One-time exemption for export of shed antler shavings allows limited licensed shipments subject to pre-shipment inspection and surrender rules.
Prescribes procedural conditions for export of shavings of shed antlers of Chital and Sambhar and manufactured articles thereof: prospective exporters must apply in the Aayaat Niryaat Form to DGFT headquarters; each consignment and related documents are subject to pre-shipment inspection by the Regional Deputy Director, Wildlife Preservation; applications will be considered by the Export Facilitation Committee and licences, if issued, will be subject to conditions. A one-time exemption is allowed until 30 November 2005, after which no exports are permitted and unshipped quantities must be surrendered to the Chief Wildlife Warden.

SEZ designation expands trade facilitation: exports to SEZs eligible for DEPB and SEZ as port of registration.
Special Economic Zones notified by the Central Government are designated as specified ports for import and export and exports to SEZs are eligible for DEPB with the SEZ as the port of registration. Four Inland Container Depots (Bhusawal, Jamshedpur, Surajpur, Dadri) are added. Amendments update Council for Leather Exports details, correct "Pedicinal" to "Medicinal Plants", allow import of prototypes duty paid by Actual User industrial enterprises on self declaration, and permit advance licence transfers between company units only with Excise permission and no CENVAT claim.

Import of second hand diesel generators: units of 10 KVA and above allowed under EPCG without age restriction; smaller units restricted.
Second hand diesel generating sets of capacity equal to or exceeding 10 KVA are permitted to be imported under the EPCG Scheme without any age restriction as industrial capital goods; photocopiers, air conditioners and diesel generating sets below the 10 KVA threshold remain governed by the rules applicable to second hand goods and are not eligible for import under the EPCG provision. Licensing authorities are instructed to act accordingly.

Amendment to DEPB schedule clarifies product description for an engineering export entry to ensure accurate export benefit classification.
Correction to the Schedule of DEPB rates under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures substitutes the description at Sr.No. 446 in the Engineering Product Group, Product Code 61, to read "Stainless Steel Rough/Machined Castings" as an administrative amendment to ensure accurate product identification for export benefit application.

Defaulter status access via SMS expanded; exporters can query application and default status using specified message formats.
Extension of an SMS enquiry facility permits exporters to retrieve application status by sending a message with the prefix DGFT, the first three characters of the party name and the key number, and to retrieve defaulter status by sending IEC followed by the IEC number; both queries are sent to a designated short code and yield instant automated status responses.

Advance Licensing Scheme: export shipments may be effected from any special economic zone, expanding dispatch locations.
The provision in Para 4.19 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) is substituted to permit export shipments under the Advance Licensing Scheme to be effected from any Special Economic Zone (SEZ), thereby authorising SEZs as valid points of export for consignments covered by advance licences.

Branch office inclusion in Appendix 28 requires an undertaking or national accreditation confirming requisite inspection facilities.
Inclusion of branch offices in Appendix 28 is allowed only if the registered office submits an undertaking that the branch has the requisite testing/inspection facilities to issue pre-shipment inspection certificates for metallic scrap, or the branch produces a certificate showing registration with the National Accreditation Body of the country of origin confirming its inspection capabilities.

Import of metallic waste and scrap requires entry through designated ports and a prescribed pre shipment inspection certificate.
Import of unshredded, compressed and loose metallic waste and scrap is permitted only through specified ports and ICDs; a prescribed Pre Shipment Inspection Certificate is required, demanding importer details, consignment description, test details, and a signed declaration that the consignment contains no arms, explosives or radioactive contamination and qualifies as metallic scrap under internationally accepted parameters, with official seal and agency particulars.

Standard Input Output Norms update: SION entries amended and new chemical, engineering and food product norms added.
DGFT issues a public notice under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures to amend, correct, delete and add entries in the Statement of Standard Input-Output Norms (SION) in Handbook of Procedures (Vol.2) 2002-2007. Annexure A records textual corrections and normative amendments to existing SION entries; Annexure B adds new chemical and allied product norms with specified input-output ratios; Annexure C adds engineering product norms with material-based import allowances; Annexure D adds a food product norm for canned mushroom. The changes alter allowed import items and quantities linked to export products and delete certain obsolete norms.

Specified ports designation expanded to include additional SEZs, allowing those SEZs to serve for import and export.
Amendment to para 4.19 adds specified Special Economic Zones to the list of specified ports for import and export under the Foreign Trade Policy, making those SEZs eligible to function as designated points for customs import and export operations.

Minimum value addition for studded jewellery requires a prescribed threshold and CIF-based valuation tied to foreign-exchange outflow.
Minimum value addition for studded gold, silver and platinum jewellery is fixed at 15%. Value addition is calculated with reference to the CIF value of the metal content, defined as the total outflow of foreign exchange for the metal content plus admissible wastage; where metal is on loan, CIF also includes interest paid in free foreign exchange. The CIF-equivalent covers imported metal and metal procured from other sources used in the export product.

Pre-shipment inspection option or full physical examination required for certain metal scrap imports not cleared for home consumption.
The DGFT amends Handbook of Procedures para 2.32 to allow metal scrap consignments shipped or arrived by the specified cutoff and not cleared for home consumption to either produce a pre-shipment inspection certificate per Appendix 28 or undergo a 100% physical examination under Customs Circular No.56/2004.

Abolition of ECOM password system extended, shifting the operational cutoff to a later administrative date.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade declares an administrative extension for the abolition of the ECOM password based system, moving the termination date to 31/03/2005 and establishing that the later date is the effective cutoff for the legacy password-based access method.

Fast Track clearance procedure expands exemptions and expedited processing for status holder export oriented units under trade policy.
Amendments replace the Fast Track Clearance Procedure to allow EOUs with status holder certificates exemption from routine import cargo examination, subject to random checks; permit duty-free imports against pre-authenticated procurement certificates for qualifying units; allow limited installation of administrative fax/computer equipment outside bonded premises and procurement of DG sets on intimation; permit temporary removal of capital goods for repair on intimation; prioritize DTA clearance of rejects; and permit personal carriage of gems and jewellery samples within prescribed limits without prior permission, while several activities are made exempt from permission but require prior intimation.

Registration cum Membership Certificate requirements clarified; status holders may obtain RCMC from the federation and appendices updated.
Exporters must declare their main line of business when applying for an RCMC to the Export Promotion Council for that line, while status holders may opt to obtain RCMC from the Federation of Indian Exporters Organization. The existing Appendix 27 is replaced by a revised list of Export Promotion Councils and commodity boards with office details. Appendix 35A is expanded to include all territorial DGFT offices (as per Appendix 24) and all Regional Offices of Export Promotion Councils to clarify registration points and jurisdictional coverage.

Pre-shipment inspection agency inclusion adds new certified agencies to Appendix-28 and corrects an existing agency entry.
Amendment to Appendix-28 of the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. I) adds three named Pre-shipment Inspection and Certification Agencies to the list and corrects the particulars of an existing listed agency. The Director General of Foreign Trade, invoking paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09, issues this public notice to update Appendix-28 accordingly.

DTA supplier entitlement to drawback and export incentives clarified, with documentary rules and expanded DFRC port options.
DTA suppliers to SEZs are entitled to drawback, DEPB, DFRC and Advance Licence benefits and may discharge export performance on the supplier. Documentary proof requirements are specified: EP copy of Shipping Bill/Bill of Export for physical exports; for deemed exports an invoice signed by the receiving unit plus excise authority certification, with a Project Authority Certificate acceptable for non-excisable items; ARE-3 required for EOU supplies. DFRC export shipments can be effected from any Handbook-listed port and any SEZ.

Extension of export obligation barred for advance licences permitting penicillin or 6 APA as inputs, with mandatory licence endorsement.
Amendment prohibits extension of the export obligation period for advance licences permitting import of penicillin and its salts and 6 APA as inputs; the licensing authority must endorse the advance licence to record that such extension is not allowed.

DFRC entitlement for supplies to SEZ units clarified as physical exports, permitting DFRC benefit under the Foreign Trade Policy.
Supplies to Special Economic Zone units are treated as physical exports from 1 September 2004 and therefore qualify for Duty Free Replenishment Certificate (DFRC) benefits under the Foreign Trade Policy, permitting suppliers to claim DFRCs where supplies meet the physical export classification.

Export obligation period extension clarified: prior circular withdrawn and advance licences auto extended to six months under existing notices.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade withdraws Policy Circular No. 7 dated 4.11.04 with immediate effect and reiterates that any advance licence issued with a three month export obligation period under that circular is automatically extended to a six month export obligation period pursuant to Public Notice No. 6 and Policy Circular No. 1 dated 17.09.04; RLAs may endorse licences to record this extension if the licensee requests.