Import licence quota allocation for rough marble blocks - applications invited with specified eligibility and documentation; allocations prorated.
Applications are invited for import licences for rough marble blocks/slabs for the balance of 2009-10 with the balance quota fixed at 1.6 lakh MT. Applicants must file the Aayaat Niryaat Form with prescribed CA-certified documents: gang saw certification in the unit's name (not leased); SSI/SIA registration showing operation prior to 31.3.2004; CA-certified balance sheet evidence of equipment pre-31.3.2004; 2003-04 income tax return indicating processing; CA certificates of indigenous sales turnover for 2004-05 through 2008-09; and CA-certified statements filed with income tax authorities to prove the required turnover. Applications are due by 2.11.2009 to the concerned Regional Authority; allocations will be computed on the full-year quota and prorated for the balance year.

DEPB rate fixation updates export entitlements for agricultural tractors and revises polyester staple fibre value cap.
A new DEPB entry for Agricultural Tractor in CKD/SKD/CBU/SKID condition sets a DEPB rate of 4, and the existing DEPB entry for Polyester Staple Fibre is amended to a DEPB rate of 8 with a value cap of eighty currency units per kilogram; both measures are effected under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures with immediate effect.

Reimbursement of secondary and higher education cess eligible for refund on excise duty in deemed exports, including prior claims.
Secondary and Higher Education Cess paid along with excise duty on supplies made under deemed exports is eligible for deemed export drawback and refund of terminal excise duty, subject to fulfillment of the requisite conditions; the communication extending refundability to this cess was clarificatory and applies to claims filed before that clarification.

Spares procurement policy clarified for granite EOUs: cap applies only to quarry-removed spares; no cap for in unit capital goods.
Clarification explains that the five percent spares restriction applies only to quarrying equipments and spares removed to the quarry site; spares for capital goods used within the EOU for processing and manufacture of granite for export are not subject to that limit and may be procured without the five percent cap, as specified in the notifications' annexures.

EPCG authorization compliance: submit only applicable declarations and delete non-applicable clauses to avoid deficiency notices.
Applicants for EPCG authorization must submit only those ANF5A declarations and undertakings applicable to their specific application, deleting or striking out non-applicable clauses; Chartered Engineers and Chartered Accountants must likewise delete non-applicable portions in their certificates or face deficiency notices.

Deemed export benefits clarified for suppliers under invalidation letters and AROs; clubbing uses CIF weighted value addition.
Against an Invalidation Letter the supplier may avail Advance Authorisation for Intermediate supplies and TED refund where excise exemption is unavailable; against an ARO the supplier is entitled to deemed export duty drawback. For clubbing Advance Authorisations with different prescribed minimum value addition norms, the applicable requirement is the FTP prescribed minimums and the aggregate must be the CIF weighted average of those prescribed minima so the clubbed authorisation meets the weighted average value addition.

Import quota increase for rough marble blocks: licence holders may apply to enhance existing allocations under conditions.
Former licence holders may apply to the concerned Regional Authority to enhance the quantity in their licences by up to an additional 25% of the quantity granted to them in 2008-09; import of the enhanced quantity is subject to all conditions applicable under the relevant circulars.

Revalidation of Duty Free Import Authorisations extended to allow a six-month import clearance window for affected issuances.
Revalidation of Duty Free Import Authorisations: DFIAs issued during the referenced issuance period, including those endorsed with transferability, may be revalidated for six months from the date of endorsement. Requests must be submitted to the issuing Regional Authority within 60 days of this Public Notice; RAs shall endorse revalidation within seven working days. No fee is required. The facility is not available where misrepresentation or fraud has come to light.

Filing time limits for export claims updated; BRC-linked applications and project-supply representations subject to specified timeframes.
Time limits are prescribed for filing export claims submitted with a BRC: within twelve months from export date or six months from realisation of export proceeds or from up linking of EDI shipping bill details or within three months from printing/release of the shipping bill, whichever is later, for shipments with claims. Paragraph 4.54 is deleted. For project supplies, representations against Norms Committee decisions must be filed within one year from communication of the decision.

Terminology change: factory/premises clarifies scope of premises for export procedural compliance under Foreign Trade Policy.
Amendment revises Para 5.3.1 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I to replace the phrase "factory premises" with "factory/premises", altering the location descriptor used in that provision; issued under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures by public notice dated 16 September 2009.

Inter ministerial committee for exporters' issues established as a recommendatory forum to resolve sector wide export grievances.
An inter ministerial committee is constituted to redress problems affecting exporters as a class by identifying consultative solutions and guiding administrative departments; its role is recommendatory and it will not ordinarily handle individual grievances. Chaired by the Secretary, Department of Commerce, the Committee includes representatives from DGFT, Department of Revenue, Department of Economic Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, and Directorate General of Export Promotion (CBEC), may co opt other ministries as needed, and will meet quarterly. Exporters and trade organizations should submit sectoral issues to DGFT for placement before the Committee.

Standard Input Output Norms amended for polyurethane wheels specifying constituent input types and proportional quantities per unit exported.
Amendment to SION entry A-3483 prescribes the input composition and exact per-kilogram input quantities for the export item Polyurethane Wheels, listing Polyurethane Pre-Polymer, Polyurethane Curing Agent, Colour Pigment, Polyurethane-to-Metal Adhesive, and the relevant ball bearing (net to net) as recommended raw materials to be incorporated into the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.II) for 2009-2014 under the specified policy provisions.

Standard Input-Output Norm amendment updates coconut oil input-output correlation and food-grade packaging requirements for export-import trade.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. 2) revises the Standard Input-Output Norms entry for coconut oil, adjusting the input-output correlation to account for differing free fatty acid composition between edible-grade exported coconut oil and bulk ship-hold coconut oil, and reiterating that packaging must meet food-grade material specifications under PFA rules.

Import of waste paper: pre-notification consignments to follow environmental notification conditions, aligning trade and compliance.
Import of waste paper consignments shipped prior to the effective date of the Ministry of Environment and Forests notification are to be governed by the conditions set out in that notification, and licensing authorities and customs commissioners must treat those consignments accordingly.

Export product listing amendment expands market-linked focus products and adds FPS product codes, noting safety matches export effective date.
Amendments insert market-linked focus-product entries into HBP v1, adding passenger motor cars, goods vehicles (with a subheading exclusion), and pumps for liquids with specified ITC (HS) codes and linked export markets. Additionally, three FPS product-code entries are added: parts for soldering/brazing/welding machinery (84689000), parts for brazing/soldering/welding machines (85159000), and safety matches (36050010), with the safety-matches entry made applicable for exports with effect from the stated date.

PAN verification requirement: IEC applicants must present original PAN for in-person officer verification before IEC issue.
Applicants for fresh IEC or IEC amendment must bring the original PAN card and have it physically verified by an officer in the IEC section (verification to be done in the second half of the working day); the office will not issue or amend IEC until such in-person PAN verification is completed.

Corrections to Foreign Trade Policy update product listings, table references and numbering, altering appendix entries and export applicability.
Amendments add specified commodity codes to Appendix 37D, delete and replace entries in Table 1 of Appendix 37A, correct a table cross-reference by changing a referenced table designation, and renumber the Value Added Extract subheading in Table 1F of Appendix 37A; the changes apply to exports from the stated effective date and are issued as a public notice.

Amendment to Handbook of Procedures designates finance ministry notifications as the relevant references for FTP sub para 6.9(e).
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures adds a provision in Appendix 14-I-H designating specific Finance Ministry notifications as the relevant references for application and interpretation of sub para 6.9(e) of the Foreign Trade Policy, issued under paragraph 2.4 and promulgated by the Director General of Foreign Trade to clarify applicable notifications for compliance and implementation.

Sports weapons definition expanded to include ammunition, affecting import classification and licensing under trade policy circular.
The term "sports weapons" is clarified to read as "sports weapons and ammunitions for sports weapons," directing licensing authorities and customs commissioners to apply this expanded definition in import classification, licensing, documentation, and clearance procedures under the relevant import policy framework.

Addition of Telecom Export Promotion Council recognizes a council for telecom equipment and services under the foreign trade policy.
The notice adds the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) to Appendix 2 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) under the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014, listing its registered/head office address in New Delhi, contact details, and specifying its jurisdiction over telecom equipment and services.