Exim Policy Changes Notified

The DGFT yesterday notified several important changes to the Exim policy, including fixing the export obligation to be met by the agriculture and allied sector under the zero-duty Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme.

Licence holders under the scheme will have to fulfil 15 per cent of the export obligation in the first two years, 35 per cent during the third and fourth years and the balance of the export obligation during the fifth and sixth years. Exporters can also now avail of deemed export benefit of refund of terminal excise duty and deemed export drawback on a monthly basis. Earlier, the benefits could only be availed on a quarterly and half-yearly basis. Further, items which are on the negative list, but are allowed under freely transferable special import licenses, can now be imported by exporters in advance.

 

Such items may now be cleared from Customs under advance licenses issued subsequently. The threshold limit for recognition as category holders has also been revised. This is now fixed at 25 per cent above the limit of 1996-97 on free-on-board terms.