Help desk for shipping bill and DEPB data issues established; nodal officer to coordinate resolution and escalation.
Help desk established in the Western Zone to address failures in appearance of Shipping Bill records on the DGFT site and non-communication of issued DEPB data to Customs. Ms. Usha P. Pol is appointed nodal officer to receive complaints, coordinate with Headquarters EDI and technical contacts (Sangeeta Singh and A.K. Sinha) and pursue resolution; exporters should report issues preferably by e mail, copy Headquarters contacts for expeditious handling, or call the provided telephone number.

Registration-cum-membership certificates may be issued from alternate export promotion offices for multi-product exporters in North Eastern States.
An amendment permits multi product exporters with head or registered offices in the North Eastern States to obtain the Registration Cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) from designated regional export promotion offices, while excluding products overseen by commodity specific export boards; the change is made under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09 and is expressed to be in public interest.

Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms: revised import entitlement rules for specified engineering exports under foreign trade policy.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures substitutes and corrects multiple SION entries to set revised quantitative import entitlements per export unit for specified engineering products. Each substituted norm lists the export product unit, permitted import items and exact allowed quantities or content ratios, and where applicable provides alternative raw material options and weight or percentage based input calculations to be applied in assessing import entitlement.

Export allocation of white sugar to EU requires designated agency with EUR and GSP certifications endorsed by customs and EIA/DGFT.
Allocation of 10,000 MT of white sugar for export to the EU is authorised under HS Code 17010000 with M/s Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd designated as the export agency; EUR and GSP entries must reference Regulation (EC) No. 950/2006 (ACP/India Sugar, Serial No. 09.4337), the EUR form is to be endorsed by Customs at shipment and the GSP certificate by the Export Inspection Agency or the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Raw sugar export allocation to EU establishes designated agency and certification requirements for shipment and GSP endorsement.
Allocation of 10,309 metric tonnes of raw sugar from the 2007-08 free sale portion is authorised for export to the EU under HS classification 17010000, with a designated export agency appointed for exports under the preferential quota. Required documentary controls specify EUR entries endorsed by Customs at shipment and GSP certification issued/endorsed by the Export Inspection Agency or the Directorate General of Foreign Trade under the Complementary Sugar regulation.

Export obligation timelines for spice imports clarified: expedited compliance for pepper, cardamom and chillies and defined period for other spices.
Amendment to paragraph 4.22 clarifies timelines for fulfilment of export obligation on imported spices: imports for value addition (crushing, grinding, sterilisation) or manufacture of oils and oleoresins of pepper, cardamom and chillies must satisfy EO within a short period from importation of the first consignment; imports of other spices for manufacture of spice oils and oleoresins under advance authorisation must satisfy EO within a defined period from issuance of the advance authorisation.

Permission to take intermediate products abroad for job work allowed with specified item description, quantity and item codes.
The Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) is amended to permit taking intermediate products out for job work abroad as part of the production process. Appendix 14-I-A adds clause V-A and Appendix 14-I-E is revised to require listing Item(s) description, Quantity and Item code (ITC/HS code) for such intermediate products, with a note that these entries are not required for service units.

Focus Product Scheme eligibility extended to specified handmade durries and carpets, subject to exporter declaration of hand made status.
Amendment to Appendix 37D clarifies that Focus Product Code 38 covers specified ITC (HS) codes for cotton, man made fibre and wool durries; other textile floor coverings; jute and coir carpets; and carpeting, rugs, mats and mattings, and confines benefits to hand made products with a required exporter declaration, applying to FTP(RE2006) and FTP(RE2007) and making scheme benefits available from the FTP applicability date onward.

Duty free import of fuel permitted under SION or general note conditions; applicant must specify fuel, FOB restriction not applied.
Duty free fuel imports under Advance Authorisation are allowed either according to the description and quantity specified in the relevant SION or, where fuel is not listed in a SION, under the General Note for Fuel percentage conditions in the FTP/HBP; applicants must state the specific fuel sought. The FOB value restriction in the General Note for Fuel does not apply to imports authorised under a SION unless the SION expressly includes that restriction.

Foreign trade procedure amendment adds 'Honey' to permitted items under Handbook of Procedures, expanding the commodity list.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures under the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 adds Honey as item vi in Paragraph 4.7 by Public Notice No. 57/2007, issued under powers conferred by Paragraph 2.4 of the Policy; the notice effects an administrative amendment to the Handbook and is issued in the public interest.

Time limits for DEPB applications clarified; filing windows and notification duties defined for export credit claims.
Claims under DEPB must be filed within twelve months from export or EDI shipping bill uplink, or within six months from realisation, or within three months from printing/release of the shipping bill, whichever is later. The Norms Committee must ensure any adhoc norms not already notified are published within six months of ratification.

Sale of imported weapons by renowned shooters permitted after specified holding periods, subject to regulator approval.
An amendment to paragraph 2.43.2 permits persons with "Renowned Shooter" status who have held that status for three consecutive years to sell imported weapons after three years from import, and permits other "Renowned Shooter" persons to sell after five years from import, in each case subject to prior approval from the trade regulator.

Export obligation schedule under EPCG modified; phased fulfilment, set off rules, digital filing and proportionate duty remedy.
Amendments require the RA to issue EPCG authorisation based on a nexus certificate from an independent Chartered Engineer and forward a copy to the Jurisdictional Central Excise Authority. Installation of capital goods must be certified to the RA by the Central Excise Authority within six months (three years for spares); non excise units may submit an independent Chartered Engineer's certificate. Export obligations are restructured into two phased blocks with 50% to be met in each block (and a separate 12 year phased schedule for high value cases); set off of excess exports between blocks is allowed, electronic filing with digital signatures is required, and proportionate customs duty with interest is payable for unfulfilled blocks.

ACU dollar equivalence to freely convertible currency - exporters with ACU$ realisation remain eligible for export promotion incentives.
Because the ACU dollar is recognised as equivalent to a freely convertible currency under central bank guidelines, exporters who realize foreign exchange in ACU$ are eligible to claim benefits under Export Promotion Schemes and associated incentive programmes administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

DFIA scheme benefit extends to exports to Rupee Payment Area countries subject to meeting prescribed value addition criteria.
DFIA scheme benefits apply to exports to Rupee Payment Area countries provided exporters achieve the higher of: value addition prescribed under DFIA, value addition in Appendix 11 of HBP Vol. I, or value addition prescribed for the specific product under the Advance Authorisation scheme.

Import approval for GM soybean oil: permitted after refining, subject to monthly import data reporting requirement.
One-time approval permits import of genetically modified soybean oil derived from Roundup-Ready soybean in crude de-gummed or refined form solely for consumption after refining, under the applicable ITC(HS) import condition. Importers must comply with a monthly reporting obligation: the solvent extractors' industry association will submit monthly import data for GM soybean oil and related products to the commerce division handling agricultural trade.

Export Obligation condition removed under EPCG scheme, deleting specified Handbook provisions and altering compliance requirements.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009, deletes Paragraphs 5.7.8 and 5.8.6 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I), which related to the condition for fulfillment of Export Obligation under the EPCG scheme, thereby removing those specified procedural conditions governing export obligation compliance.

Textile input import limits clarified: imports capped at 10% plus actual utilization or the SION quantity, whichever is lower.
SIONs permitting fabric import in square meters include an incorporated 10% wastage allowance; permitted imports are limited to the lower of (10% plus actual utilization in square meters) or the SION quantity. Actual utilization is calculated by Square Meter = Net Weight * 1000 / GSM. These rules apply to DFIA benefits.

Standard Input Output Norms deletion: export SION entry for Processed Filtered Honey removed immediately under foreign trade policy authority.
Under powers of the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures, the Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook (Vol.2) to delete the SION entry E-113 Processed Filtered Honey; the SION entry is deleted with immediate effect and issued in the public interest.

Addition to Export Promotion Councils list: DGFT recognition of IOPEA for oilseeds and oils export coverage.
DGFT Public Notice adds Indian Oilseeds & Produce Exporters Association EPC (IOPEA) to Appendix 2 of the Hand Book of Procedure (Vol. I) under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, specifying IOPEA's contact details and product coverage as oilseeds and oils while excluding de oiled cake, rice bran oil, soya oil, soya de oiled cake and products handled by the Shellac & Forest Product EPC.