Overview of Amnesty Scheme

The Director General of Foreign Trade (referred to as 'DGFT') has established an initiative known as the 'Amnesty Scheme,' which aims to provide a one-time settlement opportunity for addressing default situations related to export obligations among Advance Authorization holders and those participating in the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme.

Eligibility Criteria

The Amnesty Scheme encompasses the following categories:

All variants of Authorizations issued under the Advance Authorization Scheme and EPCG Scheme, which were granted under the Foreign Trade Policy from 2004 to 2009 until March 31, 2015.
Authorizations issued under the Advance Authorization Scheme and EPCG Scheme as per the Foreign Trade Policy from 2004 to 2009, with a limitation applied to those authorizations whose export obligation period was valid up to August 12, 2013.

Instances where the customs duty, along with applicable interest, has already been completely paid will not qualify for inclusion in this scheme. Additionally, cases under investigation or those that have been adjudicated due to involvement in fraud, mis-declaration, or unauthorized diversion of material and capital goods are not eligible for the scheme.

Framework of the Scheme

Eligible authorization holders have the option to regularize their default in meeting export obligations by paying the full customs duty that had been exempted, proportionate to the unmet export obligation, along with a 100% interest rate on the exempted duties. No interest is applicable on the component of additional customs duty and special additional customs duty.

For cases of partial default, authorization holders need to approach the Regional Authority of DGFT to obtain details of the default and apply for an 'Export Obligation Discharge Certificate.' The application should be accompanied by the necessary documents. Upon receiving the application, DGFT will review the case and provide information about the customs duty and interest payable. The authorization holder then has to make the payment to the Customs Authority with jurisdiction and submit proof of payment to the Regional Authority of DGFT.

In situations where the entire authorization is in default, the applicant can settle the customs duty and interest with the Customs Authority having jurisdiction and submit proof of payment to the Regional Authority.

Procedural Steps

Authorization holders interested in availing the scheme must register themselves on the website: https://dgft.gov.in.

To file for AA/EPCG discharge/closure, applicants need to access the DGFT website, go to Services → Advance Authorization/DFIA → Closure of Advance Authorization. For EPCG, the procedure is under Services EPCG Closure of EPCG.
During the online filing, applicants need to select the checkbox indicating their intent to participate in the 'Amnesty scheme for one-time settlement of default in export obligation.' Subsequently, they can proceed with the application for closure of the respective EPCG or AA authorization using the online proforma.
Applicants will provide their duty and interest calculations under the 'Redemption Matrix' tab and submit the application online. The concerned RA will assess and confirm the shortfall through an online communication upon receiving the application.
Afterward, applicants are required to make the necessary duty and interest payments to the Jurisdictional Customs Authority and furnish proof of payment online in response to the communication.
Based on evidence of payments and other prescribed documents, the relevant RA will consider granting the Export Obligation Discharge Certificate (EODC) online.

The Regional Authorities are committed to processing such applications within a span of 3 working days. Detailed guidance can be found in the Help Manual on the DGFT website under Learn → Application Help & FAQs → Advance Authorization Closure Help document or EPCG Help Document. In case of further queries, applicants can reach out to the concerned Regional Authority or utilize the provided Helpdesk channels, which include raising a service request ticket through the DGFT Helpdesk service, sending an email to dgftedi@nic.in, or calling the Toll-free DGFT Helpdesk numbers.