'Bonus benefit not available for goods exported from April 2011'
Some new duty credits were announced by the commerce minister on 13 October 2011. Are the benefits available on exports made from that date? Please reply, giving references.
As per the addition made in Para 3.14.2 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), exports of products to notified countries (in Table 3 of Appendix 37C of Handbook of Procedures, Volume I) under the Focus Market Scheme will be entitled for additional duty credit scrip @ 1 per cent of FOB value of exports (in free foreign exchange) made with effect from 01.04.2011. As per additions made in Para 3.15.2 of the FTP, Focus Products notified under Table 8 (Bonus Benefits) of Appendix 37D shall be granted additional duty credit scrip @ 1 per cent of FOB value of exports (in free foreign exchange) for exports made with effect from 01.10.2011 till 31.03.2012. These additions have been made through notification no. 79 dated 13 October 2011. In Appendix 37D, S. Nos. 212 to 338 in Table 4 (New Focus Products), S. Nos. 108 to 121 in Table 6 (Market Linked Focus Products) and S. Nos. 170, and 171 in Table 7 (Focus Product(s) Sector(s) -- Bonus Benefit) have been added through Public Notice no. 80 dated 13 October 2011 for benefits on exports made on or after 1.4.2011. The same Public Notice adds Cuba and Mexico in Table 2 of Appendix 37C at Sr.No.28 and Sr.No.29 respectively, as new Focus Market Countries for exports made with effect from 01.04.2011. In short, all benefits are available for exports made from 1.4.2011, except the 1 per cent Bonus Benefit, which is available for exports made between 1.10.2011 and 31.3.2012.
We refer to your article on 24 October 2011 on clubbing advance authorisations. Can we club an advance licence issued in May 1992 with an advance licence issued in March 2002?
As per Para 4.20.5 of the current Handbook of Procedures, Vol. 1, “notwithstanding provisions of Para 4.20.3 above, clubbing of the Authorisations issued during Exim Policy period 1992-1997 and 1997-2002 i.e., 1st April 1992 to 31st March, 2002 be allowed. This facility will be available only till 31st March 2012. Thereafter no clubbing of Authorisations issued before 31st March 2002 shall be allowed. No clubbing of erstwhile Value Based Advance licences shall be allowed.” Therefore, you can club the advance licences issued in May 1992 with an advance licence issued in March 2002, so long as they are quantity-based advance licences and you make the application before 31 March 2012, provided that the other conditions for clubbing are satisfied.
In the Duty Drawback Rate schedule given in the notification no. 68/2011-Cus (NT) dated 22.09.2011, does the value cap refer to the FOB value or the amount of drawback?
As per condition no. 5 of the said Drawback Rate Schedule, “the figures shown in columns (5) and (7) in the said Schedule (i.e., value caps) refer to the maximum amount of drawback that can be availed of per unit specified in column (3).”
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