Removal of trade regulation provision: paragraph deleted from Handbook of Procedure under powers of the Foreign Trade Policy.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-2014, issued Public Notice No. 50 dated 28 February 2013 deleting Paragraph 2.33 of the Handbook of Procedure Vol. I, 2009-2014, the deletion being consequent to Notification No. 35 dated 28 February 2013.

Deemed export benefits clarified: ARO supplies get duty drawback and TED refunds; invalidation letter gives TED exemption and AA/DFIA.
Clarification distinguishes benefits for supplies against an Advance Release Order (ARO) and against an invalidation letter substituting for an Advance Authorisation: supplies against an ARO are eligible for refund of duty drawback and refund of Terminal Excise Duty (TED); supplies against an invalidation letter receive an ab initio exemption from TED (no TED refund) and may be covered by issuance of AA/DFIA for intermediate supply.

Deletion of pesticides as permissible input in textile SION: immediate removal changes eligible inputs for export product composition.
Pesticides (Biocides/Fungicides/Herbicides/Insecticides) are deleted as a permissible input under SION J-373 for textile products with immediate effect following withdrawal of the earlier public notice. The amended SION J-373 retains the following permissible inputs and their specified quantities: raw cotton (not carded or combed); grey cotton fabrics (75-95 GSM) suitable for packing cotton bales; PP/HDPE/LDPE/LLDPE granules for plastic woven packing fabrics; mild steel coils (width 1/2 inch-3/4 inch); and PVC straps.

Duty Credit Scrip computation now based on basic customs duty paid, with CENVAT non availment certificate exceptions.
Computation of freely transferable Duty Credit Scrip(s) will be based on basic customs duty paid. Where an exporter obtains EPCG authorisation declaring non availment of CENVAT, Export Obligation and Duty Credit Scrip issuance will be fixed and issued with reference to basic customs duty paid and supported by a Central Excise certificate of non availment, except where the unit is not registered with Central Excise. Capital goods imported under the FTP must not be disposed of until the last export for offset, and re exported defective CG claiming drawback will not amount to remission of duty under the FTP.

Export product description amended to include linen, broadening eligible textile exports under the SION entry.
SION No. J-44 in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. II is amended to replace 'Flax Fabrics Dyed' with 'Flax dyed fabric/Linen dyed fabric', thereby explicitly including linen in the export product description for that textile SION entry.

Deemed export benefits limited to supplies to specified mega power projects certified by Ministry of Power, subject to policy conditions.
Deemed export benefits are confined to supplies for Mega Power Projects included in List 32A of Notification No.49/2012-Customs; the zero duty import concession applies only to projects certified by an officer not below Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power before 19 July 2012, and benefits for these 111 listed projects remain subject to the conditions of the Department of Revenue notification, the Foreign Trade Policy, and the Handbook of Procedures.

ITC HS Code harmonization updates modify eligibility for export incentive scrips under VKGUY and FPS.
Revisions to Appendices 37A (VKGUY) and 37D (Focus Product Scheme) update ITC (HS) Codes, product descriptions and serial entries for specified export items; shipping bills bearing existing or revised codes remain eligible for incentives. The Notice corrects previously notified codes and descriptions, withdraws a value cap on VKGUY scrip for dried fish, amends RCMC registration provisions in Para 2.63(d) to clarify EPC responsibility for certain exporters, and inserts a product specific eligibility note. Effective dates for each revision are stated in the tables.

Declaration of Intent waiver allows chapter three benefits for specified exports without late fee until the filing deadline.
Regional Authorities shall grant chapter three benefits for exports where shipping bills were filed under Chapter Four (including drawback), Chapter Five or Chapter Six during 1 January 2011 to 2 June 2011 even if the Declaration of Intent was not mentioned; such requests must be filed with the respective Regional Authorities by 30 April 2013 and will not attract any late cut or late fee, and no applications will be accepted after that date.

Status recognition applications by EHTPs and STPs must be filed with the concerned jurisdictional regional authority.
The amendment to Para 3.2.1 specifies that applications for Status Recognition shall be filed with the concerned jurisdictional Regional Authority/Development Commissioner of DGFT. It further clarifies that where export performance of EOUs/SEZs is clubbed with a company/firm/Group Company in the domestic tariff area, such cases will continue to be considered only by the jurisdictional RA of DGFT, and that EHTPs and STPs shall file status recognition applications with their jurisdictional RAs.

EPCG authorisation checklist ensures complete document submission to streamline processing and avoid deficiency notices by exporters.
A procedural checklist prescribes documentary and procedural requirements for grant of EPCG Authorisation, dividing requirements into mandatory documents (covering letter or authorised signatory proof, two copies of ANF 5A with declaration, Chartered Engineer certificate for end-use, Chartered Accountant/Cost Accountant certificate of past exports/services, industrial/service registrations and RCMC, and declarations on restricted capital goods) and additional documents for specific cases such as import of spares, EOU to DTA conversion, technology upgradation, service-sector applicants, retail sector, and annual EPCG authorisations.

Cancellation of Legal Undertaking (LUT) requires BRC-backed reconciliation and proof of payment for any excess duty credit.
Cancellation of Legal Undertaking (LUT) against post-export licence schemes requires submission of original Bank Realization Certificates (BRC) and a prescribed worksheet referencing column 14 of the BRC to reconcile admitted, realized and excess amounts; where Excess Duty Credit has been availed the original customs challan and payment of excess with interest from the date of licence issue must be produced.

Revalidation of export authorizations allows cotton exporters to obtain a one-time extension or penalty-free surrender.
Holders of Registration Certificates (RC) for cotton exports to Pakistan may obtain a one-time extension of RC validity for up to thirty days or surrender un-utilized or partially utilized RCs without penalty, provided the request for revalidation or surrender is made to the concerned Regional Authority within the RC validity period; Regional Authorities must report weekly to Headquarters the numbers and quantities of RCs revalidated and surrendered.

Withdrawal of mandatory basmati rice export sampling removes requirement for customs-drawn variety testing, ending designated testing centre obligation.
The circular withdraws prior instructions requiring customs to draw samples of basmati (including PUSA 1121) for variety identification and rescinds designation of authorised testing centres. With immediate effect, the procedural obligation on customs and exporters to facilitate sampling and specified centre analysis for variety identification is removed as an amendment to the earlier policy circulars.

Inclusion of FIEO Chapter Offices under Foreign Trade Policy expands recognized chapter listings and contact points.
The Director General of Foreign Trade has notified the inclusion of the Rajasthan, Kerala and Jharkhand Chapter Offices of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations in Column 4 of Sl. No. 12 of Appendix-2 of the Handbook of Procedures, Volume 1, thereby updating the official roster of recognized chapter offices and their contact details for administrative and procedural use under the Handbook.

Uniform allowance of unwrought silver as permissible import input standardises acceptable silver forms for specified export items.
Amendment harmonises import-item descriptions in specified SIONs to permit unwrought silver of purity 99.9% and above, silver ingots and silver bullion of equivalent purity (and where listed, scrap/used targets or discs) as acceptable inputs for the named export products, without changing export item descriptions or quantities or other input specifications.