Duty Credit Scrips require FOB basis valuation and strict monitoring with adjustment and recovery mechanisms
Freely Transferable Duty Credit Scrips and DEPBs are to be granted on FOB value inclusive of commissions and discounts (FOB taken from Shipping Bill and converted at Customs rate on LEO). RAs must monitor pre-realisation cases; short realisation requires adjustment from future claims or cash recovery with defaulter consequences after eighteen months, while excess realisation permits supplementary claims within six months. DEPBs are transferable; filing timelines for claims and documentary substitutions (BG/LUT when BRC absent) are prescribed.

Import limit for stainless steel scrap revised: higher allowance for furnaces with refining facilities, grade limits and alloy deductions required.
Amendment to SION C-525 permits a higher proportion of stainless steel melting scrap for Induction Furnaces with AOD/VOD and Electric Furnaces, limits a lower proportion for Induction Furnaces without AOD/VOD, and restricts allowed scrap to grades relevant to the export product. It requires reduction of ferroalloy/metal allowances to account for recoverable alloying elements in the scrap by deducting the equivalent quantity calculated by the prescribed formula from the total quantity determined under Sl. No. 2 read with Note 3.

Nodal officer nominations for exporter assistance update: new ministry contacts designated to assist exporters under trade policy.
Amendment to Appendix-17 designates named nodal officers in multiple ministries to assist exporters under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09, listing each officer's departmental position and contact details; an alternate officer is named for Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries to ensure continuity of assistance, thereby updating administrative contact points for exporter support and interdepartmental coordination.

PHA release order exemption: customs may release raw cashewnut imports without a re processing bond pending technical review.
Requirement for a PHA release order for raw cashewnut imports is suspended pending a Technical Committee opinion; customs shall release consignments without demanding a customs bond for re processing, while conducting random sampling and sending samples to PFA authorities for testing without delaying clearance for receipt of test reports.

Focus Product Scheme entitlement extended to cricket helmets and sports gloves, enabling retroactive export incentive eligibility.
The Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I (RE 2008) Appendix 37D Table 2 is amended to add two HS classifications and to expand the product description for sports goods to expressly include cricket helmets and sports gloves, mittens and mitts. As a result, exports of cricket helmets and these specially designed sports gloves are made eligible for Focus Product Scheme benefits for exports made with effect from the operative date specified in the amendment.

Stability and retention samples re-import duty exemption allowed, FOB value excluded from NFE and benefits.
An amendment to Para 6.29.3 permits an EOU/EHTP/BTP/STP unit to re-import stability and retention samples it exported without payment of duty, on intimation to Customs; the FOB value of such samples shall not be counted for Net Foreign Exchange calculations or for entitlement to other export benefits.

Duty credit scrip entitlement for specified raw cotton exports under VKGUY created with limited temporal applicability.
Amendment adds a new VKGUY product entry for raw cotton (ITC HS Code 520100, excluding 52010020) to Table 14 of Appendix 37A in the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I RE 2008, making such exports eligible for duty credit scrips effective from 1 April 2008, with the VKGUY product code deleted for exports on or after 1 July 2009.

Export obligation extension for advance authorisations for sugar granted without composition fee, with no further extensions beyond the deadline.
Amendment grants an automatic extension of the export obligation period for Advance Authorisations for sugar, where raw sugar was imported in the qualifying window and the obligation remains unfulfilled, extending the period until a specified deadline without payment of the composition fee; no further extension will be allowed beyond that deadline.

SFIS eligibility clarified where prior EPCG duty saved export obligation completion permits SFIS on subsequent foreign exchange earnings.
Defines "pending EO under EPCG Authorization (over and above average, if any)" as the duty-saved export obligation outstanding beyond the minimum required in the prescribed block; states SFIS may be granted on foreign exchange earned in the stated period where the duty-saved export obligation of the preceding block has been completed, making prior block completion a precondition for SFIS eligibility when residual EPCG obligations exist.

Import of construction equipment under EPCG limited to service providers when used for listed services and paid in foreign exchange.
Import under the EPCG Scheme of construction equipment is prohibited where the equipment is intended only for construction of the applicant's own factory/project; imports are allowed for service providers provided the equipment is used to supply services listed in Appendix X of the Handbook of Procedures and payment is received in free foreign exchange or in rupees deemed as such by RBI under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Eligibility for VKGUY benefits limited to handicraft products; Export Promotion Council certification required for doubtful cases.
Amendment restricts VKGUY benefits under Table 15 of Appendix 37A to exports qualifying as Handicraft Products, and provides that the Export Promotion Council for Handicraft shall certify whether an exported product is a Handicraft Product when any doubt arises.

Tracking report certification by accredited goods carrier agent accepted as valid proof of export arrival for scheme compliance.
A Tracking Report downloaded from a goods carrier's website and duly certified by the carrier's accredited/authorized agent in India is acceptable under para 3.20.3(iv) of HBP Vol. I as evidencing arrival of export cargo to the destination Focus Market. This clarification applies to exports from 1 April 2006 onwards and also to the Market Linked Focus Product Scheme under paras 3.10.7 and 3.10.8 of the FTP.

Import clearance without licence permitted when bill of entry is filed after removal of an import restriction.
Where goods were imported during a period of import restriction but the Bill of Entry was filed on or after the removal of that restriction, customs may allow import clearance without a licence; licensing authorities and customs commissioners are directed to permit such licence-free clearance when the filing condition is met.

Export procedure amendment requires linked market declaration and proof of landing, and revises incentive rate descriptions for product categories.
ANF 3E is amended to require that Market Linked Focus Product claims specify the linked market for each shipping bill and include proof of landing as per the Handbook (Para 3.20.3). The heading of Column No.12 in the table under the procedure is also revised to describe differentiated incentive rates for high value added manufactured goods, special market-linked products/sectors, and a separate rate for toys and sports goods.

Import prohibition on toys from China clarified to apply by manufacture origin; transitional relief and prior shipments may be allowed.
Import prohibition on toys under ITC codes 9501-9503 applies to goods manufactured in China irrespective of the country of import; transitional relief under Para 1.5 of the FTP continues and pre-notification shipments may be allowed under Para 9.11A of the Handbook of Procedures, directing licensing and customs authorities to apply these clarifications.

Export benefit eligibility extended to frozen fish product categories; exporters may claim benefits under amended Handbook provisions.
DGFT amends Handbook of Procedures Vol. I (RE2008) by retitling Table 13 and inserting new entries to include frozen fish products. The amendment makes frozen fish covered by ITC HS codes 1604 and 1605, and a grouped set of specified fish HS subheadings, admissible for export benefits, with benefits applicable from 1 April 2008 as set out in the Public Notice.

Delisting of inspection and certification agency: removal from Appendix 5 under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy.
The Director General amends Appendix 5 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 to delist M/s. Intertek Deutschland GmbH, Germany (Sl. No. 55), removing it from the official List of Inspection and Certification Agencies; the public notice states this action is taken in the public interest.

Regional jurisdiction update clarifies allocation of districts to a new Nagpur trade office and revises Mumbai and Bhopal coverage.
Amendment adds a Deputy Director General of Foreign Trade office at Nagpur with specified Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh districts under its jurisdiction, and revises the Mumbai office to cover Maharashtra excluding areas under Pune and Nagpur and to include Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, while the Bhopal office is amended to exclude areas now under the Nagpur office.

Standard Input Output Norm amendment establishes an import entitlement per unit for exported flax/linen yarn under SION.
Amendment to the Handbook of Procedures adds a corrected SION entry pairing export item 100% Flax/Linen yarn (Auto cone spliced) with import item 100% Flax/Linen yarn (Uneven & Knotted), establishing the quantitative import entitlement per unit of the exported yarn for application in export-import procedures under the Standard Input Output Norms.

Extension of EOU approvals: units must notify continuation within six months or approvals may be cancelled suo moto.
The amendment to paragraph 6.3.9 requires units completing their approval period to notify whether they will continue under the EOU scheme; the Deputy Commissioner will extend approvals for units opting to continue. If no intimation is received within six months after expiry, the DC will act suo moto to cancel approval under the EOU scheme. Requests to continue after that six month period will be considered for extension only with Board of Approval (BOA) sanction.