Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies added and operational areas amended, expanding inspection coverage and correcting registry entries.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Appendix 5 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol I) to add two Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies with specified contact details and areas of operation, and corrects the existing Sl. No. 30 entry to update the name, contacts and broaden the operational region for Worldwide Logistic, Survey and Inspection Group and Affiliates.

Certificate of Origin authorization: VTPC and its branches now authorised to issue non-preferential certificates for export compliance.
Authorisation under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 enlists Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre, Bangalore, and its Dharwad and Mysore branches to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential). Their names are added at Serial No. 7 (Karnataka) of Appendix 4C of the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I, 2009-2014, making these offices authorized issuers for export documentation and compliance.

Deletion of Sodium Dithionate as permissible input under SION entries reduces permissible inputs and takes immediate effect.
The Handbook of Procedures (Vol. II) deletes Sodium Dithionate (Hy-drose) as a permissible input from SION entries G-7 and G-46 in the Leather Product Group, reducing permissible inputs in those entries from forty-three to forty-two, effective immediately, with no change to descriptions or quantities of other inputs.

Standard Input-Output Norms: new SION prescribes input quantities for Amyl Salicylate exports under foreign trade policy.
Notification of a new SION A-3642 prescribes input-output norms for export of Amyl Salicylate, specifying allowable import items (Primary Amyl Alcohol or Pentanol Mixture; Salicylic Acid) and their permitted quantities tied to the export quantity, inserted in the Chemicals and Allied Products Group under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures.

SION notification for Verdyl Propionate specifies permitted imported inputs for its export under Foreign Trade Policy.
Notification under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy and Paragraph 1.1 of the Handbook of Procedures announces SION A-3641 for Verdyl Propionate, prescribing permitted imported input items - dicyclopentadiene and propionic acid - with specified input quantities relative to the export quantity, and formally adding the SION to the Chemicals and Allied Products Group.

SION notification updates export controls for Verdyl Acetate, specifying permitted precursor imports and compliance conditions.
Notification of a new SION A-3640 prescribes the regulatory input-output specification for the export product Verdyl Acetate, listing the export product, a prescribed export quantity, and the specific import precursor items with allowed input quantities; the entry brings Verdyl Acetate into the Chemicals and Allied Products Group SION roster and establishes the compliance baseline for exporters.

Revalidation of duty credit scrips permits utilisation of re credited SAD without RA endorsement; final extension applies.
For purpose of utilisation of re credit of 4% Special Additional Duty (SAD), freely transferable duty credit scrips (including DEPB) shall be deemed revalidated until 30.09.2013 without further Regional Authority endorsement; if Customs issues a consolidated certificate by 30.06.2013, the SAD amount in that certificate shall be deemed re credited in the scrips without reference to any DGFT Regional Authority. This is the final extension and no further extensions will be considered; future refunds require payment of SAD in cash.

Remote work authorization permits IT export unit employees to work outside their unit while preserving unit liability and export-from-premises rules.
Permits persons/ employees of IT-related EOU, STP, EHTP or BTP to work from outside the unit provided the unit issues an authorization specifying duration, retains responsibility and supervision for the work and remains liable for misuse, and ensures that export of resultant products or services takes place only from the premises of the unit.

Zero duty EPCG Authorisation validity extended to eighteen months, with immediate effect from date of issue.
Amendment increases the validity period of Zero duty EPCG Authorisation from nine months to eighteen months, with the revised validity running from the date of issue and taking immediate effect under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy.

Reward and incentive scheme amendments alter product classifications, eligibility and benefit rates, effective for exports from May.
Amendments to the Reward/Incentive Schemes effective 01.05.2013 delete specified castor oil cake entries, reclassify aromatic oil items from VKGUY Table 2 to FPS Table 1, and add new VKGUY items with stated admissible rates. Appendix 37D (FPS) is expanded with numerous products and assigned benefit rates and bonuses, certain Table 1 rates are amended, MLFPS and Focus Market Scheme listings are updated, MLFPS benefits for Chapters 61-62 to USA/EU are extended, and editorial corrections and additions to Towns of Export Excellence and country lists are made.

Clubbing of authorisations: procedural disposal of specified pending requests under prior Handbook provisions, subject to stipulated conditions.
Paragraph 4.20.5 is amended to allow Regional Authorities to dispose of certain pending clubbing requests for Advance Licences/Authorisations received by the specified cut off under the prior Handbook provisions subject to conditions in the cited public notice. Appendix 21C NOTE 3 is corrected to insert DFIA in the Procedure of Electronic Fund Transfer, and the practice for issuing duplicate authorisations in lieu of cancelled ones is aligned with the standard additional application fee.

Alignment of export product codes: draft VKGUY/FPS/MLFPS posted for stakeholder feedback; duty credit rates and deadlines specified.
DGFT issued a Trade Notice seeking stakeholder views on draft revisions to Appendix 37A (VKGUY) and Appendix 37D (FPS and MLFPS) to align item descriptions with ITC (HS) classification. Draft appendices listing eligible export items and admissible duty credit rates (VKGUY largely 5%; FPS/MLFPS bonus benefits typically 2% or 5%) are posted on the DGFT website; stakeholders were invited to submit feedback by e mail by the stated deadline. Exports via specified Land Custom Stations attract an additional 1% Duty Credit Scrip.

EPCG authorizations require Nexus certification and are tied to proportional export obligations under structured block fulfilment.
DGFT revised Chapter 5 consolidating the EPCG Scheme effective 18 April 2013: authorizations in ANF5A are issued with a specific duty-saved amount and corresponding specific export obligation, require a Nexus Certificate from an independent Chartered Engineer, and obligate installation certification to the RA. EO is structured in two blocks (50% in years 1-4; 50% in years 5-6) with permitted automatic 10% adjustments, extensions subject to 2% composition fee or 10% EO enhancement, monitoring by RA, redemption via ANF5B, and penalties for default under FT(D&R) Act, FTP and Customs Act. Post-export duty credit scrips and Green Technology product lists are provided.

Bar-coding requirement on primary packaging deferred; implementation postponed to a later effective date under amended trade notice.
Deferment of the implementation date for mandatory bar-coding on Primary Level packaging for export consignments of pharmaceuticals and drugs. The DGFT, under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, amends earlier public notices to postpone the effective commencement of the bar-coding requirement previously prescribed, thereby deferring the obligation on exporters to affix barcodes on primary packaging for tracing and tracking purposes.

Tariff rate quota allocation permits export of raw cane sugar to USA through designated exporter.
The Director General of Foreign Trade allocates a specified quantity of raw cane sugar from the non levy quota for export to the USA under the Tariff Rate Quota, designating M/s. Indian Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd as the exporter and maintaining existing procedural requirements for GSP and other certification for sugar exports to the USA.

Pre-shipment inspection agency recognition expanded: five agencies added and operational regions for several agencies widened under trade policy.
Five Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies are added to Appendix 5 of the Handbook of Procedures with specified contact details and operational regions, one of them granted recognition for a six month period; existing PSIAs have corrected entries and expanded areas of operation, and the amendments take effect immediately under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy.

Counter timings for DGFT submissions restrict after 12:30pm acceptance to exporters outside local limits; delivery starts at 3pm.
The notice prescribes differential counter submission and delivery timings at the DGFT office based on the exporter's administrative office location: only exporters whose administrative offices are outside local municipal limits may submit after 12:30 P.M.; prescribed slots apply for IEC applications, Advance Authorisations and DFIA (one day), other submissions, with document delivery beginning at 3:00 P.M. and a specified lunch break.

TED refund prohibition where supply is ab-initio exempt, refunds must not be granted by RAs or development commissioners.
Regional Authorities of DGFT and Offices of Development Commissioners must not provide TED refunds for supplies that are ab-initio exempted from excise duty: supplies under invalidation letters against Advance Authorisation, supplies under ICB, and supplies to EOUs. The circular states that such duty should not have been collected and, if collected in error, the collecting agency must refund it rather than seek reimbursement from another agency.

EDI inbox communications require regular review; failure to respond may prompt regulatory action under FTDR Act.
Exporters and importers must check DGFT EDI 'INBOX' for notices about personal hearings, recovery of excess entitlements from audit objections, and export obligation settlement; failure to respond after INBOX messages may prompt action under the FTDR Act, and parties should update IEC address records to avoid nondelivery.

Focus Product Scheme amendment: Set Top Box added with bonus benefit under Foreign Trade Policy, effective immediately.
Amendment adds Set Top Box to Table 1 of Appendix 37D (Focus Product Scheme) at Sl. No. 756, with an attached bonus benefit rate specified in the Public Notice, made under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014 and effective immediately for exports.