Duty forgone on indigenous procurement added to reporting formats to monitor domestic procurement and duty concessions.
Amendments to Annexure III and Annexure IV of Appendix 6E add reporting fields for indigenous procurement (cumulative domestic procurement of raw materials/consumables and capital goods) and an entry for duty forgone on indigenous procurement, and renumber existing items; the changes require working units to report domestic procurement and corresponding duty concessions in Quarterly and Annual Progress Reports.

Product description amendments align MEIS schedules with ITC(HS), correcting tariff line descriptions, effective retrospectively to original inclusion dates.
Amendments correct product descriptions in MEIS Schedule Table 2 of Appendix 3B by replacing inaccurate descriptions for specified ITC(HS) tariff lines with wording aligned to ITC(HS); the corrected descriptions are operative for the listed tariff lines and are declared applicable from the original dates when those products were included in the MEIS Schedule.

Inclusion of new regional DGFT office in Vijayawada establishes jurisdiction over eight districts and reallocates regional boundaries.
Inclusion of a new Regional Office at Vijayawada, located at Door No.55-17-2, 4th Floor, C-Block, Industrial Estate, Autonagar, Vijayawada, is assigned jurisdiction over Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Anantapur and Kurnool. Consequently, the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Authority at Vishakhapatnam is reallocated to cover the whole of Andhra Pradesh excluding the districts under the Vijayawada office.

Actual user condition imposed on boric acid imports, rendering them ineligible for Duty Free Import Authorisation.
Import of boric acid is made subject to the Actual User condition through amendments to multiple SION entries and renumbering of existing notes; as a result, boric acid is ineligible for import under the Duty Free Import Authorisation scheme.

Standard Input Output Norms changes restrict Advance Authorization use and impose CIF caps and actual user conditions on food SIONs.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has issued immediate amendments to Food product SIONs: specified SIONs are deleted or suspended with no Advance Authorization under the Advance Authorization route to be issued and applicants directed to apply under the alternate Handbook of Procedures route; individual SIONs are revised by deleting input items, adding or renumbering notes, imposing CIF value caps on specified inputs, applying actual user conditions, replacing DFRC with DFIA in notes, and adjusting input quantity rules for certain products.

Grievance redressal committee for Foreign Trade Policy grievances ensures expedited review, sectoral resolution, and procedural reform.
A Grievance Redressal Committee is constituted at the Zonal RA, Chennai, chaired by the Zonal Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, with membership including zonal Additional/Joint DGs, concerned officers, regional executive directors of trade and export promotion bodies, and special invitees from originating departments. Its terms of reference are to review and expedite disposal of FTP-related procedural grievances pending beyond reasonable time, examine sector-specific grievances from members or other sources, and suggest reforms in policy and procedures.

Import control of un shredded metallic waste and scrap: procedural conditions for sea port clearance under revised trade policy.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Public Notice No.38/ (2015-2020) by inserting a new paragraph (v) in Para 2.54 of the Handbook of Procedures (2015-2020) to set out conditions governing clearance of imports of un-shredded Metallic Waste and Scrap by sea ports, and replaces the wording HMS I and HMS II with un-shredded Metallic Waste and Scrap.

Inclusion of inland container depots as ports of registration enables exporters at those ICDs to access Chapter 4 benefits.
The Director General of Foreign Trade adds Kalinganagar and Tumb Village (Taluka Umbergaon, District Valsad) to the list of Inland Container Depots in paragraph 4.37(a) of the Handbook of Procedures (2015-2020) as Ports of Registration, enabling exporters using those ICDs to avail export promotion benefits under Chapter 4 of the Foreign Trade Policy; names will be alphabetised in the revised Handbook.

Designated sea ports must install radiation portal monitors and container scanners to permit import clearance of un shredded scrap.
Only DGFT designated entry sea ports may import un shredded metallic scrap; designation requires installation and operation of Radiation Portal Monitors and Container Scanners and AERB certification with Customs clearance. Inland Container Depots may handle clearance only for consignments routed through such designated ports and subjected to risk based scanning under Customs protocol. Imports also require pre inspection certification from the country of origin, with the PSIC requirement to be reviewed after operationalisation and risk assessment.

Nominated Agency Certificate eligibility revised: exclude Gems & Jewellery SEZ/EOU exports from status calculations and renewals.
Eligibility for grant or renewal of the Nominated Agency Certificate is amended so that export performance of Gems & Jewellery items from SEZ/EOU units is excluded when calculating status-holder export turnover; applicants must upload a valid Status Holder Certificate and submit revised ANF-4I with CA/ICWA/CS certification confirming exclusion and verifying exports and realizations before the Regional Authority issues or renews the certificate.

Regional office inclusion changes territorial jurisdiction, reallocating district coverage and adjusting administrative authority under Foreign Trade Policy.
The Director General of Foreign Trade includes a new Regional Office of DGFT at Belagavi in Appendix - 1A of the Foreign Trade Policy and assigns it territorial jurisdiction over Belagavi, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada and Bijapur. Consequentially, the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Authority, Bangalore, is reallocated to cover the rest of Karnataka excluding the districts allocated to the Belagavi Regional Office.

Export obligation period clarified for fabrics under Special Advance Authorization Scheme; obligation counted from issue of authorisation.
The public notice corrects a reference date in an earlier notice and amends Appendix 4J to state that the export obligation period for fabrics (including interlining) under the Special Advance Authorization Scheme is to be measured from the date of issue of the authorisation, not from the date of import clearance, and that further extensions are governed by the extension provisions of the Handbook of Procedures.

CXL quota export allocation: preferential sugar exports permitted with Certificate of Origin, duty conditions and reporting obligations under export policy.
Allocation permits preferential sugar exports to the EU under the CXL concession subject to the Foreign Trade Policy conditions and applicable export duty; release for free circulation requires a Certificate of Origin issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, with the EUR form endorsed by Customs at the port, and exporters must comply with existing reporting and procedural requirements.

Common Service Provider designation requires specified documentary proof for EPCG applications under amended ANF 5A immediately.
Amendment adds designation/certification guidelines for Common Service Providers to ANF 5A for EPCG applications, requiring submission of IEC, RCMC, description of services, a minimum six user list with names and IECs, the Terminal/Export Excellence location, product category to be serviced, and prior registration with relevant indirect tax authorities.

Definition of service provider broadened to include job workers for CSP under EPCG, subject to DoR exemption compliance.
The definition of service provider for Common Service Providers under the EPCG scheme includes job workers who perform manufacturing or processing services (e.g., knitting, dyeing, printing, embroidering, labelling, cutting) for multiple exporters without exporting themselves; such arrangements must comply with the Department of Revenue exemption Notification No. 16/2015 Customs.

MEIS reward rates updated: extensive additions and amendments to Appendix 3B alter eligible goods and rates effective immediately.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, notifies immediate additions of 2,901 ITC (HS) code lines to Table 2 of Appendix 3B to the MEIS schedule and establishes specified reward rates for those goods; some entries remain subject to export policy restrictions.

Refund of Terminal Excise Duty allowed where duty paid from CENVAT credit; safeguards required to prevent duplicate claims.
Refund of Terminal Excise Duty (TED) is allowable under FTP where no ab-initio exemption applied and the duty was paid using CENVAT credit, subject to all FTP conditions and safeguards to ensure the TED has not been or will not be claimed by any other mechanism. No refund is permitted where ab-initio exemption existed.

Free Sale & Commerce Certificate eligibility clarified: merchant exporters may obtain it by furnishing manufacturer details in Annexure A.
Merchant exporters may obtain a Free Sale & Commerce Certificate by providing manufacturer particulars in Annexure A of Appendix 2H; the Regional Authority will record the manufacturer/exporter name as submitted by the applicant in Annexure B, thereby satisfying the proforma requirement under Para 2.37 of the Handbook of Procedure.

Incremental export incentive: guidance on issuing duty credit scrips, tightened scrutiny, and sanctions for irregular claims.
Guidance requires RAs to re-open files and issue supplementary duty credit scrips for incremental export growth after deducting initial scrips, subject to due diligence and enhanced scrutiny. It reiterates that entitlement is based on bona fide incremental exports, prohibits benefits where base-period exports were non-existent or understated to bypass checks, and mandates prescribed filing, CA certification, and single-RA processing for EDI ports. RAs must investigate multiple inconsistent applications, initiate FT (D & R) Act actions including DEL placement and penalties, report errant Chartered Accountants, and conduct post-issuance verification for high-growth claims.

Pre-shipment inspection agency recognition: Melt Enterprises Ltd added to authorised PSIA list; instrument approvals and scope adjusted.
Pre-shipment inspection agency recognition is conferred on Melt Enterprises Ltd., UK by inclusion in Appendix 2G, authorising it to issue Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificates for a three-year period and listing approved spectrometers and survey meters for PSIC issuance. The notice also re-notifies and limits the instrument authorisation for M/s. Asia Inspection Agency Co. Ltd., Thailand to two specified Radcomm instruments, thereby restricting that agency's authorised inspection equipment.