Operating lease guarantees for aircraft allowed with FEMA no-objection, subject to board resolution and co-terminus guarantee.
AD Category I banks may convey a no objection from the foreign exchange angle for Indian importers to issue corporate guarantees in favour of overseas lessees for operating leases of aircraft, aircraft engines and helicopters, provided there is a board resolution authorising the guarantee (naming authorised signatories) and the guarantee period is co terminous with the lease; the no objection is limited to foreign exchange compliance and does not substitute for other statutory approvals.

Attestation of applicant photographs: banks must identify the name and designation of the person whose photograph they certify for processing.
Photographs of the Partner/Proprietor/Director on IEC application forms must be accompanied by a Bank Certificate that explicitly names and states the designation of the person whose photograph is attested; this requirement applies to all fresh IEC applications and status-modification requests for existing IECs to avoid processing delays.

DFIA amendment conditions CENVAT credit on post-export imports: bond or additional duty payment required to prevent double benefits.
Amendment of DFIA rules permits availment of CENVAT credit but conditions post-export imports: importers clearing materials after discharge of export obligation must either furnish a bond to use imported materials in the manufacture of dutiable goods and obtain a certificate of such use within six months, or pay an amount equal to the additional duty of customs at clearance (payment allowing CENVAT credit). Transfers of authorisations or imported materials require payment of additional duty with interest if not paid at clearance. Recovery for past periods is limited to cases where duty-free replenishments were used to manufacture non-dutiable goods.

Line of credit for export financing imposes Indian content and FEMA-based compliance for shipments and disbursements.
A national export credit institution extended a Line of Credit to finance exports of eligible goods and services with an 85% minimum Indian-sourced content and up to 15% external sourcing for non-consultancy items; the Credit Agreement sets effective and execution dates and distinct time-limits for opening Letters of Credit and final disbursement for project versus supply contracts. Shipments must be declared on prescribed GR/SDF forms; no agency commission is payable from the LOC though exporters may use their own foreign exchange balances to pay commissions subject to prevailing remittance rules; AD Category I banks must notify exporters and comply with FEMA-based directions without prejudice to other statutory approvals.

Special certification requirements clarified for EUR and GSP document entries, aligning export documentation with specified trade classification rules.
Amendment substitutes the provision governing special certification requirements for entries in EUR and GSP documents to reflect application of the referenced EU regulation and the ACP/India sugar designation, as an amendment to Schedule 2 of the ITC (HS) classification; all other provisions of the earlier public notice remain unchanged.

Export obligation period rule shortened to a fixed term for certain imports completed before year-end, changing compliance timeframe.
The Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I is amended to provide that for imports completed up to the stated cutoff date the Export Obligation Period shall be 150 days from the date of clearance, by inserting this 150 day period into the relevant appendix entry and the specified sub paragraph, thereby fixing the compliance timeframe for those imports.

Import quantity limits for textiles clarified: RA to cap fabric imports per SION or actual utilization; higher wastage needs proof.
Amendments replace General Notes 18 and 19 for Textiles (Product Code: J), clarifying that SION-permitted fabric import quantities in square meters include average manufacturing wastage. The Responsible Authority must limit import quantities to the lower of the SION amount or a formula-derived ceiling based on actual utilization (using Square Meter = Net Weight x 1000 / GSM), with exporters able to submit proof where wastage exceeds the specified threshold. The rule also applies to DFIA benefits.

Installation certificate delay: submit acknowledgment plus Chartered Engineer certificate to validate capital goods installation when authority does not respond.
If the Central Excise installation certificate is not issued within 30 days of acknowledgment, the trade may submit the acknowledgment plus a Chartered Engineer certificate confirming installation of the capital goods within six months of import, together with a declaration that no deficiency has been raised and the original acknowledgment has not been recalled; these documents will be accepted by the DGFT office.

Service Tax return submission camp for ST-3 returns enables in-person filing and receipt for assessees on specified dates.
Camp established for receipt of ST-3 returns to enable assessees of Division I and Division II to file returns for the half year ending March 2009; the Camp will operate from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on specified dates at the stated office premises to receive in person submissions. Trade associations are requested to widely publicise the notice among members so assessees are informed of the dedicated filing facility.

Export Obligation Period extension to 36 months applies to eligible advance authorisations; request on plain paper and no fee.
The Export Obligation Period under the Advance Authorisation Scheme is extended to 36 months and this extension applies to all advance authorisations that are within 36 months from their issue date as on 26th February, 2009 or thereafter. Composition fees already deposited before that date for earlier EOP extensions are not refundable. Applicants must file a plain paper request to the Regional Authority for endorsement to 36 months without any specified format or composition fee; authorisations issued on or after 26th February, 2009 will receive the 36 month endorsement automatically.

Export traceability requirements for pharmaceuticals require barcode-based track-and-trace and certificates of analysis to prevent counterfeit exports.
Export shipments of drugs and pharmaceuticals under the Drugs & Cosmetics Act must include, at shipment, a Certificate of Analysis issued by the manufacturer, by an importing-country/FDA-approved laboratory, or by a laboratory approved by the Drugs Controller; port drug control officials may retain consignment samples for reference and tracing. Exporters must implement GS1 barcode-based track-and-trace across primary, secondary and tertiary packaging encoding GTIN, batch number, expiry date and serial number.

Electronic transmission of DES and EPCG licences enables Customs validation and use of licence numbers as Customs registration numbers.
DGFT will transmit DES file numbers and DES/EPCG licence messages electronically to Customs via ICEGATE for licences issued on or after 1 April 2009; Customs will validate these online, make licence details available at the port and on ICEGATE, and the DGFT licence number will serve as the Customs Registration Number. Exports under DES may begin on receipt of the DGFT file number, while EPCG exports commence after licence issuance. Customs and DGFT will exchange bills and an Export Obligation Discharge Certificate for monitoring; amendments require an online amendment message before further imports are allowed.

Indian Rupee Valuation revised for deferred payments contracts under Soviet-era protocols; applies to affected contracts.
Revision of the Indian Rupee Value of the Special Currency Basket as determined by the Reserve Bank of India, to be applied for calculating obligations under deferred payment contracts concluded under the Deferred Payments Protocols of 1981 and 1985 relating to deliveries from the former USSR; the Public Notice directs use of the revised rupee valuation for settlement and accounting of those contracts and records the administrative reference.

Customs examination procedure for raw cashew nuts allows limited dock inspection then movement to importer premises with obligations and seals.
Customs will permit limited dock inspection of a sample of containers for raw cashew nut imports; if sample containers are found in order, remaining containers may be moved to the importer's premises for detailed examination provided there is consent from the jurisdictional central excise authority, a plain paper undertaking to return the Bill of Entry after examination within the prescribed period, and Customs seals applied by Container Cell. CHA-wise registers at Docks will monitor movements; failure to present Bills for out-of-charge order within the stipulated period may suspend the facility for the importer/CHA. Traders from outside the State and those opting out will undergo full de-stuffing and 100% examination at CFS, while RMS-facilitated consignments remain unchanged.

Registration/RCMC recognition for handicraft exporters now suffices for listed table exports, enabling alternative certification compliance.
The Handbook of Procedures, Vol. I RE 2008 is amended to state that for exports of handicraft items listed in Table 9 of Appendix 37A, Registration/RCMC from the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts shall suffice as the required registration document; this alternative documentary acceptance is authorised under Paragraph 2.4 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-2009 and applies to exports made from 1.4.2009.

Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms updates inputs for Montelukast Sodium and removes an obsolete SION entry.
Public Notice amends the Handbook of Procedures (Vol. II) by revising the Standard Input Output Norms (SION), specifically updating the SION entry for Montelukast Sodium with detailed input and solvent quantity specifications, and deleting an obsolete SION entry.

Right to Information: designation of CPIOs in the Service Tax Commissionerate clarifies officials responsible for RTI requests.
Designation under the RTI Act, 2005 of specific officers as CPIOs in the Service Tax Commissionerate, New Delhi: Shri KJ Sanchis, Assistant Commissioner, Gurgaon, designated CPIO, Gurgaon, and Shri Bipin Kumar Upadhyay, Assistant Commissioner, Headquarters, designated CPIO, Headquarters, as a partial modification of an earlier trade notice, identifying those officers as responsible for receipt and processing of RTI requests within the commissionerate.

Pre-audit requirement for customs refund claims centralised at commissionerate headquarters, followed by divisional orders and commissioner review.
Pre-audit of refund applications at or above the specified threshold will be conducted at the Commissionerate Headquarters by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner (Audit). Thereafter, the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of the Group/Division will pass the order-in-original on the claim, and those orders-in-original will be subject to review by the Commissioner. The relevant portions of the earlier Board Circular are amended to reflect this procedure.

ISPM-15 compliance required for wood packaging: customs must ensure treatment/marking or phytosanitary certification and report non-compliance.
Articles packed with raw or solid wood packaging shall not be released by customs unless the wood packaging is treated and carries the ISPM-15 marking or is accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate; untreated packaging may be treated at point of entry under Plant Quarantine Officer supervision. Customs officers must verify compliance and report non-compliant cases to the concerned Plant Quarantine stations/authorities.

Special Additional Duty refund: amounts paid through export incentive scrips must be re credited to the originating scrip.
Refund of the Special Additional Duty of Customs shall be effected by re crediting the eligible amount to the export incentive instrument used to pay the duty; amounts paid by DEPB, VKGUY, Focus Product Scheme, or Focus Market Scheme scrips must be re credited to the respective originating scrip.