Conversion of Release Advice into Advance Release Orders allows domestic sourcing of steel inputs subject to documentation and limited validity.
Conversion of outstanding or partially serviced Release Advice into Advance Release Order is authorised to permit domestic sourcing of iron and steel intermediates. Exporters must surrender un serviced Release Advice and file Appendix 11-B with supporting documents (application fee receipt, RCMC copy, customs attested invoices, export promotion shipping bill copies and a declaration of non receipt of Duty Drawback/Duty Exemption benefits) within three months. Advance Release Orders are issued in Appendix 11-G form, valid for twelve months with no revalidation. Domestic suppliers whose supplies were effected will be treated as supplies under Advance Release Orders and may claim deemed export benefits but not the Special Value Based Advance Intermediate Licence; applications for past supplies must be filed within six months.

DEPB Scheme credit rates set for leather, writing instruments and ready-made garments, effective for exports after the effective date.
Notification of credit rates under the DEPB Scheme for specified leather products, writing instruments and readymade garments other than silk, effective 9 July 1997. The Director General of Foreign Trade, under the Export and Import Policy, 1997-2002, notifies product-specific DEPB entitlement rates in the Annexure, to form Appendix-28A of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I). The notice supersedes Public Notice 5/97-2002 dated 8 April 1997 for the listed items and directs that the rates apply to exports made on or after 9 July 1997, with prior exports governed by the earlier notice.

DEPB credit rates notified, updating export credit percentages for listed chemical and plastic products under policy.
Notification under paragraph 4.11 of the Export and Import Policy that specifies DEPB credit rates (as percentages of FOB export value) for listed export products. The annexure, forming part of Appendix-28A of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol.1), tabulates item-specific DEPB rates across chemical and plastic product groups to govern entitlement calculations under the DEPB scheme.

MODVAT credit reversal: exports accepted to discharge obligation on certified reversal and interest payment.
Exports where MODVAT/input stage credit was reversed after factory clearance may be accepted to discharge export obligation on production of a certificate from the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise confirming reversal by the stipulated cut off and payment of interest for the period the credit was retained; this certificate is acceptable from manufacturer exporters and merchant exporters who had indicated supporting manufacturer(s) at licence issuance.

Standard Input Output Norms amended: new and revised sectoral SION entries alter permitted import inputs and entitlement calculations.
Public Notice amends the Handbook of Procedures Vol. 2 by adding new Standard Input Output Norms across multiple sectors and substituting, deleting or correcting existing SION entries. Annexures B-H introduce new entries with specified input items and quantities; Annexure A records targeted substitutions, quantity corrections, alternative input options, deletions and specification requirements (including material grades, consumables allowances and minimum value addition conditions). Fisheries entries include IQF weight adjustments and alternative input equivalences; textile entries change raw wool permissions to scoured wool.

Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms updates allowable import inputs and adds product entries under export procedure.
Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms updates the Handbook of Procedures, Vol.2 by issuing corrections, substitutions and new entries across Chemicals, Engineering, Leather, Plastic and Miscellaneous product schedules; it prescribes revised import item descriptions, adjusted input quantities, complete replacement of normative tables where specified, and annexed detailed input output lists and wastage/allowance rules that govern permitted imports against specified export products.

Export ceiling allocation for wheat flour: APEDA to issue RCAC enabling designated exporter to supply Maldives under licensing year.
A ceiling of one thousand metric tonnes of wheat flour is allocated for the licensing year 1997-98 and placed at the disposal of APEDA to issue a Registration cum Allocation Certificate (RCAC) to M/s. State Trading Corporation Limited for export to M/s. State Trading Organisation, Maldives. After issuing the RCAC and completing necessary action, APEDA must report to the EP (Argi.II) Section of the Ministry of Commerce with intimation to the Statistical Division of the DGFT office.

DEPB credit rates notified for multiple export product groups, revising entitlement categories and Appendix entries under trade policy.
The Director General of Foreign Trade notifies DEPB credit rates for listed export products-grouped as engineering, food, handicraft, sports goods and miscellaneous-and incorporates the Annexure into Appendix 28A of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. 1). The notice also amends Appendix 11D by adding a Port of Registration entry. These measures, issued under paragraph 4.11 of the Export and Import Policy, 1997-2002, prescribe how exporters are to compute DEPB entitlements against FOB export value and require adherence to the revised Handbook provisions.

Export samples licence threshold: samples under a value cap can be exported without a licence; excess requires licensing.
Samples of goods in Parts II and III of the Negative List and the Appendix may be exported without a licence if the aggregate value of samples in a licensing year does not exceed US$ 2000, subject to exclusions (Appendix S. Nos. 1, 2, 17, 19 and Part II S. Nos. 2, 5, 24(i),(ii), 28, 30, 31). Exports exceeding that aggregate value require a licence, with the Director General of Foreign Trade as the licensing authority.

Export policy amendments: EPCG export obligation schedule revised and compliance reporting, SIL option, and document corrections clarified.
Amendments revise cross references and procedural rules in the Handbook (Vol. I), introduce a staged export obligation schedule for Zero Duty EPCG agriculture licences with specified year block proportions, require submission of progress reports in Appendix 10C on a year wise or block wise basis, clarify that DEPB on pre export basis precludes post export DEPB until pre export exports are completed, adjust deemed export eligibility and claim filing periodicity and extend timelines for certain categories, and add operational rules for gold loan repayment and jewellery licensing under Appendix 29, together with multiple appendix and form corrections.

Preferential export allocation expanded for sugar, authorising a sole agency to export to EU and USA subject to certification.
The circular increases the preferential export allocation for M/s. Indian Sugar & General Industry Export Import Corporation (ISGIEIC) Ltd. from 35,500 MTs to 36,300 MTs for specified quantities of white and raw sugar destined for the European Union and raw sugar destined for the United States. ISGIEIC is designated the sole agency authorised to export these quantities under the preferential arrangement, and such exports are subject to prescribed pre-shipment certification by the Export Inspection Council. The overall free-sale season ceiling and other terms of Export Instruction No. 17/96-97 remain unchanged.

DEPB credit rates updated for additional export products, listing eligible items and applicable export credit percentages.
Notification under the DEPB Scheme publishes an annexure adding 319 export products with product wise DEPB credit rates (percentages of FOB value) to be incorporated into Appendix 28A of the Handbook of Procedures, 1997-2002; it also corrects two previously published product entries and deletes one prior entry, making the annexure the operative schedule for determining exporter eligibility and applicable credit percentages.

Crude Palm Stearin imports allowed for registered industrial users who must split it into fatty acids and glycerol and report quarterly.
Non edible industrial grade Crude Palm Stearin may be imported without a licence by authorised industrial importers with on site splitting capacity, subject to specified free fatty acid thresholds (10% or 3.5% FFA) and an Actual User condition requiring splitting into fatty acids and glycerol at the importer's facility. Fatty acids and glycerol are generally transferable (with sale restrictions where CPS meets the 3.5% FFA allowance). Importers must submit quarterly detailed returns and obtain utilisation certification from the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils & Fats, which determines eligibility for further annual import authorisation.

DEPB credit use for customs duty on imports under transferable Special Import Licence clarified and credit rates notified.
The Director General of Foreign Trade notifies product-specific DEPB credit rates by annexure to Appendix-28A of the Handbook (Vol. I), amends paragraph 7.36 to treat grouped seaports/airports/ICDs in the same city as a single port for DEPB entitlement, and inserts paragraph 7.36B permitting DEPB credit to be utilised for payment of customs duty on items imported under a freely transferable Special Import Licence.

Input output norms amended: new SION entries and detailed import input specifications extend across multiple manufacturing sectors.
Public Notice dated 5 6 1997 amends the Standard Input Output Norms by adding new SION entries and substituting or correcting existing norms across Chemicals, Engineering, Leather, Plastic, Textile and Miscellaneous products. Annexures specify detailed import inputs, quantities, component lists, consumable allowances and permitted alternatives; textile general notes permit trimmings and uncaptured items on a net-to-net basis with Actual User Condition. Material grade and allowance conditions are specified for certain engineering items.

EPCG and duty exemption compliance: licensing authorities must apply specified Customs Notifications and modify DEEC entries accordingly.
Licensing authorities must apply the specified Customs Notifications when issuing licences and during redemption or discharge of export obligations, including modification of DEEC entries as required for licences issued under Paragraphs 7.4 and 7.3/7.5 of the EXIM Policy 1997-2002; the Notifications cover EPCG variants, advance licences with AU conditions, jobbing, Duty Entitlement Pass Book, and special imprest licence and set the customs conditions for licence issuance and obligation discharge.

Export of non-basmati rice now conditional on registration of contracts with APEDA under Exim Policy amendment.
Amendment to ITC(HS) Schedule 2 Appendix 1 inserts an entry permitting export of non-basmati rice subject to registration of export contracts with the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) under Paragraph 4.11 of the Export & Import Policy, 1997-2002.

Import permission for roller flour mills conditioned on APEDA registration and actual user compliance, domestic sale only.
Roller Flour Mills are permitted to import wheat solely to meet their own milling requirements, with resultant flour restricted to domestic sale. Import contracts must be registered with APEDA for monitoring, and all imports under the Public Notice are subject to an Actual User condition and completion within the stipulated time limit.

Condonation of delay in Special Import Licence applications permitted with late penalty reducing entitlement; applications within limited grace period considered.
Applications for Special Import Licence filed after the prescribed last date but within a limited six month grace period may be considered as a procedural concession; such applications accepted under this concession are to be processed subject to a mandatory late cut on entitlement fixed at twenty five percent, establishing both the temporal eligibility for condonation and the penalty mechanism.

DEPB credit cap: benefits limited to half of Present Market Value for high rate items; application timing rules apply.
The Director General of Foreign Trade notifies DEPB credit rates for numerous export products as part of Appendix 28A. Where a product's DEPB rate is 15% or more, the credit per export is capped at 50% of the Present Market Value and exporters must declare this limit on the shipping bill. Export in anticipation of a notified rate is permitted for products covered by Standard Input Output Norms, with DEPB issuance allowed if application is made within 90 days of export or 60 days from rate notification, whichever is later, at exporter's risk.