Import quota allocation for rough marble expanded with revalidation, verification and penalties for misdeclaration.
Revalidation and amendment of import authorisations for rough marble and travertine blocks is allowed with a 25% increase in import quantity under Notification No.11; an annexure lists 472 beneficiaries and their additional quotas. Regional Authorities must verify applicants are not on the DEL list before revalidation. Beneficiaries must file monthly import returns by the 15th of the succeeding month. False or erroneous information, mis declaration or misrepresentation will lead to forfeiture of allocation, debarment from future allocations and penal action under the Foreign Trade (D&R) Act, 1992.

Weekly Open House schedule revised to subject-wise sessions; participants must submit pending issues by preceding Monday.
Weekly Open House will be held every Wednesday from 2.30 p.m. to 3.30 p.m. at the Zonal Addl. DGFT Chennai Conference Hall. Participation requires advance submission of complete details of pending issues and participant names/designations by the preceding Monday (requests after 5 p.m. that Monday are deferred). Sessions will be subject-wise: Chapter 3 and EDI on 1st/3rd/5th Wednesdays and Chapters 4, 5 and 7 on 2nd/4th Wednesdays. Submissions must be sent to the designated email address.

Execution of BG/LUT: manufacturer exporters must prove status to obtain reduced bank guarantee; others face full bond-backed security.
The Trade Notice directs that holders of Advance Authorization and EPCG Authorization claiming status as manufacturer exporter must independently prove that status to obtain the reduced security regime; demonstrable manufacturers qualify for a bond backed by reduced bank guarantee or cash security, whereas exporters unable to substantiate manufacturing must provide a bond backed by a bank guarantee covering the full excise-duty-savings exposure under the applicable customs instructions.

FPS benefits eligibility confirmed for Other Cast Articles of Iron and Steel under ITC HS grouping regardless of malleability.
All "Other Cast Articles of Iron or Steel" under the four digit ITC(HS) heading 7325 are eligible for FPS benefits irrespective of malleability; the entry at serial number 279 contains no malleability condition and therefore supports FPS claims for all cast iron and steel articles within that heading.

Revalidation of advance authorizations with bond waiver permitted for input replenishment subject to ANF 4D and fee.
Revalidation of Advance Authorizations with Bond waiver is allowed where exports were made first on a pro rata basis; Regional Authorities may revalidate the authorization in continuation for a further six months for replenishment of inputs, provided the applicant submits ANF 4D, pays the requisite fee, and has not previously obtained revalidation under Para 4.41(a) of the Handbook of Procedures 2015 20.

Certificate of Origin (Non Preferential) authorisation: new agencies added to FTP appendix to issue origin certificates.
Authorisation under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 formally enlists specified agencies to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential). The Public Notice adds the named bodies to Appendix 2E, specifying their serial placements by state, and thereby authorises them to perform non preferential origin certification under the FTP administrative framework.

Pre-shipment inspection recognition: additional agencies authorised to issue PSICs subject to bank guarantee and membership conditions.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade includes additional entities as Pre-Shipment Inspection Agencies in Appendix 2G, authorising them to issue Pre Shipment Inspection Certificates subject to a fixed recognition period and compliance conditions. Recognised agencies must submit a prescribed bank guarantee within the specified deadline or face denotification, and must maintain updated membership certificates and office contact details. An annexure lists approved spectrometers and survey meters authorised for PSIC issuance for each agency.

CST reimbursement procedure updated, clarifying supplier registration, payment evidence and claim documentation for EOUs and technology park units.
Amendments revise procedural and documentary requirements for reimbursement of Central Sales Tax (CST) on supplies to EOUs and technology park units and modify ANF 7A claim form entries. Appendix 6H now requires supplier registration numbers with date of issue, refines supplier particulars under the CST Act, corrects an undertaking to individual liability, expands payer/payee descriptions to include DTA/EOU/SEZ/EHTP/STP suppliers and removes cheque/DD wording. ANF 7A realigns advance authorization column references and clarifies required contract, ARO or invalidation letter copies for supplies made to project authorities or under authorization schemes.

Quota allocation under Indo Sri Lanka FTA: pepper import licences issued with utilization, surrender and three year debarment rules.
Allocation of Black Pepper import quotas under the Indo Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement for 2016 17 assigns listed firms specified quantities; no allocations were made for Vanaspati Bakery, Shortening & Margarine and Desiccated Coconut due to absence of applications. Quota holders must obtain licences from Regional Authorities, submit utilization certificates to DGFT by the prescribed deadline, may surrender unutilized quota for re allocation, and face a three year debarment for failure to utilize or timely surrender quota.

Single application for EDI exports enables combining shipments from different EDI ports in one MEIS claim.
MEIS filing is simplified to allow a single application to include shipping bills from multiple EDI-enabled ports for the same licensing year (maximum 50 shipping bills), while Non EDI ports continue to require separate applications. Duty Credit Scrips (including splits) will be issued with a single port of registration; for EDI exports this may be any one of the exporting EDI ports, whereas for Non EDI exports the port of export is the port of registration. ANF 3A is revised and applicants must provide specified shipping bill details and statutory declarations.

Amendment to Foreign Trade Policy appendices adds a Special Economic Zone to jurisdictional listings under FTP.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, amended Appendices and Aayat Niryat Forms to include the Indore Special Economic Zone in Appendix 1A and Appendix 6J, designating territorial jurisdiction over units situated in the SEZ and Export Oriented/SEZ units in the state and specifying the Development Commissioner office as the administrative contact.

Jurisdictional amendment expands CQCTD oversight to include regional offices, enabling local handling of quality complaints and trade disputes.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade amended Para 8.01 of the Hand Book of Procedures to include Regional Authority Raipur under the jurisdiction of Joint DGFT Bhopal and to establish a Committee on Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (CQCTD) in the office of Joint DGFT Rajkot; a revised table sets out CQCTD locations, chairperson designations and the specific regional jurisdictions within the Western Zone.

Liability transfer allows IEC PAN changes on firm conversion while preserving prior liabilities and updating official records.
DGFT permits modification of IEC to replace the PAN when a change in constitution or legal form produces a new PAN, on the basis that liabilities of the transferor entity vest in the transferee entity by operation of law. Regional Authorities must ensure transfer of liabilities, update and circulate the modified IEC showing the new PAN, and accept applications digitally signed by authorised signatories or power of attorney holders.

Exemption from Azo dye testing extended to include textile imports from Australia Canada Japan and South Korea under FTP.
Testing for Azo Dyes will not be required for textile and textile article imports originating from the European Union, Serbia, Poland, Denmark, China, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea. The amendment adds Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea to Appendix 2X, thereby extending the exemption from sample testing for presence of Azo Dyes to imports from those countries under the Foreign Trade Policy authority.

Declaration of intent for MEIS: EDI 'Y' tick suffices to claim scheme rewards; 'N' denotes no claim.
Marking 'Y' in the reward column of EDI shipping bills serves as a declaration of intent to claim MEIS rewards, with 'N' indicating no intent; this tick-box is mandatory for applicable export schemes. Non-EDI shipping bills must carry the explicit written declaration "We intend to claim rewards under Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS)" to be eligible.

Product classification: Silico manganese treated as Ferro-silico-Manganese under ITC (HS) 72023000 and eligible for FPS benefits.
Silico Manganese is chemically Ferro-silico-Manganese and both names denote the same product classified under ITC (HS) Code 72023000. Exports of this product are eligible for FPS benefits under Sl. No. 249 of Appendix 37D (PN 6) and Sl. No. 282 of Appendix 37D (PN 52), as clarified by the Directorate and consistent with the DEPB Committee decision.

EPCG Authorisation forms amended to mandate revised application, redemption, clubbing and certification procedures for export obligation compliance.
Immediate amendments notify revised ANF 5A, ANF 5B, ANF 5C and Appendix 5C for the EPCG scheme: ANF 5A prescribes on line application fields and declarations for issuance of EPCG/Post Export EPCG Authorisations including capital goods particulars, duty and EO calculations, and documentation requirements; ANF 5B prescribes redemption/post export duty credit scrip procedures, required export evidence and attestations; Appendix 5C sets out the CA/Cost Accountant/Company Secretary certification and checklist for EO verification; ANF 5C governs clubbing of multiple authorisations and resultant EO aggregation.

Acceptance of Export Obligation Discharge Certificates: customs must accept DGFT-issued EODCs, only limited verification in specified cases.
Customs must accept Export Obligation Discharge Certificates issued by the trade directorate, limiting detailed verification to a defined minority of cases and investigations, and may not request routine information available in the customs EDI. For EPCG and Advance Authorizations, a copy of the EODC is sent to customs while the original authorization in duplicate is retained by the issuing office, obviating the need for the original at customs.

Incremental export incentive cap removal allows full claim processing but requires stringent due diligence by authorities.
RAs shall process IEIS claims without imposing the earlier cap on incremental growth, while applying enhanced scrutiny per Public Notice and policy provisions. Transfer of export performance between IEC holders and certain disclaimer provisions are not admissible. Doubts about authenticity of increments must be referred to investigating agencies and claims finalized after their report. All cases require Head of Office approval and RAs may scrutinize small-value claims where prima facie irregularities exist; no right vests where impropriety or fraud is detected.

Deemed foreign exchange: specified maritime services paid domestically may be treated as foreign receipts and eligible for SEIS rewards.
Appendix 3E notifies that specified maritime and ancillary services rendered in Customs Notified Areas to foreign liners or procured by foreign entities, when paid domestically, shall be treated as deemed to be received in foreign exchange and thus eligible for rewards under the Services Exports from India Scheme in accordance with paragraph 3.08(c) of the Foreign Trade Policy, subject to the exclusion of vessel related charges for coastal and inland vessels and cargo related charges for coastal movements.