Letter of Permission/ Letter of Intent and Legal Undertaking

6.6

(a) On approval, a Letter of Permission (LOP) /Letter of Intent (LOI) shall be issued by the Development Commissioner/designated officer to EOU/EHTP/ STP/BTP unit. The LOP/LOI shall have an initial validity of 3 years by which time the unit should have commenced production. Its validity may be extended further up to 3 years by the competent authority. However, proposals for extension beyond six years shall be considered in exceptional circumstances, on a case-to-case basis by the BOA. Once the unit commences production, LOP/LOI issued shall be valid for a period of 5 years for its activities. This period may be extended further by the Development Commissioner for a period of 5 years at a time.

(b) LOP/LOI issued to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units by the concerned authority subject to compliance of provision in para 6.2 above, would be construed as an Authorisation for all purposes.

(c) The unit shall execute a legal undertaking with the Development Commissioner concerned. Failure to ensure positive NFE or to abide by any of the terms and conditions of the LOP/LOI/IL/LUT shall render the unit liable to penal action under the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 and the Rules and Orders made thereunder without prejudice to action under any other law/rules and cancellation or revocation of LOP/LOI/IL.

Investment Criteria

(d) Only projects having a minimum investment of Rs. 1 Crore in Plant & Machinery shall be considered for establishment as EOUs under the scheme. This shall, however, not apply to existing units and units in EHTP/STP/BTP, Handicrafts/ Agriculture/ Floriculture/ Aquaculture/ Animal Husbandry / Information Technology, Services, Brass Hardware and Handmade jewellery sectors. The Board of Approval (BOA) may also allow establishment of EOUs with a lower investment criteria