applications locally, communicate deficiencies to applicants, and forward completed applications weekly to the Zonal JT.D.G.F.T., Mumbai by Speed Post; PS-I Section will coordinate disposal and return licences and communications to the Nagpur counter weekly.

Value addition compliance: exporters must deposit equivalent sums when prescribed value addition is not achieved to meet policy requirements.
Amendments modify Handbook provisions to impose a compliance mechanism for value addition shortfalls-allowing no penalty if prescribed or actual positive value addition is met, otherwise requiring an equivalent TR deposit into the designated customs revenue head so deposit plus FOB receipts meet minimum value addition over CIF. Customs duty with interest recovered for regularisation or BG/LUT enforcement must be deposited by the licencee into the customs revenue head within thirty days of demand with documentary proof. The changes also expand approvals, SEZ/EOU operational rules, monitoring and NFEP/NFE calculation, Board of Approval powers, CST reimbursement procedures, sectoral conditions and reporting formats.

Provisional clearance for exporters pending export obligation extension allowed upon application evidence; Customs to accept provisional release.
Provisional clearance may be granted when an exporter produces documentary evidence of having applied for an Export Obligation extension to the Regional Licensing Authority, with shipments effected within the maximum extension period permitted under Exim Policy; RLAs are empowered to permit such extensions. For redemption/regularisation, regional offices may accept Customs' logging of final export products for input accounting under existing norms, and unutilized material must be accounted for per existing guidelines.

Import of consumer durables in CKD/SKD condition exempt when the specific item is freely allowed, permitting unrestricted imports.
Where a specific consumer durable or automobile is listed as freely importable in the ITC(HS) classification, its import in CKD/SKD condition or as ready to assemble sets is likewise free of licensing restrictions; the licensing note at the end of Section XVI does not add controls to partly assembled consignments when the complete item is permitted for free importation.