Left-hand steering vehicle imports for R&D permitted; must not meet right-hand steering requirement and must remain unregistered off-road.
Imports of new vehicles with Left Hand Steering for R&D by vehicle manufacturers are exempted from the Right Hand Steering requirement under the Import Licensing Notes; importers must ensure such vehicles are kept off the road and not registered under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

Amendment to Standard Input-Output Norms updates permitted import inputs and adds new chemical and engineering SION entries.
Public Notice amends the Handbook (Vol.2) Standard Input Output Norms by making targeted substitutions, deletions, corrections and additions. It adds Chemicals entries A-3422 to A-3470 and Engineering entries C-1995 to C-2006 specifying permitted import inputs and quantities for enumerated export items, revises several existing norms and quantities, deletes certain entries, and introduces a general note requiring steel imports to be prime. One substituted norm is made retrospectively effective.

DEPB rate amendments update export entitlement rates and value caps for plastics and engineering exports.
Amendments update the Schedule of DEPB rates and value caps for specified engineering and plastics export product groups. The Notice deletes certain product codes, reclassifies products into alloy and non-alloy or size/material-specific subitems, and assigns distinct DEPB rates and value caps per piece, per kilogram or per square foot for each listed plastics and engineering item. These administrative corrections and additions govern exporter entitlements under the DEPB Schedule annexed to the Public Notice.

Exemption from registration under Drugs and Cosmetics Act allows specified government agencies to import narcotic and psychotropic substances.
Exemption from registration under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act is authorized for designated government agencies to import narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances without the usual importer registration. The administrative exemption permits specified government opium and alkaloid establishments and the chief controller of factories, in their official capacity, to import controlled substances for official purposes. The measure follows consultations with the national drugs regulator and the narcotics control division and is issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Import entitlement for table eggs permits specified inputs against exports, subject to composition limits and CIF FOB value cap.
The substituted SION entry E-108 permits import of specified inputs against export of 1000 table eggs: Di-Calcium Phosphate (0.920 kg); Pigment/Colour blends (0.37 kg); specified Antibiotics and Coccidiostats (0.18 kg); Vitamin premix supplements (0.12 kg); and packing material (net +2% wastage). Conditions: medicines in item 3 capped at 20% of medicine weight; pure vitamins in item 4 capped at 50% of premix and must include two or more vitamins; CIF of inputs (excl. packing) capped at 10% of FOB for Advance Licence; operation on actual user basis with no DFRC.

Amendments to import norms: specified import items and quantities deleted from the Handbook of Procedures.
The Director General amends the Handbook of Procedures by deleting specified import items and associated quantities: the import item at Chemical & Allied Product entry A-3016 serial 7 is deleted, and import items at Chemical & Allied Product entry K-74 serials 3 and 4 are deleted. These deletions are made under the powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook and are issued as a public notice to update the import control schedule.

Advance Licence eligibility tightened: self-declaration allowed but exclusions and biotechnology NOC required for specified items.
Advance Licence issuance under amended Para 4.7 permits licences based on self-declaration and an undertaking for final adjustment as per Adhoc/SION, but excludes imports of horn, hoof and other animal organs and any item notified as ineligible. Applications for perfumes, perfumery compounds and specified feed ingredients must be pursued under the alternative licensing route. Biotechnology-related exports or imports require a No Objection Certificate from the Department of Biotechnology. Applicants must submit a prescribed declaration indicating which exclusion or condition applies and sign the undertaking.

Application fee reform: electronic DGFT submissions get reduced fees and clarified digital submission requirements.
Amendments revise the Scale of application fee in Appendix 29 to impose differentiated fees and reduced rates for digitally signed electronic submissions through the DGFT website; update EPCG procedures by amending Appendix 9D and Appendix 9 to prescribe detailed refixation and licence application forms, duty-saved computations, declarations on nexus and refund/interest liabilities where nexus is not established, and require Chartered Engineer certification; and amend Appendix 36A to set application, certification and bank/auditor verification requirements under the Served from India Scheme, alongside numerous administrative updates to appendices concerning councils, agri export zones, certification agencies, and bank guarantee and payment certificate formats.

Validity of import licences tied to shipment date; EPCG licences co-terminus with export obligation and CEC certification required.
Amendments require IEC holders (excluding those issued in the immediately preceding licensing year) to file annual online import/export details; define licence validity by date of shipment/dispatch from the supplying country; make EPCG licences for spares and related items co-terminus with the Export Obligation Period and require CEC certification and forwarding to Central Excise; treat licences used beyond an allowed tolerance as automatically enhanced with corresponding fee and export obligation adjustment; restrict revalidation of transferable and stock-and-sale licences unless expiry occurred in custody of Customs or the licensing authority.

Status Holder renewal deadline extended; benefits preserved through the extension to protect affected exporters.
DGFT extended the last date for submission of renewal applications for Status Holder certificates (expiring 31/03/2004) to 30th November 2004 and directed that eligible Status Holders be granted all status-related benefits until 31st December 2004 while renewals are processed.

Export obligation period for penicillin imports under advance licence limited to a brief fixed compliance window and no extensions.
Where import of penicillin and its salts under the advance licence scheme is permitted, the export obligation period is limited to three months from clearance of the first consignment and no further extensions are allowed; the licensing authority must endorse the licence accordingly.

Electronic filing fee reduction: application fees reduced for digitally signed submissions; ECOM password system phased out.
The notice amends the Handbook of Procedures to provide that the application fee for all applications filed electronically will be 50% of the amount specified in the Appendix table, and defines "electronically" to mean "digitally signed & submitted through" the DGFT website (online/offline). It also states that the ECOM password based system will end on 31st December, 2004, linking fee reduction eligibility to authenticated digital submissions and setting a deadline for the legacy system's discontinuation.

Application requirement for supplier to claim export benefits; recipient may claim with supplier disclaimer and non availment of CENVAT.
The amendment requires a supplier to apply using Appendix-12B to the Regional Licensing Authority with prescribed documents, and allows a recipient to claim benefits on production of a supplier disclaimer plus confirmation of non availment of CENVAT credit from the Jurisdictional Excise Authority alongside the prescribed documents.

Deemed export benefits clarified: DEA notified project supplies qualify for advance licence and drawback but face excise limits.
Supplies to projects financed by agencies/funds notified by the Department of Economic Affairs and listed in Appendix 33 qualify for deemed export benefits consisting of advance licences for deemed exports and deemed export drawback. Such supplies do not receive excise duty exemption under the excise notification cited in the policy. Refund of terminal excise duty is available only where the supplies are to DEA-notified agencies covered by the handbook appendix and Additional Customs Duty (CVD) on import of the goods is zero. Other procedural conditions for deemed export benefits continue to apply.

Pre-shipment inspection certificate requirement for metallic scrap ensures non-explosive content and proper classification upon import.
Amendment requires a pre-shipment inspection certificate in the Annexure I format from an Appendix-28 agency confirming consignments of unshredded, compressed or loose metallic waste and scrap do not contain arms, ammunition, explosive or radioactive materials, and that the imported items meet internationally accepted parameters for classification, with stated country of origin, description, quantity, value, tests carried out, and a signed declaration of accuracy.

Clubbing of export FOB values permits combining unit and parent exports to determine Star Export House eligibility.
FOB exports of EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP and SEZ units may be clubbed with FOB exports of their parent company in the DTA, or vice versa, for determining Star Export House Status. The Development Commissioner of the SEZ is the registering authority for SEZ units and developers and no separate Registration cum Membership Certificate is required where Policy provides. Clearance of capital goods, including second hand, into DTA is permitted under the EPCG Scheme or otherwise on payment of applicable duty and per the Import Policy in force on the date of clearance. A textual insertion of "concession" is made in a specified paragraph.

Import of metallic waste and scrap permitted subject to port-specific restrictions and mandatory pre-shipment inspection and contractual assurances.
Amendment permits import without licence of specified items while conditioning metallic waste and scrap imports: shredded scrap may clear through all ports without pre-shipment inspection, unshredded/compressed/loose scrap is confined to designated ports and requires a pre-shipment inspection certificate plus a contractual assurance that consignments do not contain arms, explosives or radioactive contamination; criteria and application requirements are set for enlistment of Inspection and Certification Agencies, and woollen/synthetic rags, PET bottle waste and ships are permitted under specified standards and Ministry guidelines.

Type Approval Certificate under EEC directive valid if issued by WP.29 signatory; country of origin not required.
A Type Approval Certificate for imports under Import Licensing Note No. (7) to Chapter 87 must conform to the EEC directive on vehicle type-approval and be issued by testing agencies notified in the relevant policy circular; for the European Union, the certificate need not be from the country of origin but must be issued by a signatory country to the 1958 Agreement under WP.29, with signatory lists available via UNECE.

Import of furniture under EPCG Scheme permitted for hotels following official circular clarification in trade policy.
Import of furniture is permitted to hotels under the EPCG Scheme; hotels may obtain import authorisation for furniture within the Scheme's framework, subject to the Scheme's terms and compliance obligations, as an administrative clarification.

Import restrictions on metallic waste and scrap limit imports to shredded or compacted forms with mandatory inspections.
Import of metallic waste and scrap is permitted only in shredded and compacted form, except that unshredded and uncompacted material may enter solely via major ports and the Tughalakabad inland container depot, with customs required to conduct 100% inspection of such unshredded and uncompacted consignments; hazardous, toxic, and radioactively contaminated waste is excluded, items below values set by notification are excluded, and scrap from countries affected by rebellion or war requires exporters to furnish specified documents at clearance.