General Notes for Import Policy

1. Hereinafter, any item importable under Special Import Licence (SIL) shall be importable on surrender of SIL equivalent to five times the c.i.f. value of imports, except in those cases where the requirement of surrender of SIL is more than five times the c.i.f. value of imports.
   
   
2. Subject to compliance with the provisions of any other law for the time being in force, imports may also be made without a licence by the categories of importers specified below, provided the imports do not involve foreign exchange remittances:
   
   
   1. Import of goods by officials of the United Nations Organisation and its specialised agencies who are I exempt from payment of customs duty under the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947;
      
      
   2. Import under Baggage Rules of used professional equipment, instruments or apparatus by professionals and doctors returning to India for permanent settlement;
      
      
   3. Goods imported as baggage by the members of foreign mountaineering expedition teams, subject to the condition of export of such items except items consumed;
      
      
   4. Paintings and other display articles required for competitions or exhibitions, subject to the condition of export of such items except consumables;
      
      
   5. Food-stuff, medicines, clothing and blankets received by any charitable organisation registered with Ministry of Welfare and Ministry of Home Affairs under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act as a gift from any philanthropic organisation or person abroad, for free distribution either by itself or other charitable organisations to the poor and needy without any distinction of caste, creed or colour;
      
      
   6. Import of food parcels (except alcohol and tobacco) by foreign citizens, ordinarily residing in India, subject to a limit of Rs. 1,00,000 per year for their own use;
      
      
   7. 1. Goods received as free gifts by the Indian Red Cross Society from abroad provided such goods are exempt from customs duty;
         
         
      2. Relief supplies and packages received as gifts through a Government agency or any other approved agency covered by an agreement entered into by the Government of India with a foreign Government provided they are exempt from customs duty;
         
         
      3. Articles donated to the National Defence Fund or to the Government of India for use of the Defence personnel and wool/woolen fabrics and woolen apparels donated to the Indian Red Cross Society provided the same are exempt from Customs duty;
      
      
      
   8. Equipment and raw films imported by foreign TV companies coming to India on visits sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs/Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or Department of Tourism on re- export basis.
      
   
   
3. Import of beef in any form and import of products containing beef in any form is probibited
   
   
4. All consignments of edible oils and processed food products, imported in bulk, shall carry a declaration from the concerned exporter on the shipping documents that the consignment does not contain beef in any form. All consigments of edible products, imported in consumer packs, shall carry a declaration on the lable of the package that the product does not contain beef in any form."

[Para 3 & 4 has been added vide Ntf. No.29(RE-2000)/1997-2002 Dated 7-8-2000]

4. All such packaged products, which are subject to provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977 when produced/ packed/ sold in domestic market, shall be subject to compliance of all the provisions of the said rules, when imported into India. The compliance of these shall be ensured before the import consignment of such commodities is cleared by Customs for home consumption. All prepackaged commodities, imported into India, shall in particular carry the following declarations:

1. Name and address of the importer;
   
   
2. Generic or common name of the commodity packed;
   
   
3. Net quantity in terms of standard unit of weights and measures. If the net quantity in the imported package is given in any other unit, its equivalent in terms of standard units shall be declared by the importer;
   
   
4. Month and year of packing in which the commodity is manufactured or packed or imported;
   
   
5. Maximum retail sale price at which the commodity in packaged form may be sold to the ultimate consumer. This price shall include all taxes local or otherwise, freight, transport charges, commission payable to dealers, and all charges towards advertising, delivery, packing, forwarding and the like, as the case may be.
   

5. A new Appendix V to Schedule I of ITC (HS) Classifications of Export and Import Items, 1997-2002, shall be annexed as per annexure "A" of this Notification.

6. Import of all the products as per Appendix V to Schedule I of the ITC (HS) Classifications of Export and Import Items, 1997-2002, shall be subject to compliance of the mandatory Indian Quality Standards as mentioned in column 2 of the said Annexure, which are also applicable to domestic goods. For compliance of this requirement, all manufactures/ exporters of these products to India , shall be required to register themselves with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)."

Not withstanding anything contained in the Appendix V to the aforementioned notification, import of valves/valve fittings to be used exclusively in the cylinders for CNG Kits for automobiles, will be exempted from the conditions at paragraph 6 of the aforementioned notification (Registration of manufacturer-exporter with BIS). However, this exemption shall be applicable only on such valves/valve fittings, import of which has been approved by Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur.

(Above para has been amended vide Ntf. No. 25(RE-01), Dt. 24/8/2001.)

(Pl. refer Ntf. No. 26(RE-01), Dt.3/9/2001, for conditions of Paragraph 6 )

[OLD
Not withstanding anything contained in the Appendix V to the aforementioned notification, import of cylinders to be used exclusively in the CNG Kits for automobiles, will be exempted from the conditions at paragraph 6 of the aforementioned notification (Registration of manufacturer-exporter with BIS). However, this exemption shall be applicable only on such cylinders, import of which has been approved by Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur.]

(See Ntf. No.15(RE-01) Dt.21/6/2001.)

[Above para has been added vide Ntf. No.44(RE-2000)/1997-2002 Dated 24-11-2000]

7. Import of meat and poultry products will be subject to the compliance of conditions regarding manufacture, slaughter, packing, labeling and quality conditions as laid down in Meat Food Products Order, 1973. All manufacturers of meat/poultry products exporting their goods to India shall be required to meet the sanitary and hygienic requirements as stipulated under Schedule-II of the aforementioned Order. The imported product shall also comply with the specified packaging, labeling and quality standards as laid down in Schedule-IV of the Order. Compliance of these conditions is to be ensured before allowing customs clearance of the consignment.

8. Import of all such edible/food products, domestic sale and manufacture of which are governed by Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, shall be subject to all the conditions laid down in the aforesaid Act. Import of all these products will have to comply with the quality and packaging requirements as laid down in the Act. Compliance of these conditions is to be ensured before allowing customs clearance of the consignment.

9. Import of all primary agricultural products will be subject to a Bio Security & Sanitary-Phyto Sanitary import permit, to be issued by Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, as per conditions of Plants, Fruits and Seeds (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 1989. The permit will be based on Import Risk Analysis of the product, to be conducted on scientific principles, in accordance with the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures. The Import Risk Analysis will be conducted based on various scientific principles, including inter alia,

1. the type of pests etc. known to be associated with the particular product in the exporting country;
   
   
2. the organisms already established in India; and
   
   
3. the potential impact of such organisms on India’s international trade.

10. Irrespective of the Policy indicated against the exim code nos. 090220 04 and 090240 06 in column 3 of ITC(HS) Classifications of Export and Import Items, 1997-2002, the import of these items will be subject to the conditions of the provisions of the Tea Waste (Control) Order, 1959 as amended from time to time. Import of tea waste is to be allowed only to the licence holders under the afore mentioned Order issued by Tea Board.

11. Import of textile and textile articles is permitted subject to the condition that they shall not contain any of the hazardous dyes whose handling, production, carriage or use is prohibited by the Government of India under the provisions of clause (d) of subsection (2) of section 6 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) read with the relevant rule(s) framed thereunder. For this purpose, the import consignments shall accompany a preshipment certificate from the notified agencies. In cases where such certificates are not available, the consignment will be cleared after testing of the same from the notified agencies.
[Above 7 to 11 para has been added vide Ntf. No.3(RE-2001)/1997-2002 Dated 31-3-2001]

(The matter has been considered in consultation with Ministry of Textiles, and it has been decided that the aforementioned condition regarding testing of textile articles, shall not be applicable on import of samples. However, this exemption shall be subject to the following conditions:

(a) The total quantity permitted in one consignment should not be more than 100 sq. mtrs. in case of fabric and more than 25 in number in case of other textile articles.

(b) The said samples should be supplied free of cost.

(c) The imported fabric/textile articles should have indelible marking as “sample not for sale” and

(d) The importer shall give an undertaking to the concerned custom authorities that the samples so imported shall not be used in the country for human consumption.)

(Pol.Cir. No. 19(RE-2001), Dt. 22/01/2002. related to above para 11)

(Public Notice No. 12(RE-2001), Dt. 3/5/2001. related to above para 11)

(Policy Cir. No. 3(RE-01), Dt. 07/6/2001. related to above para 11)

(Policy Cir. No. 5(RE-01), Dt. 20/7/2001. related to above para 11)

(Policy Cir. No. 9(RE-01), Dt. 18/9/2001. related to above para 11)

12. Import of alcoholic beverages as classified under Chapter 22 of ITC(HS) Classifications of Export and Import Items, 1997-2002, shall be subject to compliance of various mandatory requirements as stipulated by various State Governments. ”

[Above 12 No. has been added vide Ntf. No.5(RE-2001)/1997-2002 Dated 31-3-2001]

13. Import of all such edible /food products , domestic sale and manufacture of which are governed by Prevention of Food Adulteration Act , 1954 shall also be subject to the condition that, at the time of importation, the products are having a valid shelf life of not less than 60% of its original shelf life. Shelf life of the product is to be calculated, based on the declaration given on the label of the product, regarding its date of manufacture and the due date for expiry.

[Above 13 No. has been added vide Ntf. No.22(RE-2001)/1997-2002 Dated 30-7-2001]

14. Import of Meat and Meat Products of all kinds including fresh, chilled and frozen meat, tissue or organs of poultry, pig, sheep, goat; egg and egg powder; milk and milk products; bovine, ovine and caprine embryos, ova or semen; and pet food products of animal origin shall be subject to a sanitary import permit to be issued by Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India, as per Section 3A of Live-stock Importation Act, 1898,as incorporated by Live Stock Importation (Amendment) Ordinance,2001 dated 05.07.2001 and as notified on 07.07.2001.

[Above 14 No. has been added vide Ntf. No.21(RE-2001)/1997-2002 Dated 30-7-2001]

15. Import of Whale shark (Rhincodon typus) and parts and products of this species shall be restricted.

[Above 15 No. has been added vide Ntf. No.24(RE-2001)/1997-2002 Dated 14-8-2001]