Weekly Open House to address pending DGFT applications; submit issues by Tuesday via designated email for review.
Establishment of a Weekly Open House provides a recurring forum for applicants to raise pending DGFT issues; sessions are held Wednesdays 2.30-3.30 p.m. at the conference hall, and applicants must submit complete details and participant names/designations by Tuesday evening to [email protected] with CC to [email protected] for coordination.

IEC and EDI contact procedure updated: designated official email channels established for pending applications and technical transmission issues.
Two designated official email channels have been established: one for queries on pending IEC applications and modifications filed with the regional office, and another for technical faults, online module problems and transmission issues affecting EDI submissions; applicants should use their official organizational email addresses and may use the general contact channel for other matters.

Trade facilitation measures: encourages paperless communication while preserving applicants' right to personal meetings and weekly open houses.
Trade facilitation measures encourage IT-enabled, paperless communication to improve efficiency, integrity and transparency while retaining reception-based documentary submissions and the right to personal meetings. Applicants shall not be denied meetings; senior-most available officers should meet them if senior officers are absent. The measures do not limit procedural rights in foreign trade adjudicatory proceedings. Regional Authorities must institute a weekly open house for applicants on Wednesdays, ensure designated officers address concerns, and implement the arrangements in the spirit of upright, fair and transparent office conduct.

Authorization to issue Certificate of Origin expanded to Textile Committee, enabling preferential origin certification for textiles under several trade agreements.
The Director General of Foreign Trade authorises the Textile Committee to be included in Appendix 2 B as an agency competent to issue Certificate of Origin (Preferential) for textiles and made ups under eleven specified FTAs/PTAs, alongside existing agencies such as the Export Inspection Council and MPEDA.

Net content certification required: exported goods must bear Customs/Excise certified input content and matching technical specifications.
Advance authorizations with accountability conditions require export documents to declare the net content of inputs present in the exported product, certified by Customs or Central Excise at the time of export; nexus requires matching type and technical specifications between import and export documents. Where inputs or exported products are of lesser strength than the SION default, that must be declared so Customs can accept or test; supplier test reports are not acceptable, while limited self-tested lab report acceptance for certain ISO export units is confined to exports and governed by the stated CBEC circular.

Reconstitution of Board of Trade establishes an advisory body to guide trade policy and review export measures.
Reconstitution of the Board of Trade creates an advisory body under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 to advise the Government on measures to increase exports, review sectoral performance and constraints, examine and streamline institutional frameworks and policy instruments for imports and exports, and address issues affecting international competitiveness. The Board is chaired by the Minister of Commerce & Industry and comprises named non official members, a broad roster of ex officio industry representatives, senior official members from relevant ministries and institutions, with the Director General of Foreign Trade as Member Secretary.

Tariff Rate Quota allocation: additional raw cane sugar quantity made available for export to USA under free TRQ conditions.
An additional quantity of raw cane sugar is allocated for export to the United States under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) from the non-levy (Free Sale) quota and remains subject to the TRQ's 'Free' status and the notified "Nature of Restrictions." Required Certificates of Origin shall be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, and applicable reporting and certification requirements under the governing notification continue to apply.

Focus Product Scheme correction: FPS incentives allowed for 'Other Brakes and Servo Brakes' exports despite prior HS code mismatch.
The notice corrects the ITC(HS) code for "Other - Brakes and Servo Brakes and Part thereof" in Appendix 37D and provides that FPS incentives will be treated as valid for exports described as that item even if reported under the earlier incorrect HS code for shipments prior to the correction's issuance. From the correction onward, description and ITC(HS) code must match for incentive entitlement, and Regional Authorities must review and recover incentives wrongly granted where the description did not correspond.

Standard Input Output Norms notified for chemical exports, defining input allowances and export product SIONs under trade policy.
Notification of Standard Input Output Norms for specified chemical and allied export products under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade issues SION entries identifying export items and corresponding input materials and allowed quantities per export unit, to be applied as operative input-output standards for the listed pharmaceutical and injectable products.

GSP certificate authorization: Tobacco Board empowered to issue certificates for tobacco products under FTP framework.
An amendment to Appendix 2C of the FTP 2015-20 adds Tobacco Board, Guntur to the agencies authorised to issue GSP Certificate of Origin, thereby empowering the Tobacco Board to issue GSP certificates for tobacco and tobacco products under the Foreign Trade Policy.

No duplicate IEC issuance: rely on online verification and printed portal records instead of applying for duplicates.
There is no provision under the current Foreign Trade Policy for issuance of a duplicate Import Export Code certificate; users are advised not to apply for duplicate IECs if the original is lost or misplaced. Instead, stakeholders must rely on the DGFT online portal to verify IEC authenticity and may retain printed copies of the online record for transactional use, as the online database is the authoritative source for third party checks.

Import quota allocation under Indo Sri Lanka FTA now applies to each financial year, replacing single year aggregate.
Amendment replaces the aggregate quantity description in Annexure 1 of Appendix 2A from availability "during 2015 16" to availability "during each financial year," making Column 4 denote the annual aggregate quantity available for import under the Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement for the specified ITC (HS) codes.

Standard Input Output Norms update: new norms for malted milk food exports set input composition and packaging rules.
SION E-133 establishes input output norms for "Malted Milk Food," specifying allowed input items and their quantities per 1.00 kg of export product, including malted barley/wheat flour, relevant milk products, optional cocoa components for chocolate flavour, cane sugar, permitted food additives approved for the export product, and packaging materials governed by the applicable packing material policy.

Online processing of SCOMET export applications requires prescribed document uploads; originals of end use certificates and entry bills still required.
Online processing of SCOMET export applications requires mandatory electronic filing with digital signature and uploading of prescribed documents-End Use cum End User Certificates from all supply chain entities, purchase orders, ANF 1 exporter profile, technical specifications, relevant contract excerpts, and prior authorization copies-so applications can be forwarded electronically to the inter ministerial working group. Only original End Use cum End User Certificates and copies of Bills of Entry for exports in the preceding year must still be submitted in hard copy.

Focus Product Scheme benefit applies to exports of finished dosage forms containing omeprazole or lansoprazole, treated separately.
Regional authorities are directed to grant Focus Product Scheme incentives for exports of finished dosage forms that use either Omeprazole or Lansoprazole as the active pharmaceutical ingredient, the Department of Pharmaceuticals having clarified the tariff entry covers the two distinct finished-dosage-form products rather than a combined formulated product.

Telephone contact protocol establishes designated board, principal and fax lines with specified attendant and transfer procedures.
An administrative telephone contact protocol designates a board line to be attended by an operator (with automatic transfer to the IE Code modifications extension if unattended) and a principal officer line to be attended by the personal assistant (with automatic transfer to the principal if unattended). One number is reserved exclusively for fax and will not accept voice calls; another is reserved for outgoing calls and a data link and will not answer incoming calls.

Mandatory online IEC filing requires digital signature and limited supporting documents; modifications demand prior registry updates.
IEC filing is shifted to a mandatory online process with digital signature; applicants must upload only PAN, a cancelled cheque or bank certificate showing the entity name, and a digital photograph meeting prescribed size and format limits. There will be no deficiency letters for online filings-applications with errors will be rejected and must be resubmitted. IEC status labels like "manufacturer exporter" do not automatically confer benefits; applicants seeking modification must first update Income Tax and ROC records and provide corroborative evidence along with the prescribed fee.

IEC documentation requirements: only PAN copy, bank certificate or pre printed cancelled cheque and applicant photograph required for applications.
Applicants for IEC must upload only a copy of the business PAN, either a cancelled cheque with the entity's pre printed name or a prescribed Bank Certificate, and the signatory applicant's photograph using the notified application format and checklist. Regional Authorities must accept manual applications only in the revised format, issue IECs per the checklist, process pending applications under old or new norms as appropriate, and allow applicants to furnish additional documents to meet the simplified requirements.

No routine hand delivery of documents: use electronic portal for status; postal delays addressed with local Speed Post providers.
No routine hand delivery of documents will be made except in urgent cases; applicants must use the e.com portal and their digital key to view generated deficiency and rejection letters rather than rely on physical collection. Local Speed Post should normally deliver next day and the office will engage postal authorities if delays persist. Online filing difficulties in Pune may be due to local internet congestion rather than central server faults; trade bodies should coordinate with Internet Service Providers and seek regulator assistance if needed.

Minimum Import Price requirement restricts iron and steel imports below the prescribed unit value and mandates LC registration.
Imports of iron and steel on or after 5 February 2016 must have a unit CIF/landed value equal to or above the specified Minimum Import Price; consignments below that value are restricted and cannot be cleared by paying duty on the MIP. Shipment date governs applicability, exemptions apply only to letters of credit entered before the Notification subject to Para 1.05(b) of the Foreign Trade Policy, and irrevocable letters of credit must be registered with the jurisdictional Regional Authority within 15 days.