DEPB entitlement limited by product classification and currency convertibility, excluding non-repatriable and escrow proceeds for exports.
DEPB entitlement for processed cotton madeups depends on specific DEPB serial numbers and export dates: specified non-grey madeups fall under S.No.69 for designated export periods while non-specified items are classifiable under S.No.72 for the intervening period; specific listings override generic entries. Value caps apply from their notifying Public Notice and Present Market Value restrictions remain. Time limits for claims apply where rates are notified retrospectively. DEPB is limited to exports realised in freely convertible currency; non-repatriable or escrow/countertrade proceeds do not qualify.

Export ceiling for peacock tail feathers limited; licensing allocated by port offices with priority to higher FOB realizations.
Export of peacock tail feathers and related handicraft articles for 1998-99 is permitted under a national ceiling of 20 lakh pieces allocated among four licensing offices. Applications must use Appendix 18A, be submitted in sealed cover with quantity and unit price, be backed by 100% FOB Irrevocable Letter of Credit/Advance Payment receipt, and be accompanied by a declaration of single application. Allocation prioritises higher per unit FOB realisation (with a minimum 5% increase over the prior year), reserves 25% quota for Cooperative Societies of Weaker Sections, bans crest feathers, limits licence validity to 31.3.1999, and imposes surrender and reporting obligations.

Export licensing for shed antler products under ceiling allocations with mandatory permits, inspections and surrender obligations.
Export of manufactured articles and shavings of Sambhar and Chital is permitted subject to port-wise ceilings administered by regional licensing offices. Applicants must submit sealed applications within 30 days on the prescribed form; allocations normally capped at 10% of available ceiling; exporters must provide a Legal Procurement Certificate, submit to pre-shipment inspection and obtain CITES permits where applicable, and declare articles derive from shed antlers only. Allocated quantities should be exported in full or surrendered, failing which debarment may follow. Licences are valid until 31.03.1999 and regional offices must report quarterly and when ceilings are exhausted.

NFE calculation requires deduction of CIF imports made under licences from FOB export value for recognition.
Calculation of Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) for recognition as Export House requires deduction of the cif value of imports effected by 100% EOUs and EPZ units against a Letter of Permission/Letter of Intent, which are to be treated as imports against a licence; such cif import values must be deducted from the f.o.b. export value for NFE computation in terms of the EXIM Policy.

Export obligation monitoring under EPCG scheme requires valuation at licence-issue exchange rate to determine fulfillment.
Export obligations under the EPCG scheme shall be denominated in US dollars at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of issuance of the licence; the licensing authority shall endorse that exchange rate on the reverse of the licence. Export proceeds in any currency shall be converted into US dollars at the endorsed licence-issue rate to determine fulfillment, except where all imports and exports under the licence are in a single foreign currency, in which case that currency will be used. Existing licences must be examined under these parameters.

Private Bonded Warehouses: import licences not required for warehousing, licences needed only at domestic clearance and duty treatments specified.
Private bonded warehouses are to be licensed through the Assistant Commissioner of Customs; they may import and warehouse goods without import licences (except prohibited items, arms and ammunition, and hazardous waste and chemicals). Import licences become necessary only when goods are cleared for home consumption-items on the Negative List require presentation of the appropriate licence at clearance. Supplies to Advance Licence holders are allowed duty-free subject to requisite legal undertaking or bank guarantee; goods may alternatively be cleared on payment of duty against specific licences or with DEPB adjustments, and no further endorsements on import licences are required for warehouse supplies.

DEPB exclusion for EOU/EPZ exports: such exports cannot be used for duty credit or for advance licence discharge, triggering enforcement.
Exports by 100% Export Oriented Units and Export Processing Zone units, direct or via third party, are not entitled to DEPB benefits or to discharge export obligation under advance licences; shipping bills for third party exports must name both manufacturer and third party and state the manufacturer's EOU/EPZ status; Regional Licensing Authorities must initiate enforcement proceedings if such double claims are detected.

Export quota amendment: description of white sugar export to EEC revised; prior policy conditions continue unchanged.
The policy circular amends the export description by deleting the year qualifier so that the entry reads "10,200 MTs of white sugar for export to EEC." All other conditions of Policy Circular No. 2 (RE-98)/98-99 dated 24.4.98 remain unchanged and continue to apply to customs, licensing authorities and exporters.

Provisional DEPB shipment permitted for specified drug formulations pending formal rate notification; textile caps include with or without embroidery.
Provisional DEPB entitlement is permitted for specified bulk drug formulations-injection, intravenous infusion, syrup, oral suspension, tablet and capsule-pending formal notification of DEPB rates, on the basis that rates are expected to be notified shortly. For textile products with a DEPB value cap, the export product definition for entitlement includes items supplied "with or without" embroidery.

Export obligation regularisation permits one-time release of booked precious metals after penalty payment for delayed exports.
One-time relief permits nominated agencies to consider replenishment claims where exports were completed but not claimed, and to regularise bonafide exporters who completed exports late on payment of a penalty equal to interest at 24% on the duty for the delayed period; thereafter release of Gold/Silver/Platinum may continue subject to normal terms. The measure, exercised under Paragraph 4.11 of the Exim Policy, is conditional and exporters are required to adhere strictly to prescribed time limits.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised for deferred-payment USSR contracts, altering rupee conversion under the applicable protocols.
Reserve Bank of India revised the Indian Rupee value of the Special Currency Basket, effective 6-3-1998, for conversion of payments under deferred payment contracts entered under the Indo USSR deferred payments protocols. The revision applies to contracts concluded under both the 30 April 1981 and 23 December 1985 Protocols and is communicated in Public Notice No.12/(RE-98)/1997-2002 for administrative application.

Deemed export benefits extended for pre-aid-withdrawal contracts supplying MPEB projects, subject to certification and licence conditions.
Deemed export benefits are extended to supplies for MPEB Thermal Power Project where Letters of Intent were issued before the aid withdrawal date and tenders were evaluated under aid-mandated procedures; benefits cover supplies during the contracted delivery schedule, including authorised extensions, but completed contracts are ineligible for Special Imprest Licence unless licence applications were made before supply, and project authorities must certify pre-withdrawal contract entry using the Appendix XVIII form.

DEPB scheme credit rates updated, with annexures and corrigenda setting rates, value caps, and product descriptions for exports.
Notification under the DEPB scheme sets specified percentage credit rates for export product groups in Annexure A and Annexure B, identifies applicable shipment windows, and prescribes value caps where relevant. Corrigenda to prior Public Notices correct shipment-period wording, delete listed entries, amend product descriptions, adjust DEPB percentages, and fix value caps and calculation rules (including composite formulations), thereby integrating Annexure B into Appendix 28A and directing use of corrected schedules for computing DEPB entitlements.

Licence validity extension and procedural amendments change import/export licence terms, revalidation, fees and benefit claim procedures.
Handbook amendments extend licence validity to 18 months and reclassify Special Import Licence as Special Imprest Licence with coterminous validity for projects; require original applications with TR/Demand Draft to regional licensing authorities and copies to DGFT for revalidation; correct benefit base from customs to excise duty saved; mandate additional EPCG fee where actual CIF exceeds licence CIF; permit extension requests subject to penalty on unfulfilled FOB measured against CIF of related imports; and modify SIL eligibility and numerous appendix and declaration requirements.

Import liberalisation from SAARC: designated ITC(HS) goods allowed freely subject to origin and new/prime condition.
The notice makes specified ITC(HS) classified goods freely importable from SAARC countries provided the goods are in new/prime condition and are of origin of those countries in accordance with the Customs Tariff (Determination of Origin under the Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement) Rules, 1995; Exim Codes refer to ITC(HS) Classification of Export and Import Items, 1997-2002.

Export restrictions on sandalwood oil require procurement certificates and DGFT authorisation before shipment completion.
Authorisation to export Sandalwood Oil is issued by the DGFT only after prospective exporters apply in the prescribed form and submit a confirmed export order or irrevocable letter of credit, valid RCMC and I.E. Code, and original Certificate(s) of Origin or Legal Procurement Certificate(s) in the prescribed format; physical verification of stocks by designated wildlife or forest officers and endorsement of the procurement certificates are required prior to issuance, and export must be completed by the prescribed year-end deadline.

One-time extension of export obligation allows regularisation of bonafide defaults upon payment of a composition fee.
One-time arrangements allow limited extensions of export obligation periods for Advance Licences to regularise bonafide defaults: Quantity Based licences with exports partly outside the obligation period may be regularised on payment of a composition fee on the F.O.B. value falling outside the period; licences with at least half obligation fulfilled may receive a final one-time extension on payment of a composition fee on the unfulfilled F.O.B. value, with yearly reckoning from expiry. Extensions are denied for cases involving fraud, enforcement action, or adjudication; Regional Licensing Authorities grant extensions upon prescribed submissions.

Export quota release allows sugar shipments to EEC and USA under preferential terms with sole authorised agency and inspection.
Release of a specified export ceiling from the free sale quota authorises export of white and raw sugar to the EEC and the USA under a preferential arrangement with destination-specific allocations. A single entity is appointed as the sole authorised agency to execute exports against that ceiling, and all shipments under the arrangement are subject to prescribed pre-shipment certification and inspection prior to export.

Provisional DEPB shipments allowed by Customs for qualifying perishable exports pending formal rate notification.
Customs may allow provisional exports under the DEPB scheme for perishable marine products pending notification of DEPB rates, provided the exports fall within the relevant Standard Input Output Norms. The forthcoming public notice setting DEPB rates will also cover shipments effected during the interim period prior to that notice, regularizing their treatment under the scheme.

DEPB credit rates notified for specified export product groups, replacing earlier rates and effective from the notification date.
Notification under delegated authority consolidates and replaces prior DEPB credit rates by incorporating an Annexure into Appendix 28A (Handbook of Procedures Vol. I, RE 98) effective for exports on or after the notification date. The Annexure sets product specific DEPB percentages and, where applicable, value caps for entitlement calculation across product groups (Engineering/Plastic, Food, Miscellaneous, Textiles, Electronics, Leather, Handicraft, Sports Goods), and the notice includes a corrigendum amending descriptions, rates, additions and deletions applicable to listed items.