Export obligation monitoring required for advance authorizations on imported drugs; regional authorities must initiate action after maximum fulfillment period.
Advance Authorization for import of approved and unapproved drugs allowed without registration is subject to a pre-import condition and a six-month export obligation from first import; authorization validity is twenty-four months with possible six-month revalidation so the maximum period for fulfilling the export obligation may extend to thirty-six months from grant. Regional Authorities must monitor E.O. compliance and initiate appropriate action immediately after the maximum period for fulfillment expires.

NOC waiver for drug exports where drugs are listed in the pharmacopoeia or approved by the national drug regulator.
Customs will not require a separate NOC from the Assistant Drug Controller at ACC for export consignments of drugs that are either listed in the Indian Pharmacopoeia or approved by the Drug Controller General of India; port-level attestation by Drug Controller Officers should not be insisted upon during export clearance.

Duty credit scrip eligibility tied to Date of Export and FOB as per BRC/FIRC, with separate EDI/non EDI applications.
ANF 3C form revisions require Date of Export per Para 9.12 of HBP v1 in Column 4 and FOB value in Indian Rupees in Column 12 as per BRC/FIRC; Columns 13-14 deleted and Column 16 formula amended to (12) x ((15)/100). Drawback shipments may submit Drawback Shipping Bill; where originals were submitted elsewhere, attach self attested copies with reference and RA/Customs details. Duty Credit Scrip admissibility is determined by Date of Export and scrip value computed on FOB shown in BRC/FIRC. Multiple applications are permitted (max 50 shipping bills each). EDI and non EDI port shipments must be filed separately.

Freely convertible currency valuation: imports may be debited against remaining CIF balance even if rupee entitlement is exhausted.
Debit against advance authorizations and DFIAs must be allowed based on the remaining CIF value expressed in freely convertible currency, regardless of whether the CIF value measured in rupees has been exhausted. Value addition for these schemes is calculated in freely convertible currency and no rupee enhancement is required where foreign exchange remittance is covered by the FCC CIF shown on the authorization; imports are permitted up to the FCC balance subject to other authorization conditions.

Drug Manufacturing Licence requirement relaxed: not insisted for EPCG issuance; licence due within three years or guarantees forfeited.
DGFT removes the requirement to insist on a Drug Manufacturing Licence at EPCG issuance and abolishes the prior need for a 100% Bank Guarantee in lieu of that licence. Instead, pharmaceutical units must submit a copy of the Drug Manufacturing Licence to the Regional Authority within three years of EPCG issue; failure to do so will result in forfeiture/invocation of any Bank Guarantee or Legal Undertaking furnished and liability to pay the customs duty saved amount with interest.

Export permission for edible oils in branded small packs subject to an annual ceiling and mandatory weekly export monitoring.
Export of edible oils is permitted in branded consumer packs up to 5 kgs, subject to a ceiling of 10,000 tons for the one year period ending 31 October 2009, and allowed only from Customs EDI Ports. Weekly monitoring reports must be sent to the Office of the Director General of Foreign Trade by the Joint Secretary, Customs and DGCI&S, Kolkata, detailing quantity (kgs), value (rupees) and ITC (HS) Codes of the edible oil exported in the authorised packs.

Relaxation of export ban permits two 100% EOUs conditional exports of non-basmati rice with monitored quantities and reporting.
Two specified 100% EOUs are permitted a conditional, time limited export of prescribed quantities of non-basmati rice during Kharif Marketing Season 2008-09 at a stated minimum export price. Development Commissioners of the relevant SEZs and Jurisdictional Customs Commissioners must monitor firm level quantities to prevent exceedance and submit weekly reports to the Office of the Director General of Foreign Trade detailing value and quantity exported by each firm to enable weekly reporting to the Cabinet Secretariat.

EPCG authorization compliance: new self certified registration and drug licence submission rules with enforcement for noncompliance.
Amendments to ANF-5A revise EPCG documentation: delete the Drug Manufacturing Licence column; accept self-certified IEM/SSI for product exporters and Service Tax Registration for service providers (or a declaration plus RCMC where service tax registration is absent); and add a declaration requiring submission of a self-certified Drug Manufacturing Licence within three years for pharmaceutical exports, failing which the Bank Guarantee/Legal Undertaking may be forfeited/invoked and Customs duty saved with interest recovered.

DEPB restoration: export benefits reinstated for specified steel and cement shipments with immediate effect under FTP powers
The Director General of Foreign Trade, invoking Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures, restores specified DEPB entries for listed steel items in the Engineering product group (Product Code 61) and for Cement in the Chemicals product group (Product Code 62), and deletes Clause at Sl. No. 3(i) of Public Notice 130 for Miscellaneous Products (Product Code 90); all changes are effective for shipments with immediate effect.

High-Tech Products Export Promotion Scheme: incremental export-based duty credit requires CA-certified export evidence and procedural compliance.
Procedural amendments align application processing for High Value Added Manufactured Goods, Market Linked Focus Product scheme and HTPEPS with existing Focus Product Scheme procedures; ANF 3E is amended to record linked markets and benefit rates, and ANF 3F is introduced for incremental-growth based HTPEPS claims. Eligibility requires certified FOB export values for base and incremental years, exclusion of ineligible categories, computation of incremental export growth and duty credit subject to ceiling, with a nil-base-year export disqualification. Applications must be supported by CA-certified export statements, shipment-wise annexures, shipping bills, BRC/FIRCs, RCMC and other documentary evidence.

Bilateral trade item expansion adds specified commodities to permitted import-export list to facilitate Indo-Myanmar border trade.
In exercise of Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09, the Director General of Foreign Trade expanded the list of commodities permitted for import and export to promote Indo Myanmar bilateral and border trade by adding eighteen specified items-including bicycle spare parts, life saving drugs, fertilizers, insecticides, textiles, utensils, menthol, agarbatti, spices, cosmetics, leather footwear, paints and varnishes, sugar and salt, mosquito coils, bulbs, blades, X ray and photo paper, and imitation jewellery-to the existing notified list.

Amendment to Export Promotion Councils list updates sectoral jurisdictions and product coverage under the Handbook of Procedures.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09, amends Appendix 2 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) by revising the list of Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards and Export Development Authorities, specifying each body's registered/head office, regional offices and the detailed product categories within their jurisdiction, thereby clarifying which entities hold sectoral oversight and may issue RCMCs for specified products.

Standard Input Output Norms amendment adjusts input entitlement for nylon filament knitted nets, increasing permitted raw material import over exports.
Amendment to the Standard Input Output Norms updates Handbook of Procedures (Vol.2) to alter SION entry H-158 for Plastic Products: exports of nylon filament knitted/knotted nets must be matched with specified nylon input materials, and the permissible input quantity for those materials is increased above the export quantity as set out in the annexure.

VKGUY scheme eligibility updated: maize added as eligible product; export date and ban period rules determine benefit entitlement.
The amendment adds maize to Table 14 of Appendix 37A, making it eligible for VKGUY duty credit scrips from the stated export commencement date. It clarifies that exports during a ban period under transitional arrangements may be excluded from VKGUY benefits per FTP ban-period rules and that the Date of Export for entitlement is to be determined under the Handbook provision governing export date determination; exports determined under that provision remain eligible.

DEPB rates update: amends schedule effective from export LEO date and keeps suspensions operative until revised.
Public Notice 102 (RE-2008) amends the Schedule of DEPB Rates for 2008-09 under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures; the new rates apply to shipments with Let Export Order (LEO) dates immediately and remain in force until further notice, while previously suspended or withdrawn rates continue to be operative unless amended by a subsequent Public Notice.

High Tech Export Eligibility expanded as additional specific products are made eligible for promotion benefits under HTPEPS.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. 1 enlarges Appendix 37E by adding a new Table 2 of "New High Tech Products," listing specific tariff coded items (e.g., SIM cards, memory cards, specified cellular phones, automatic bank note dispensers, medical imaging apparatus, video cameras, videophones, hybrid integrated circuits, and solar/photovoltaic cells) which are made eligible for benefits under the High Tech Products Export Promotion Scheme (HTPEPS) for exports from the stated effective export date.

VKGUY addition: Meat and meat products made eligible for duty credit scrip on qualifying exports from April 2008.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amended the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I by adding meat and meat products under ITC HS codes 0201-0204 to Table 14 of Appendix 37A so that such products are entitled to duty credit scrip benefits under the VKGUY scheme with effect from 1.4.2008, pursuant to powers under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09.

Import floor price for rough marble licences set, to be endorsed on all licences for 2008-09.
Amendment establishes a mandatory floor price to be endorsed on all licences for import of rough marble for 2008-09: a single floor price applies to crude or roughly trimmed marble and rough marble blocks, and a higher floor price applies to slabs; licensing authorities and customs must apply and endorse these floor-price conditions in processing licences.

EPCG Scheme application procedure revised: applicants must submit the prescribed ANF form to the regional authority for authorisation.
Paragraphs 4.8 (Financial Powers) and 5.3 are deleted from the Handbook of Procedures. Paragraph 5.2 is amended to require that applications for grant of an authorisation under the EPCG Scheme be made to the concerned regional authority in the prescribed ANF format, specifically in ANF 5A, along with the documents prescribed in that form.

Value addition requirement for jewellery exports sets minimum thresholds under amended Foreign Trade Policy export rules.
Amendment prescribes minimum value addition requirements for jewellery exports under the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009; value addition is to be calculated as per paragraph 4A.6 of the FTP and paragraph 4A.2.1 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I is revised to list category wise minimum thresholds for plain jewellery, studded jewellery, fully mechanised manufacture, medallions/non legal tender coins, and mechanised findings/mountings.