Certification requirement for service exporters: mandatory accountant attestation of export records and forex receipts for licensing compliance.
Amendments add Appendix-26A requiring Chartered Accountant/Cost and Works Accountant/Company Secretary certification for service exporters/service providers. The certificate must verify statutory registers, bank certificates and other records evidencing foreign exchange earnings (direct and indirect), confirm that the Aayaat Niryaat Form and books agree, declare auditor independence, acknowledge legal consequences for false statements, and include signatory details and registration number; Appendix-26A is prescribed for specified sub-sections and for double-weightage eligibility under Star Export House criteria.

Regularization of export obligation defaults through Settlement Commission ensures consistent treatment of duty and interest settlements.
Regularization of export obligation defaults and settlement of customs duty and interest under Para 2.46 of the Foreign Trade Policy are to be processed through the Settlement Commission of the Central Board of Excise & Customs. Regional Authorities must treat Settlement Commission decisions given prior to 1.4.2005 on the same footing as decisions relating to the period on or after 1.4.2005, ensuring consistent administrative handling of EO regularization and duty/interest settlement.

Application procedure for export credit updated; applications limited in size and must link shipping bills to a single customs house.
Applications for credit under the Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana for exports from 01.04.2006 onwards must be filed to the regional authority in the Aayaat Niryaat Form with prescribed documents; applicants may submit multiple applications but each application shall contain not more than fifty shipping bills and all shipping bills in any one application must relate to exports from one Customs House. The same procedure applies to exports made from 01.04.2005 to 31.03.2006 under the earlier Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana.

Five-year validity for RCMC certificates enforced, requiring export councils to standardize certificate validity under the Handbook rule.
Export Promotion Councils and Commodity Boards acting as such must apply the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I rule that an RCMC is deemed valid from 1 April of the licensing year in which it was issued and carries a five-year validity ending 31 March of the relevant licensing year; councils are directed to implement this provision uniformly unless otherwise specified.

Regional jurisdiction realignment reallocates district responsibilities between adjacent trade authorities, clarifying territorial coverage for export-import procedural administration.
The Public Notice amends Appendix-1 of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I to revise the territorial allocation of Regional Authorities: one office's jurisdiction covers Punjab excluding specified districts, while the adjacent office's jurisdiction covers Himachal Pradesh, the Union Territory and specified neighbouring districts including Panchkula, thereby clarifying which Regional Authority will administer export import procedural matters for those areas.

One-time exemption under Foreign Trade Policy introduced by public notice amendment, providing a limited temporary relief period.
Amendment to paragraph 1(v) of Public Notice No.94 (RE-2005)/2004-2009 provides a one-time exemption under the Foreign Trade Policy, available for a period of one month commencing 22.06.2006, issued under paragraph 2.4 of the Policy and declared to be in the public interest.

Export licence validity clarified and revalidation allowed in limited six-month increments on DGFT recommendation.
Amendments revise Handbook provisions so that "import" may read "import/export" and add that an Export Licence/Authorisation carries a default validity of 12 months unless otherwise specified; they delete the existing sentence on original validity for restricted items in Para 2.12.4 and allow Regional Authorities, on DGFT recommendation, to revalidate export licences in six-month increments not exceeding 12 months from expiry.

Export obligation period clarified: initial term for certain advance licences set to two years, with project exceptions.
Clarifies that the initial Export Obligation period for Advance Licences issued between 1.4.2004 and 31.8.2004 is 24 months, except where licences relate to Deemed Exports or to projects/turnkey projects in India or abroad-those obligations must be fulfilled over the contracted execution period; Regional Authorities may act on licences without insisting on additional documents or fees.

Scheduled chemicals reporting: exporters and importers must provide accurate HS codes and send shipping documents promptly.
All exporters and importers of Schedule 2 and 3 Chemicals must ensure shipping documents (inward and outward) show correct chemical descriptions and the eight digit HS Codes as notified for Category 1A and 1B under Appendix 3 to Schedule 2, and must forward copies of shipping documents for each consignment to the designated industry reporting body within fifteen days of shipment to enable accurate OPCW submissions.

Target Plus Scheme filing requirements: applications must be submitted manually to jurisdictional zonal offices for licence consideration.
Amendments require Appendix 17D as the application form for the Target Plus Scheme (exports 2005-06), delete Appendix 17E and Para 3.2.5(VIII), and add provisions that applications be filed manually to the jurisdictional Zonal Office (determined by registered/head office) whose Zonal Committee will consider and issue licences. Appendix 17D prescribes the application content, exclusions, documentation (status/RCMC/CA certificate/bank realisation), and detailed entitlement calculation methodology including eligibility thresholds, caps and conversion rules.

Import-export input-output norms updated: SION entries amended and new chemical and engineering inputs added under FT policy.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures Vol.2 by revising the Standard Input Output Norms (SION): adding new chemical SIONs A-3614 to A-3623 and engineering SION C-2033, amending multiple SION entries across product groups to change import-item descriptions and quantities, provide alternative inputs, and apply content-based formulas for quantity adjustments and energy/fuel conversions as set out in Annexures A-C.

Border trade facilitation: permitted commodity trade by border district residents with trade passes subject to CITES and specified ports.
Permitted Indo China border trade is confined to residents of border districts issued trade passes acting per customary practice; specified lists of imports and exports are permitted, certain animal products require CITES compliance, all transactions remain subject to existing law, and trade under the Agreement is authorised only through the specified border ports Gunji, Namgaya Shipkila and Nathula.

Focus Market Scheme countries list notified; benefits granted subject to periodic export-performance review and policy modification.
The Director General of Foreign Trade notifies Appendix 37C as the official list of countries eligible for benefits under the Focus Market Scheme, listing nations in Latin American and African blocks; the export performance of these markets will be regularly reviewed and the Appendix may be modified from time to time under the Policy's review and modification provisions.

Import condition applicability: abeyance of Condition 18 exempts imports presenting bills of lading dated on or before the cutoff.
Condition 18 of Chapter 1A of the ITC(HS) Classification was placed in abeyance; the circular clarifies that for imports whose bills of lading fall on or before the specified cutoff date, Condition 18 will not be applicable to those consignments.

Import entry controls: imports must be completed by the deadline and confined to specified designated ports.
Amendments modify Paragraph 2 of the referenced public notice: imports must be completed by 31st March, 2007, and import clearance into India is authorised only through the named ports Nhava Sheva, Kandla, Kolkatta, Chennai, Vishakhapatanam, Mundra and Mumbai, under powers conferred by Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09 and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures.

Certificate of Origin confidentiality - authorized agencies may fill buyer details after certifying to protect exporter information.
Exporters applying for Certificate of Origin (Non Preferential) to authorized agencies may leave Column No. 2 blank; the authorized agency competent to issue the certificate shall complete Column No. 2 after certifying and signing the Certificate, preventing premature disclosure of buyer and product details.

Import restriction for vegetable fats: only designated cooperative importer may import under the Indo Sri Lanka FTA.
Import of vegetable fats, including vanaspati, bakery shortening and margarine, under the Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement may be made only by National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), pursuant to powers under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09 and relevant Customs notification implementing the India Sri Lanka FTA.

Cut-off date for sandalwood import applications established, defining the final administrative deadline for filings under the policy.
The circular fixes the cut-off date for filing applications to import sandalwood under Para 3(i) of Policy Circular No. 1 (RE-2006)/2004-09 as 31st July, 2006, thereby establishing the final administrative deadline for submission of such applications without changing the substantive eligibility or procedures of the original circular.

Port-specific import restriction: imports permitted only through designated seaports, narrowing permitted points of entry.
The amendment limits import entry into India by replacing Sl. No. (iv) of Paragraph 2 to permit imports only through the named seaports: Nhava Sheva, Kandla, Kolkata, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Mundra, effected under the Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures.

Transfer of duty free inputs between LTU units allowed after export obligation fulfillment, subject to CENVAT and IEC conditions.
Paragraph 4.5 is amended to allow transfer of duty free raw materials imported under an Advance Authorisation between units of a Large Taxpayer Unit without following the job work procedure after fulfilment of the export obligation, provided no CENVAT benefit has been claimed on the transferred inputs and all unit addresses are listed in the IEC issued to the LTU.