On-line transmission of export authorizations now mandatory at Krishnapatnam port; Customs to receive DES and EPCG messages.
Krishnapatnam Port (INKRI1) is added to Customs ports for on-line transmission; from 23 December 2011 all DES (Advance Authorization and DFIA) and EPCG authorizations issued on or after that date by Regional Authorities must be communicated to Customs through on-line message exchange/EDI.

Corrigendum: Export description corrected to Metamitron Technical (98%Min.) in the DEPB Rate Schedule.
Corrigendum under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy rectifies the export item description at Sl. No. 1011, Product Code-62 of the DEPB Rate Schedule to read "Metamitron Technical (98%Min.)" in place of the typographical "Metamitrion Tech (98%Min.)", limited solely to spelling correction and not affecting rates or other provisions.

Standard Input-Output Norms for PTFE export require specified precursor imports or alternative inputs with licensing conditions.
SION H-571 fixes input norms for Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) exports: manufacture of 1 kg PTFE may use either Monochloro Di Fluoro Methane (Refrigerant R-22/HCFC 22) or, alternatively, Methanol together with Fluorspar in the stated quantities. Use of Import Item No.1 is subject to conditions under Import Licensing Note (1) to Chapter 29 of the ITC (HS).

Barcoding requirement for pharmaceutical exports clarified: applies to finished formulations, not bulk drugs or APIs.
DGFT clarified that the barcoding requirement-one-dimensional barcodes encoding GTIN, Batch Number, Expiry Date and a Unique Serial Number instituted for export consignments effective 1 October 2011-applies only to finished pharmaceutical products (medical formulations) and does not apply to bulk drugs, APIs or intermediates.

On-line registration mandatory for RCMC uploads; failure to upload by deadline bars manual RCMC acceptance.
Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards and Authorities must upload RCMC data onto the DGFT server by 30 November 2011; failure to complete online registration and uploads would have triggered mandatory electronic registration and disallowance of manual RCMC/Registration Certificates, and the DGFT has extended the final deadline to 30 November 2011 with no further extensions permitted.

Penalty for export shortfall allows removal from defaulter list upon verification and prescribed payment by exporters.
Names of exporters are removed from the defaulter list after documentary re verification and payment of the prescribed penalty to the concerned Regional Authorities; 48 firms in Annexure 1 were de listed. Exporters whose shipments exceed the tolerance of plus or minus five percent may obtain removal by paying a penalty comprising a fixed component plus a percentage of the shortfall beyond the five percent allowance, following re verification with the issuing RC authority.

Single IEC per PAN: additional IECs must be surrendered or will be blocked if not surrendered within the specified period.
Directive requiring surrender of additional Importer-Exporter Codes issued against a single PAN, reaffirming that only one IEC is permitted per PAN under Para 2.9 of the Handbook of Procedures 2009-14, and directing firms to surrender extra IECs within the specified period or have those IECs blocked.

Mandatory Applicant Identification Data updated for IEC applications requiring PAN, contact details and banker email for record verification.
Amendments to ANF2A require mandatory PAN details, telephone numbers, email IDs and the mobile number of the signatory on Part A; alternate email and website remain optional. Part B's bank certificate must state the banker's email ID and the issuing official's email to facilitate verification. The form mandates full individual names in the order First Name, Middle Name, Last Name without abbreviations, and provides an illustrative example; unstarred fields are mandatory.

DEPB eligibility clarified for exports under free shipping bills; procedure for RA verification and issuance specified.
Procedure for granting DEPB on exports filed as "Free Shipping Bills": exporters must manually enter shipping bill details in the online application and submit an exporter attested hard copy to the Regional Authority. The RA will assess entitlement by comparing the shipping bill description with the relevant DEPB entry, and if satisfied will issue DEPB based on the FOB value of the shipping bill or the Bank Realisation Certificate.

Physical production requirement: non-integrated DGFT authorizations must be presented in hard copy for customs registration.
On-line verification via message exchange is available only for Advance Authorization, Export Promotion Capital Goods authorization, Duty Free Import Authorization and DEPB; all other authorizations, including Annual Advance Authorization, Annual EPCG, SHIS, restricted/SCOMET authorizations and Chapter 3 Reward Scheme instruments, must be registered or operated by customs only upon production of the physical authorization document with no on-line verification.

Exchange rate applicability for composition fee determines shortfall calculation based on authorization issue date for export obligation regularization.
Where there is a shortfall in FOB value the authorization holder must deposit an amount equal to 1% of the shortfall payable in Indian rupees, and the exchange rate for determining that shortfall is to be the date of issue of the authorization.

Conversion of shipping bills can confer DEPB entitlement when customs authorized conversion before withdrawal, prompting claim admission and review.
Directorate General of Foreign Trade instructs Regional Authorities to admit DEPB claims where Commissioners of Customs had permitted conversion of free Shipping Bills to DEPB Shipping Bills during the interim period before the conversion facility was withdrawn, and to review past rejections that fall within that period; entitlement arises where Customs, having recorded reasons in writing, permitted conversion and the exporter did not avail the original scheme benefit.

Special bonus benefit for designated focus products provides an export incentive for eligible shipments during specified policy period.
Insertion of Table 8 in Appendix 37D introduces a Special Bonus Benefit under the Focus Product Scheme for specified ITC (HS) coded products exported from 01.10.2011 to 31.03.2012, granting a bonus equal to 1% of FOB export value in free foreign exchange; additionally, a new focus product entry is added to Table 4 for exports effective from 01.04.2011, expanding product-level eligibility under the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I.

Exemption for export of excise-verified casein stock permits specified firms to export pre-ban manufactured inventories.
Exemption permits export of excise verified stocks of casein and casein products manufactured prior to the export ban, pursuant to Notification No. 83; the DGFT Trade Notice authorises specific quantities for named firms based on excise verification, and informs customs, regional DGFT authorities and trade members to facilitate exports in accordance with verification records.

Barcoding requirement on tertiary pharmaceutical export packaging mandates GTIN, batch, expiry and serials from 01.10.2011.
Mandatory 1D barcoding on tertiary packing of export consignments of pharmaceuticals and drugs, encoding GTIN, batch number, expiry date and a unique serial number, effective from 01.10.2011 and compulsory for products manufactured on or after that date.

Technical Textiles eligibility limited to listed products for FPS benefit; non listed grants must be recovered by authorities.
Only the 33 items enumerated in the Annexure qualify as Technical Textiles for FPS benefit; a technical textile is one whose primary criterion is function (e.g., automotive, medical, geotextiles, protective clothing). FPS benefits wrongly granted for exports not on the Annexure within the specified applicability period must be recovered, and Regional Authorities must process claims accordingly.

Transfer of imported firearms: DGFT permission dispensed for certain transfers based on import age, owner age, and shooter status.
The Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I (2009-2014), Para 2.43.2 is amended: prior permission for transfer or disposal of imported goods is not required after two years from import; for imported firearms, DGFT permission is not required where transfer occurs after ten years from import or upon the importer attaining sixty years of age; Renowned Shooters need no DGFT permission for weapon transfers five years after import, and those with Renowned Shooter status for three consecutive years require no permission after three years from import.

Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms allows import of liquid paraffin as alternate input for plastic export manufacture.
The Standard Input Output Norms for the Plastic Product Group are amended so the import item description now reads "Mineral Oil / Liquid Paraffin," thereby permitting liquid paraffin to be imported as an alternate input for manufacture of specified export products, with no change to export descriptions, other import items, or quantities.

Reward and incentive scheme amendments update eligible products and focus markets under export policy, expanding focus product lists and markets.
The Director General amends the Handbook of Procedures Vol. I under paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy by deleting specified items from Appendix 37A (VKGUY), adding numerous products to Appendix 37D (Focus Product Scheme) including new focus products, bonus-benefit sectors and a Special Bonus Table, revising Market Linked Focus Products (Table 6), adding two countries to Appendix 37C and inserting a Special Focus Market Scheme Table 3, and by updating Appendix 7 with additional Towns of Export Excellence.

Clubbing of advance authorisations permits consolidation of imports and exports under one authorisation subject to compliance conditions.
Facility of clubbing shall be available only for redemption or regularisation, with no further imports or exports allowed; authorisations under similar Customs notifications may be clubbed across financial years, and Advance Authorisations issued on or after 1.4.2004 may be clubbed despite differing customs notifications. Regional Authorities or central headquarters will consider ANF 4D requests for clubbing if inputs are properly accounted for; value addition for clubbed authorisations is the average of minimum prescribed value addition, and upon clubbing authorisations are treated as one for regularisation of any shortfall.