Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20

COMPILED BY CHANDRAJEET YADAV

SR. AUDIT OFFICER
OFFICE OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF AUDIT
LUCKNOW.
 Introduction

India is known as one of the most important and emerging

player in the global economy. Its foreign trade policies and
government reforms have made it a significant destination
for foreign investments around the world. Also,
technological and infrastructural developments being
carried out all over the country enable efficient trade and
economic practices. For the successful economic
development of a country, vigorous foreign trade policy is of
great importance. Therefore, India adopted a foreign trade
policy known as the EXIM Policy or the Export-Import
policy.
 Highlights of FTP 2015-20

FTP 2015-20 provides a framework for

 increasing exports of goods and services
 generation of employment
 increasing value addition in the country
in line with the ‘Make in India’ programme.
The Policy aims to enable India to respond to the challenges of the external
environment, keeping in step with a rapidly evolving international trading
architecture and make trade a major contributor to the country’s economic
growth and development.
 Introduces two new schemes, namely ‘Merchandise Exports from India Scheme
(MEIS)’ for export of specified goods to specified markets and ‘Services Exports
from India Scheme (SEIS)’ for increasing exports of notified services.
Duty credit scrips issued under MEIS and SEIS and the goods imported against
these scrips are fully transferable.
 rates of rewards under MEIS range from 2 per cent to 5
per cent.
Under SEIS the selected Services would be rewarded at the
rates of 3 per cent and 5 per cent.
Measures have been adopted to nudge procurement of
capital goods from indigenous manufacturers under the
EPCG scheme by reducing specific export obligation to
75per cent of the normal export obligation.
Measures have been taken to give a boost to exports of
defense and hi-tech items.
E-Commerce exports of handloom products,
books/periodicals, leather footwear, toys and customised
fashion garments through courier or foreign post office
would also be able to get benefit of MEIS (for values up to
INR 25,000).
 status holders, will now be able to self-certify their manufactured goods in
phases, as originating from India with a view to qualifying for preferential
treatment under various forms of bilateral and regional trade agreements
thus getting fast access to international markets.
• A number of steps have been taken for encouraging manufacturing and
exports under 100 per cent EOU/EHTP/STPI/BTP Schemes.
 fast track clearance facility for these units,
 permitting them to share infrastructure facilities,
 inter unit transfer of goods and services,
 set up warehouses near the port of export and to use duty free equipment
for training purposes.
108 MSME clusters have been identified for focused interventions to boost
exports. Accordingly, ‘Niryat Bandhu Scheme’ has been galvanized and
repositioned to achieve the objectives of ‘Skill India’.
Trade facilitation and enhancing the ease of doing business are the other
major focus areas in this new FTP.
One of the major objective of new FTP is to move towards paperless
working in 24x7 environment.
 Chapter 3 export incentive schemes
The objective of schemes under this chapter is to provide rewards
to exporters to offset infrastructural inefficiencies and associated
costs.
MEIS replaced the following five other similar incentive
schemes present in the earlier Foreign Trade Policy
2009-14:1.       Focus Product Scheme (FPS).
2.       Focus Market Scheme (FMS).
3.       Market Linked Focus Product Scheme (MLFPS).
4.       Infrastructure incentive scheme.
5.       Vishesh Krishi Gramin Upaj Yojna (VKGUY).

There shall be following two schemes for exports of Merchandise

and Services respectively: (i) Merchandise Exports from India
Scheme (MEIS). (ii) Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS).
Duty Credit Scrips shall be granted as rewards under MEIS
and SEIS. The basis of calculation of reward would be on
realised FOB value of exports in free foreign exchange, or
on FOB value of exports as given in the Shipping Bills in
freely convertible foreign currencies, whichever is less,
The Duty Credit Scrips can be used for :
(i) Payment of Basic Customs Duty and Additional Customs
Duty on import of inputs or goods, including capital goods,
as per DoR Notification, except items listed in Appendix 3A.
(ii) Payment of Central excise duties on domestic
procurement of inputs or goods,
Claiming the duty credit scrips under MEIS and SFIS

Application for obtaining Duty Credit Scrip under MEIS shall be

filed within a period of : (i) Twelve months from the Let Export
(LEO) date or (ii) Three months from the date of : (1) Uploading of
EDI shipping bills onto the DGFT server by Customs. (2) Printing/
release of shipping bills for Non EDI shipping bills. whichever is
later.
(b) For SEIS, the last date for filing application shall be 12 months
from the end of relevant financial year of claim period.
 Duty Credit Scrip issued on or after 01.01.2016 under chapter 3
shall be valid for a period of 24 months from the date of issue and
must be valid on the date on which actual debit of duty is made.
Revalidation of Duty Credit Scrip shall not be permitted unless
covered under paragraph 2.20(c) of HBP.
 Points to be checked in audit

Whether claim were filed within prescribed period?

Whether applicable late cut were applied on
application filed beyond prescribed?
Rate of duty credit scrip was correctly applied as per
Appendix 3B.
Conversation rate of convertible currency was
correctly applied?
Credit scrip were utilized within 24 months of its
issuance rather than its registration.
 CHAPTER 4
DUTY EXEMPTION /REMISSION SCHEMES

Schemes under this Chapter enable duty free import of inputs for
export production, including replenishment of inputs or duty
remission
(a) The Duty Exemption schemes consist of the following:
Advance Authorisation (AA) (which will include Advance
Authorisation for Annual Requirement).
 Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA).
(b) Duty Remission Scheme.
Duty Drawback (DBK) Scheme, administered by Department of
Revenue.
(c) Scheme for Rebate on State and Central Taxes and Levies
(RoSCTL), as notified by the Ministry of Textiles on 07.03.2019, and
implemented by the DGFT.
Advance Authorisation is issued to allow duty free import of
input, which is physically incorporated in export product
(making normal allowance for wastage). In addition, fuel, oil,
catalyst which is consumed / utilized in the process of
production of export product, may also be allowed.
 (b) Advance Authorisation is issued for inputs in relation to
resultant product, on the following basis:
 (i) As per Standard Input Output Norms (SION) notified
(available in Hand Book of Procedures);
(ii) On the basis of self declaration as per paragraph 4.07 of
Handbook of Procedures. OR
 (iii) Applicant specific prior fixation of norm by the Norms
Committee. OR
(iv) On the basis of Self Ratification Scheme in terms of Para
4.07A of Foreign Trade Policy
 Eligible Applicant / Export / Supply

 (a) Advance Authorisation can be issued either to a manufacturer

exporter or merchant exporter tied to supporting manufacturer.
(b) Advance Authorisation for pharmaceutical products
manufactured through Non-Infringing (NI) process (as indicated
in paragraph 4.18 of Handbook of Procedures) shall be issued to
manufacturer exporter only.
(c) Advance Authorisation shall be issued for: (i) Physical export
(including export to SEZ); (ii) Intermediate supply; and/or (iii)
Supply of goods to the categories mentioned in paragraph 7.02
(b), (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h) of this FTP. (iv) Supply of „stores‟ on
board of foreign going vessel / aircraft, subject to condition that
there is specific Standard Input Output Norms in respect of item
supplied. 4
 Advance Authorisation for Annual Requirement

(i) Advance Authorisation for Annual Requirement shall only be

issued for items notified in Standard Input Output Norms (SION),
and it shall not be available in case of adhoc norms under paragraph
4.03 (b)(ii) of FTP. (ii) Advance Authorisation for Annual
Requirement shall also not be available in respect of SION where any
item of input appears in Appendix 4-J
Eligibility Condition to obtain Advance Authorisation for
Annual Requirement (i) Exporters having past export
performance (in at least preceding two financial years) shall be
entitled for Advance Authorisation for Annual requirement. (ii)
Entitlement in terms of CIF value of imports shall be up to 300% of
the FOB value of physical export and / or FOR value of deemed
export in preceding financial year or Rs 1 crore, whichever is higher.
 Value addition

Value Addition Value Addition for the purpose of this Chapter (except
for Gems and Jewellery sector for which value addition is prescribed in
paragraph 4.38 of FTP) shall be:- A-B VA = ----------- x100,
where B A =FOB value of export realized/FOR value of supply received.
B =CIF value of inputs covered by Authorisation, plus value of any other
input used on which benefit of DBK is claimed or intended to be
claimed.
 Minimum value addition required to be achieved under Advance
Authorisation is 15%.
 ii. Export Products where value addition could be less than 15% are
given in Appendix 4D.
Minimum value addition for Gems & Jewellery Sector is given in
paragraph 4.61 of Handbook of Procedures
 Details of Duties exempted

Imports under Advance Authorisation are exempted

from payment of Basic Customs Duty, Additional
Customs Duty, Education Cess, Anti-dumping Duty,
Countervailing Duty, Safeguard Duty, Transition
Product Specific Safeguard Duty, wherever
applicable. However, imports under Advance
Authorisation for physical exports are also exempt
from whole of the integrated tax and Compensation
Cess. Imports against Advance Authorisations for
physical exports are exempted from Integrated Tax
and Compensation Cess up -to 31.03.2021 only.
 Validity period for import and Revalidation of
Authorisation

 (a) Validity period for import of Advance Authorisation

shall be 12 months from the date of issue of Authorisation.
(b) Validity of Advance Authorisation for supplies under
Chapter-7 of FTP shall be co-terminus with contracted
duration of project execution or 12 months from the date of
issue of Authorisation, whichever is later.
(c) Regional Authority may consider a request of original
Authorisation holder and grant one revalidation for six
months from expiry date. Request(s) for revalidation of
Authorisation shall be filed online in ANF 4D.
 Export Obligation (EO) Period and its Extension

(a) Period for fulfillment of export obligation under Advance Authorisation

shall be 18 months from the date of issue of Authorisation. Period of EO
fulfillment under an Advance Authorisation shall commence from date of
issue of Authorisation, unless otherwise specified.
(b) In cases of supplies to projects in India under Chapter-7 of FTP or projects
abroad, the Export Obligation period shall be coterminus with contracted
duration of the project execution or 18 months whichever is more.
 (c) Export Obligation for items falling in categories of defence, military store,
aerospace and nuclear energy shall be 24 months from the date of issue of
authorization or co-terminus with contracted duration of the export order
whichever is more.
Regional Authority may consider a request of Advance Authorisation holder
for one extension of EO period upto six months from the date of expiry of EO
period subject to payment of composition fee of 0.5% of the shortfall in EO.
 CHAPTER 5
EXPORT PROMOTION CAPITAL GOODS (EPCG) SCHEME

The objective of the EPCG Scheme is to facilitate

import of capital goods for producing quality goods
and services and enhance India’s manufacturing
competitiveness.
EPCG Scheme allows import of capital goods (except
those specified in negative list in Appendix 5 F) for
pre-production, production and postproduction at
zero customs duty. Capital goods imported under
EPCG Authorisation for physical exports are also
exempt from IGST and Compensation Cess upto
31.03.2020i only.
Capital goods for the purpose of the EPCG scheme shall include: (i)
Capital Goods as defined in Chapter 9 including in CKD/SKD condition
thereof; (ii) Computer systems and software which are a part of the
Capital Goods being imported; (iii) Spares, moulds, dies, jigs, fixtures,
tools & refractories; and (iv) Catalysts for initial charge plus one
subsequent charge.
 (b) Import of capital goods for Project Imports notified by Central
Board of Excise and Customs is also permitted under EPCG Scheme.
(c) Import under EPCG Scheme shall be subject to an export obligation
equivalent to 6 times of duties, taxes and cess saved on capital goods,
to be fulfilled in 6 years reckoned from date of issue of Authorisation.
Authorisation shall be valid for import for 18 months from the date of
issue of Authorisation. Revalidation of EPCG Authorisation shall not be
permitted.
 Duty Draw back

Duty Drawback provisions are made to grant rebate of duty or

tax chargeable on any imported / excisable materials and input
services used in the manufacture of export goods. The duties and
taxes neutralized under the scheme are (i) Customs and Union
Excise Duties in respect of inputs and (ii) Service Tax in respect
of input services. Duty Drawback is of two types: (i) All Industry
Rate and (ii) Brand Rate. The legal framework is provided under
Sections 75 and 76 of the Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs
and Central Excise Duties and Service Tax Drawback Rules, 1995
(Drawback Rules, 1995) issued under the provisions of Section 75
of the Customs Act, 1962, Section 37 of the Central Excise Act,
1944 and Section 93 A read with section 94 of the Finance Act,
1994the Finance Act, 1994.
Consequent to introduction of Goods and Service Tax
(GST) with effect from 01.07.2017, Drawback Rules, 1995
are now replaced by a new set of rules called ‘
Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rul
es, 2017
’. The definition of drawback as per Rule 2(a) of DBK
Rules, 2017 provides for drawback of Customs and
Central Excise Duties excluding Integrated Tax and
compensation Cess leviable under sub-section (7) and
(9) of Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 chargeable
on any imported materials or excisable materials used in
the production or manufacture of goods exported.
As a result the drawback is limited to incidence of duties of Customs
on inputs used and Central Excise Duties on specified petroleum
products used for generation of captive power for manufacture of
processing of export goods.
All Industry Rates (AIR) of Drawback vide Notification No. 89/2017
Cus (NT) dated 21.09.2017 which came into effect from 01.10.2017 and
further amendments were carried out in respect of certain goods vide 
Notification No. 8/2018 – CUSTOMS (N.T.) dated 22.01.2018
 which came into effect from 25.01.2018.
Where all Industry Rate is less than eighty percent of the duties paid on the
materials or components used in the production of export goods. Now the
brand rate application under Rule 6(1)(a) or under Rule 7(1) of DBK Rules,
2017 shall be filed to the Principal Commissioner of Customs or
Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, having jurisdiction over the
port of export.
 CHAPTER 6
100 % EOUs, STP EHTP and BTPs

(a) Units undertaking to export their entire production of goods

and services(except permissible sales in DTA), may be set up
under the EOU Scheme, EHTP Scheme, STP Scheme or BTP)
Scheme for manufacture of goods, including repair, re-making,
reconditioning, re-engineering, rendering of services,
development of software, agriculture including agro-
processing, aquaculture, animal husbandry, biotechnology,
floriculture, horticulture, pisciculture, viticulture, poultry and
sericulture. Trading units are not covered under these schemes.
(b) Objectives of these schemes are to promote exports,
enhance foreign exchange earnings, attract investment for
export production and employment generation.
 Salient features of EOU, EHTP, STP and SEZ schemes

Benefits EHTP/STP/EOU Unit SEZ Unit

Foreign 100% FDI investment
100% FDI investment permitted
Equity permitted through
through automatic route
permissible automatic route
Duty free
imports/ Capital goods, Raw
All goods for development,
domestic materials, Components and
operation and maintenance
procurement other inputs
permissible
100% Income Tax exemption on
Export profits 100% tax- export profits under Section 10AA
Income Tax exempt under Sections of the Income Tax Act for 5 years,
Benefit 10A/10B of the Income Tax 50% for next 5 years thereafter
Act (up to 31st March 2011) and 50% of ploughed back export
profit for next 5 years
 Unit shall be a positive
Unit shall be a positive Net
Net Foreign Exchange
Foreign Exchange (NFE)
(NFE) Earner. Supplies of
Earner. Supplies of ITA-1
ITA-1 items manufactured
Export items manufactured by these
by these units in the
Obligation units in the Domestic Tariff
Domestic Tariff Area
Area (DTA) shall be counted
(DTA) shall be counted
towards fulfillment of export
towards fulfillment of
obligation
export obligation

DTA sales permissible up to 50%

of FOB value of exports, subject DTA sales permissible on
to fulfillment of positive NFE, on payment of full duties.
payment of concessional duties However, the unit is required
DTA Sales DTA sales beyond this to be a positive Net Foreign
entitlement are permissible Exchange (NFE) Earner over
against payment of full duties the five year period of its
provided the unit has achieved operation.
positive NFE.

Supplies from
Deemed Export Physical Export
DTA
 Ch-7 Deemed Export

"Deemed Exports" refer to those transactions in which the goods supplied do not leave the
country, and the payment for such supplies is received either in Indian rupees or in free
foreign exchange. To provide a level-playing field to domestic manufacturers in certain
specified cases, as may be decided by the Government from time to time.
The following categories of supply of goods by the main/ sub-contractors are regarded as
"Deemed Exports" under the Foreign Trade Policy, provided the goods are manufactured in
India:
(a) Supply of goods against Advance Authorization/Advance Authorization for annual
requirement/DFIA
(b) Supply of goods to Export Oriented Units (EOUs) / Software Technology Park (STP) units
/ Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) units / Bio Technology Park (BTP) units
(c) Supply of capital goods to Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Authorization holders
(d) Supply of goods to projects financed by multilateral or bilateral Agencies/Funds as
notified by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance under International
Competitive Bidding (ICB) in accordance with the procedures of those Agencies/Funds,
where the legal agreements provide for tender evaluation without including customs duty
(e) Supply of capital goods, including in unassembled/disassembled
condition as well as plants, machinery, accessories, tools, dies and
such goods which are used for installation purposes till the stage of
commercial production, and spares to the extent of 10% of the FOR
value to fertilizer plants
(f) Supply of goods to any project or purpose in respect of which the
Ministry of Finance, by a notification, permits the import of such
goods at zero customs duty
(g) Supply of goods to the power projects and refineries not covered
in (f) above
(h) Supply of marine freight containers by 100% EOU (Domestic
freight containers - manufacturers) provided the said containers are
exported out of India within 6 months or such further period as
permitted by the customs;
(i) Supply to projects funded by UN agencies
(j) Supply of goods to nuclear power projects through competitive
bidding as opposed to ICB.
 Benefits for Deemed Exports

Deemed exports shall be eligible for any/all of the following

benefits in respect of manufacture and supply of goods
qualifying as deemed exports subject to the terms and
conditions as given in the Chapter-8 of Handbook of
Procedure:
(a) Advance Authorization/Advance Authorization for annual
requirement/DFIA
(b) Deemed Export Drawback.
(c) Exemption from terminal excise duty where supplies are
made against ICB. In other cases, refund of terminal excise
duty will be given.
(d)Refunds of IGST and cess paid on deemed export.
End with Thanks