GSR 791(E), dated 30-12-1993
:
In
exercise of the powers conferred by section19 of the Foreign Trade (Development
and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992), the Central Government hereby makes the
following rules, namely :—
(1) These rules may be called the Foreign
Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993.
(2)
They shall come into force on the
date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
In
these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Act”, means the Foreign Trade
(Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992);
(b) “charitable purpose” includes relief of the poor, education, medical relief, and the advancement of any other object of general public utility;
(c) “importer”
or “exporter”, means a person who imports or exports goods and holds a valid
Importer-Exporter Code Number granted under section 7;
(d) “licensing
authority”, means an authority authorised by the Director-General under
sub-section (2) of section 9 to grant or renew a licence under these rules;
(e) “policy”
means the export and import policy formulated and announced by the Central
Government under section 5;
(f) “Schedule”, means a Schedule
appended to these rules;
(g) “section”, means a section of the
Act;
(h) “special licence”, means a licence
granted under sub-section (2) of section 8;
(i) “value” has the meaning assigned to
it in clause (41) of section 2 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);
(j) words and expressions used in these
rules and not defined, but defined in the Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in
the Act.
(1) Where the Importer-Exporter Code Number granted to any person has been suspended or cancelled under sub-section (1) of section 8, the Director-General may, having regard to the following factors, grant to him a special licence, namely :—
(1) that the denial of a special licence is
likely to affect the foreign trade of India adversely; or
(2) that
the suspension or cancellation of the Importer-Exporter Code Number is likely
to lead to non-fulfilment of any obligation by India under any international
agreement;
(2)
The special licence granted to any
person under sub-rule (1) shall be non-transferable.
Application for grant of licenses.
A
person may make an application for the grant of a licence to import or export
goods in accordance with the provisions of the policy or an order made under
section 3.
(1) Every
application for a licence to import shall be accompanied by the fee specified
in the Schedule.
(2)
The mode of deposit of fee shall be
as specified in the Schedule.
(3)
No fee shall be payable in respect
of any application made by—
(a) the
Central Government, a State Government or any Department or any office of the
Government;
(b) any
local authority for the bona fide import of goods required by it for official
use;
(c) any
institution set up for educational, charitable or missionary purposes, for the
import of goods required for its use;
(d) an applicant
for the import of any goods (other than a vehicle), if the import of the goods
is for his personal use which is not connected with trade or manufacture.
(4)
The fee once received will not be
refunded except in the following circumstances, namely:—
(i) where
the fee has been deposited in excess of the specified scale of fee; or
(ii) where
the fee has been deposited but no application has been made; or
(iii) where
the fee has been deposited in error but the applicant is exempt from payment of
fee.
(1)
It shall be deemed to be a condition
of every licence for export that :
(i) no
person shall transfer or acquire by transfer any licence issued by the
licensing authority except in accordance with the provisions of the policy;
(ii) the
goods for the export of which the licence is granted shall be the property of
the licensee at the time of the export.
(2) The licensing authority may issue a licence for import subject to one or more of the following conditions, namely :—
(a) that
the goods covered by the licence shall not be disposed of except in accordance
with the provisions of the policy or in the manner specified by the licensing
authority in the licence;
(b) that
the applicant for a licence shall execute a bond for complying with the terms
and conditions of the licence.
(3)
It shall be deemed to be a condition
of every licence for import that :—
(a) no
person shall transfer or acquire by transfer any licence issued by the
licensing authority except in accordance with the provisions of the policy;
(b) the
goods for the import of which a licence is granted shall be the property of the
licensee at the time of import and up to the time of clearance through customs;
(c) the
goods for the import of which a licence is granted shall be new goods, unless
otherwise stated in the licence;
(d) that
the goods covered by the licence for import shall not be exported without the
written permission of the Director-General.
(4) Any
person importing goods from the United States of America in accordance with the
terms of the Indo-U.S. Memorandum of Understanding on Technology Transfer shall
also comply with all the conditions and assurances specified in the import
certificate issued in terms of such Memorandum, and such other assurances given
by the person importing those goods to the Government of the United States of
America through the Government of India.
(1) The Director-General or the licensing authority may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, refuse to grant or renew a licence, if—
(a) the
applicant has contravened any law relating to customs or foreign exchange;
(b) the
application for the licence does not substantially conform to any provision of
these rules;
(c) the
application or any document used in support thereof contains any false or
fraudulent or misleading statement;
(d) it has
been decided by the Central Government to canalise the export or import of
goods and distribution thereof, as the case may be, through special or
specialised agencies;
(e) any
action against the applicant is for the time being pending under the Act or
Rules and orders made thereunder;
(f) the
applicant is or was a managing partner in a partnership firm, or is or was a
director of a private limited company, having a controlling interest, against
which any action is for the time being pending under the Act or Rules and
orders made thereunder;
(g) the
applicant fails to pay any penalty imposed on him under the Act;
(h) the applicant has tampered with a
licence;
(i) the
applicant or any agent or employee of the applicant with his consent has been a
party to any corrupt or fraudulent practice for the purposes of obtaining any
other licence;
(j) the
applicant is not eligible for a licence in accordance with any provision of the
policy;
(k) the
applicant fails to produce any documents called for by the Director-General or
the licensing authority;
(l) in
the case of a licence for import, no foreign exchange is available for the
purpose;
(m) the
application has been signed by a person other than a person duly authorised by
the applicant under the provisions of the policy;
(n) the
applicant has attempted to obtain or has obtained cash compensatory support,
duty drawback, cash assistance benefits allowed to registered exporters or any
other similar benefits from the Central Government or any agency authorised by
the Central Government in relation to exports made by him on the basis of any
false, fraudulent or misleading statement or any document which is false or
fabricated or tampered with.
(2) The
refusal of a licence under sub-rule (1) shall be without prejudice to any other
action that may be taken against an applicant by the licensing authority under
the Act.
The
licensing authority may of its own motion or on an application by the licensee,
amend any licence, in such manner as may be necessary or to rectify any error
or omission in the licence.
(1) The Director-General or the licensing authority may by an order in writing, suspend the operation of a licence granted to—
(a) any
person, if an order of detention has been made against such person under the
provisions of the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling
Activities Act, 1974 (52 of 1974); or
(b) a
partnership firm or a private limited company, if the person referred to in
clause (a) is a partner or a whole-time director or managing director, as the
case may be, of such firm or company :
Provided that the order of suspension shall cease to have
effect in respect of the aforesaid person or, as the case may be, the
partnership firm or company, when the order of detention made against such
person,—
(i) being
an order of detention to which the provisions of section 9 of the Conservation
of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (52 of
1974), do not apply, has been revoked on the report of the Advisory Board under
section 8 of that Act or before receipt of the report of the Advisory Board or
before making a reference to the Advisory Board; or
(ii) being
an order of detention to which the provisions of section 9 of the Conservation
of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974 (52 of
1974), apply, has been revoked on the report of the Advisory Board under
section 8, read with sub-section (2) of section 9 of that Act or before receipt
of such report;
(iii) has
been set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) The Director-General or the licensing authority may, by an order in writing, suspend the operation of any licence granted under these rules, where proceedings for cancellation of such licence have been initiated under rule 10.
The
Director-General or the licensing authority may, by an order in writing, cancel
any licence granted under these rules, if—
(a) the
licence has been obtained by fraud, suppression of facts or misrepresentation;
or
(b) the
licensee has committed a breach of any of the conditions of the licence; or
(c) the licensee has tampered with the
licence in any manner; or
(d) the
licensee has contravened any law relating to customs or foreign exchange or the
rules and regulations relating thereto.
Declaration as to value and quality of imported
goods.
On
the importation into, or exportation out of, any customs ports of any goods,
whether liable to duty or not, the owner of such goods shall, in the bill of
entry or the shipping bill or any other documents prescribed under the Customs
Act, 1962, state the value, quality and description of such goods to the best
of his knowledge and belief and in case of exportation of goods, certify that
the quality and specification of the goods as stated in those documents are in
accordance with the terms of the export contract entered into with the buyer or
consignee in pursuance of which the goods are being exported and shall
subscribe to a declaration of the truth of such statement at the foot of such
bill of entry or shipping bill or any other documents.
Declaration as to importer-exporter code number.
On
the importation into, or exportation out of, any customs port of any goods, the
importer or exporter shall, in the bill of entry or shipping bill or, as the
case may be, in any other documents prescribed by rules made under the Act or
the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), state the importer-exporter code number
allotted to him by the Competent Authority.
Utilisation of imported goods.
(1) No
person shall use any imported goods allotted to him by the State Trading
Corporation of India or any other agency recognised by the Central Government
in a manner and for the purpose, otherwise than as declared by him in his
application, for such allotment or in any document submitted by him in support
of such application.
(2) No
person shall dispose of any goods imported by him against a licence except in
accordance with the terms and conditions of such licence.
Prohibition regarding making, signing of any declaration, statement or documents.
(1) No
person shall make, sign or use or cause to be made, signed or used any
declaration, statement or document for the purposes of obtaining a licence or
importing any goods knowing or having reason to believe that such declaration,
statement or document is false in any material particular.
(2) No
person shall employ any corrupt or fraudulent practice for the purposes of
obtaining any licence or importing or exporting any goods.
Power to enter premises and inspect, search and seize goods, documents, things and conveyances.
(1) Any person authorised by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 10 (hereinafter called “the authorised person”) may, at any reasonable time, enter any premises in which—
(i) any
imported goods or materials which are liable to confiscation under the
provisions of the Act; or
(ii) any
books of account or documents or things which, in his opinion, will be useful
for, or relevant to, any proceedings under the Act, are suspected to have been
kept or concealed and may inspect such goods, materials, books of account,
documents or things and may take such notes or extracts therefrom as he may
think fit.
(2)
If the authorised person has reason
to believe that—
(i) any
imported goods or materials liable to confiscation under the Act; or
(ii) any
books of account or documents or things which, in his opinion, will be useful
for, or relevant to, any proceedings under the Act, are secreted in any
premises he may enter into and search such premises for such goods, materials,
books of account, documents or things.
(3) (a) If the authorised person has reason to
believe that any imported goods or materials are liable to confiscation under the Act, he may seize such
goods or materials together with the
package, covering or receptacle, if any, in which such goods or materials are
found to have been mixed with
any other goods or materials :
Provided that where it is not practicable to seize any such
goods or materials, the authorised person may serve on the owner of the goods
or materials an order that he shall not remove, part with or otherwise deal
with the goods or materials except with the previous permission of the
authorised person.
(b) Where
any goods or materials are seized under clause (a) and no notice in respect
thereof is given within six months of the seizure of the goods or materials,
the goods or materials shall be returned to the person from whose possession
they were seized :
Provided that the aforesaid period of six months may, on
sufficient cause being shown, be extended by the Director-General for a further
period not exceeding six months.
(c) The
authorised person may seize any books of account or documents or things which
in his opinion, will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceedings under the
Act.
(d) The
person from whose custody any documents are seized under this sub-rule, shall
be entitled to make copies thereof or take extracts therefrom in the presence
of the authorised person.
(e) If any
person legally entitled to the books of account or other documents or things
seized under this sub-rule objects, for any reason, to the retention by the
authorised person of the books of account or the documents or things, he may
move an application to the Central Government stating therein the reasons for
such objection, request for the return of the books of account or documents or
things.
(f) On
receipt of the application under clause (e), the Central Government may, after
giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard, pass such order as it may
think fit.
(g) Where
any document is produced or furnished by any person or has been seized from the
custody or control of any person under the Act or has been received from any
place outside India in the course of the investigation for any contravention
referred to in section 11 by any person and such document is tendered in
evidence against the person by whom it is produced or from whom it was seized
or against such person or any other person who is jointly proceeded against,
the adjudicating authority, shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in any other law for the time being in force,—
(i) presume,
unless the contrary is proved, that the signature and every other part of such
document which purports to be in the handwriting of any particular person of
which the adjudicating authority may reasonably assume to have been signed by
or to be in the handwriting of any particular person, is under the person’s
handwriting, and in the case of a document executed or attested, it was
executed or attested by the person by whom it purports to have been so executed
or attested;
(ii) admit
the document in evidence notwithstanding that it is not duly stamped, if such
document is otherwise admissible in evidence.
(4) The authorised person, may, if he has reason to suspect that any conveyance or animal is being or is about to be used for the transportation of any imported goods or material which are liable to confiscation under the Act, and that by such transportation any provision of the Act has been, is being or is about to be contravened at any time, stop such conveyance or animal or in the case of aircraft, compel it to land, and—
(a) rummage
and search the conveyance or any part thereof;
(b) examine and search any goods or material
in the conveyance or on the animal;
(c) if it
becomes necessary to stop any conveyance or animal, he may use all lawful means
for stopping it and where such means fail, the conveyance or animal may be
fired upon, and where he is satisfied that it is necessary so to do to prevent
the contravention of any provision of the Act or of the rules and orders made
thereunder or the policy or condition of any licence, he may seize such
conveyance or animal.
Explanation—Any
reference in this rule to a conveyance shall, unless the context otherwise
requires, be construed as including a reference to an aircraft, vehicle or
vessel.
(1) The adjudicating authority may determine the amount of settlement to be paid by the person to whom a notice has been issued and who has opted for settlement, and has admitted the contravention specified in the notice, in the following cases, namely :—
(i) where
it is of the opinion that the contravention of any provision of the Act or
these rules or the policy has been made without mens rea or without wilful
mistake or without suppression of facts, or without any collusion, or without
fraud and forgery, or without an intent to cause loss of foreign exchange; or
(ii) where
the person importing the goods has not met the requirements of the actual user
conditions as specified in the policy and has not misutilised the said imported
goods; or
(iii) where
the person importing the goods has not fulfilled the export obligation and has
not misutilised the said imported goods.
(2) Where a
person has opted for settlement under sub-rule (1), the settlement made by the
adjudicating authority shall be final.
(1) Any imported goods or materials in respect
of which—
(a) any
condition of the licence, or letter of authority under which they were
imported, relating to their utilisation or distribution; or
(b) any
condition, relating to their utilisation or distribution, subject to which they
were received from or through an agency recognised by the Central Government;
or
(c) any
condition imposed under the policy with regard to the sale or disposal of such
goods or materials; has been, is being, or is attempted to be, contravened,
shall together with any package, covering or receptacle in which such goods are
found, be liable to be confiscated by the adjudicating authority, and where
such goods or materials are so mixed with any other goods or materials that
they cannot be readily separated, such other goods or materials shall also be
liable to be so confiscated :
Provided that where it is established to the satisfaction of
the adjudicating authority that any goods or materials which are liable to
confiscation under this rule, had been imported for personal use, and not for
any trade or industry, such goods, or materials shall not be ordered to be
confiscated.
(2) The
adjudicating authority may permit the redemption of the confiscated goods or
materials upon payment of redemption charges equivalent to the market value of
such goods or materials.
(1) Any
conveyance or animal which has been, is being, or is attempted to be used, for
the transport of any goods or materials that are imported and which are liable
to confiscation under rule 17, shall be liable to be confiscated by the
adjudicating authority unless the owner of the conveyance or animal proves that
it was, is being, or is about to be so used without the knowledge or connivance
of the owner himself, his agent, if any, and the persons in charge of the
conveyance or animal and that each of them had taken all reasonable precautions
against such use.
(2) The
adjudicating authority shall permit redemption of the confiscated conveyance or
animal used for the transport of goods or passengers for hire upon payment of
redemption charges equivalent to the market value of such conveyance or animal.
[See rule 5]
The following fee shall be leviable in respect of the
application for an import licence, etc.
|
S.No. |
Particulars |
Amount of fee |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
1. |
Where the value of goods specified in application does not
exceed rupees fifty thousand |
Rupees two hundred |
|
2. |
Where the value of the goods specified in the application
exceeds rupees fifty thousand, but
does not exceed rupees one crore |
Rupees two per thousand or part thereof subject to a minimum of rupees
two hundred |
|
3. |
Where the value of the goods specified in the application
exceeds rupees one crore |
Rupees two per thousand or part thereof subject to a maximum of rupees
one lakh and fifty thousand |
|
4. |
Application for grant of duplicate-licence |
Rupees two hundred |
|
5. |
In case where import licence and other correspondence are
required by speed post |
Rupees two hundred |
|
6. |
Application for issue of an identity card |
Rupees two hundred |
|
7. |
Application for issue of duplicate identity card in the
event of loss of original card |
Rupees one hundred |
|
8. |
Extension of the period of shipment of an import licence |
Rupees two hundred |
|
9. |
Application for grant of split-up licences |
Rupees one thousand per split-up licence |
Note
: The amount of fee payable shall be
rupees two hundred in respect of an application for import licence by a small
scale actual user or a registered exporter, for the import of raw materials,
components and spares where the value of the goods specified in the application
does not exceed rupees two lakhs.