Last updated: 23 July 2026 | Reviewed by: Pratham Agarwal, Rasp International | Policy basis: FTP 2023, Chapter 4 and HBP 2023, Chapter 4
The Advance Authorisation Scheme lets an Indian exporter import the inputs that physically go into an export product without paying customs duty on them. Not a refund. Not a rebate claimed months later. The duty is never charged in the first place, provided the finished goods are exported within the export obligation period.
For a manufacturer exporter working on thin margins against Chinese or Vietnamese competition, this is usually the single largest cost lever available. Basic Customs Duty, IGST and Compensation Cess on imported inputs disappear from the landed cost. On an input-heavy product, that is often the difference between a quotable price and a lost enquiry.
It is also the DGFT scheme where exporters get into the most trouble. The benefit arrives at the start and the obligation is settled at the end, sometimes two years later, and the gap between those two points is where files go wrong. This page covers how the scheme actually works, what the current rules are as of July 2026, and where the failure points sit.
Policy Change Log: Advance Authorisation
Every notification, public notice and trade notice affecting Advance Authorisation, newest first. Each entry links to the issuing authority. This table is updated as changes are published.
| Date | Instrument | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 May 2026 | Public Notice No. 11/2026-27 | Gold imports under Advance Authorisation capped at 100 kg. Five new notes inserted under SIONs M-1 to M-8 for the Gems and Jewellery product group. Physical inspection of manufacturing facilities mandated for first-time applicants. Subsequent authorisations granted only after at least 50% of export obligation under previous authorisations is fulfilled. Fortnightly performance reports certified by a Chartered Accountant required from holders, with monthly consolidated reporting by Regional Authorities to DGFT HQ. | DGFT |
| 5 May 2026 | Public Notice No. 07/2026-27 | Validity of ad-hoc norms extended. Norms ratified by the Norms Committee on or after 1 April 2015 were valid until 31 March 2026. They can now be used for Advance Authorisation applications under Para 4.07 of HBP 2023 until 31 March 2028. Amendment made under Para 4.12(vi) of HBP 2023. | DGFT |
| 1 April 2026 | Trade Notice No. 34/2026-27 | Special drive for expedited issuance of Export Obligation Discharge Certificates extended from 1 April 2026 to 31 May 2026. The preceding drive during March 2026 resulted in 11,791 EODCs issued, of which 7,518 were under Advance Authorisation and 4,273 under EPCG. Regional Authorities directed to clear pendency age-wise, oldest cases first. | DGFT |
| 6 March 2026 | Public Notice No. 51/2025-26 | Automatic extension of the export obligation period, and of block-wise EO fulfilment periods, to 31 August 2026 for Advance Authorisations and EPCG Authorisations where the EO period was expiring between 1 March 2026 and 31 May 2026. Granted automatically. No separate application and no composition fee required. Cited reason: geopolitical developments affecting shipping routes, logistics corridors and international supply chains. | DGFT / PIB |
| 28 August 2025 | Notification No. 28/2025-26 | Para 2.03(A)(i)(g) of FTP 2023 amended. The 180-day export obligation restriction on inputs subject to mandatory Quality Control Orders, particularly chemical products notified by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, was removed. Such imports now fall under Para 4.40 of HBP, generally allowing up to 18 months. | DGFT |
What the Advance Authorisation Scheme Actually Exempts
Advance Authorisation is a duty exemption scheme under Chapter 4 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023. It covers inputs that are physically incorporated into the export product, and that is the phrase to hold onto, because it decides most eligibility questions.
Beyond the raw material itself, the scheme also allows duty-free import of packaging material, and of fuel, oil and catalyst consumed or utilised in the production process. Normal manufacturing wastage is built into the permitted quantity through the applicable norms.
Duties exempted include Basic Customs Duty, IGST and Compensation Cess, along with other applicable duties on the import or domestic procurement of qualifying inputs.
Who can hold one: a manufacturer exporter, or a merchant exporter tied to a supporting manufacturer. One exception worth noting, pharmaceutical products manufactured through a Non-Infringing process are issued to manufacturer exporters only.
What it can be issued against: physical exports including supplies to SEZ, intermediate supply, and supply of stores on board a foreign-going vessel or aircraft where specific Standard Input Output Norms exist for the items supplied.
What is the minimum value addition required under Advance Authorisation?
The minimum value addition is 15%. Export products where value addition may be lower than 15% are listed in Appendix 4D. For tea, the minimum value addition is 50%.
Value addition is not a formality. It is the test that decides whether your file survives closure. If your export FOB against the CIF value of duty-free imports does not clear the threshold, the shortfall converts into duty plus interest at redemption, regardless of whether you shipped on time.
The Four Routes to an Authorisation
An Advance Authorisation is issued on one of four bases. Choosing the wrong one is the most common structural error in a first application, and it is expensive to correct later because the route determines your closure risk.
1. Standard Input Output Norms (SION)
SION are input-output ratios notified by DGFT for specific export products, published in the Handbook of Procedures and covering categories including chemicals, electronics, engineering, food products, handicrafts, leather, plastics, sports goods and textiles.
If a SION covers your product, you apply against its serial number and the permitted import quantity follows automatically. This is the fastest and lowest-risk route. Nothing is pending, nothing awaits ratification, and closure is arithmetic rather than judgement.
Check for an applicable SION before anything else. Exporters routinely go down the self-declaration path without checking, and inherit ratification risk they never needed.
2. Self-Declaration under Para 4.07 of HBP (ad-hoc norms)
Where no SION has been notified for your product, or where you intend to use additional inputs not listed in the existing SION, you apply on a self-declared basis. The Regional Authority issues the authorisation on a provisional basis and forwards the case to the relevant Norms Committee at DGFT headquarters for final fixation.
This is where risk enters the file. The authorisation is live and you can import against it, but the norms are not yet ratified. If the Norms Committee does not accept the declared norms, the applicant pays customs duty plus interest on the excess quantity imported. You have already landed the material and possibly already shipped by the time that decision arrives.
For pharmaceutical products manufactured through a Non-Infringing process, this route additionally requires a Chartered Engineer (Chemical) certificate as per Appendix 4L, following Para 4.18 of the Handbook of Procedures.
Current position on ad-hoc norms validity: Public Notice No. 07/2026-27 dated 5 May 2026 extended the usable life of ad-hoc norms ratified on or after 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2028. Norms Committee decisions are published on the DGFT website, and previously ratified norms can be used on a repeat basis. Before filing a fresh self-declaration, check whether a ratified ad-hoc norm already covers your product. A repeat application against an existing ratified norm carries materially less risk than a fresh declaration.
3. Applicant-specific prior fixation by the Norms Committee
Rather than importing against unratified norms, you apply to the Norms Committee first and wait for fixation. Slower to start, and materially safer, because the ratification risk is resolved before any duty-free material lands.
The trade-off is time, and time here is a live variable. See the pendency section below.
4. Self-Ratification Scheme
Available only to exporters holding an Authorised Economic Operator certificate under the Common Accreditation Programme. Where no SION or valid ad-hoc norm exists, or where a SION exists but the exporter needs additional inputs, the AEO holder declares norms and the Regional Authority issues the authorisation without Norms Committee ratification.
This is the strongest position an exporter can hold under the scheme, and it is one of the underrated arguments for pursuing AEO certification. It converts the highest-risk route into a low-risk one permanently.
Norms Committee Pendency: The Constraint Nobody Prices In
If your file depends on norms fixation or ratification, the Norms Committee queue is your real timeline, not the portal’s stated processing time. The government has published enough data in 2026 to see the shape of it clearly.
Seven Norms Committees operate under DGFT, staffed by technical authorities and domain experts drawn from relevant ministries and departments. As of early February 2026, only twelve technical members were associated with the Committees, five of them serving government officers holding overlapping responsibilities. Pendency was rising as a direct result.
The response, reported by PIB in April 2026, included detailed operational guidelines for uniform functioning, fixed fortnightly meetings, prioritisation of pending cases, timeline monitoring, a special disposal drive taking cases in chronological order, and the nomination of ten additional technical members, taking total strength from twelve to twenty-two.
The measurable outcome: between January 2026 and 7 April 2026, the Committees held 38 meetings, took up 3,925 cases, and disposed of 1,770.
Read that ratio honestly. Roughly 45% of cases taken up in that window were disposed of. Capacity nearly doubled and the disposal rate still sat below half of intake. The direction is correct and the constraint has not cleared.
The operational conclusion for an exporter planning a 2026-27 filing: if a SION route exists, take it. If it does not, assume norms fixation is the long pole in your timeline and build the export schedule around it rather than assuming it will resolve quietly in the background.
Export Obligation: Period, Extension and the 2026 Position
The export obligation is the commitment to export the resultant product within a defined window. For general Advance Authorisations, meaning those not covered by Appendix 4J, not restricted, and not deemed export or project supplies, the standard export obligation period is 18 months from the date of issue of the authorisation.
Note what the clock runs from. For Advance Authorisation the period generally starts from the authorisation issue date, not from the date you actually import. Exporters who assume otherwise lose months before the first consignment lands.
How can the export obligation period be extended?
For general licences, two extensions of six months each may be applied for through the DGFT Regional Office. Beyond those two, the Regional Office cannot grant further extension and the case must go to the Policy Relaxation Committee in New Delhi.
Apply before expiry. An extension sought after the period has lapsed is a materially weaker case than one sought before, and the difference in outcome is real.
The March 2026 automatic extension
Public Notice No. 51/2025-26 dated 6 March 2026 granted automatic extension to 31 August 2026 of the export obligation period, and of block-wise EO fulfilment periods, for Advance Authorisations and EPCG Authorisations where the EO period was expiring between 1 March 2026 and 31 May 2026.
Two details that matter operationally. First, the extension is automatic. No separate application, no composition fee. Second, Regional Authorities verify EO compliance at the point of EODC issuance, closure or regularisation, and Customs was informed through the same Public Notice so that exports are permitted on the revised timeline. If your authorisation falls in that window, the extension applies without you doing anything, but the verification still happens at closure.
Appendix 4J and shortened periods
Appendix 4J of the Handbook of Procedures lists import items for which the export obligation period is significantly reduced, typically covering drugs imported from unregistered sources and precious metals including gold, silver and platinum. For drugs imported from unregistered sources, the EO period is 12 months from the date of clearance of each import consignment.
Where a pre-import condition applies, the input must be imported before export production commences. Fabrics under the Special Advance Authorisation for articles of apparel and clothing accessories carry a strict pre-import and actual user condition.
If your product touches Appendix 4J, verify your specific EO period against the appendix directly. The general 18-month assumption does not hold there, and the shortened windows are unforgiving.
The Actual User Condition
Material imported under Advance Authorisation is subject to the Actual User condition. The inputs can be used only by the authorisation holder. They cannot be transferred or sold, and that restriction survives fulfilment of the export obligation unless DGFT specifically permits otherwise.
This catches exporters who over-import against a norm, complete their exports, and then treat the surplus as ordinary stock. It is not ordinary stock. Customs can audit input usage against production records, and a transfer of actual-user material is a straightforward violation with duty and penalty consequences.
Practical implication: maintain input consumption records that map imported quantity to production output to export shipment. Not because it is good practice, but because that mapping is what you produce when asked.
Closure and EODC: Where Files Actually Die
The Export Obligation Discharge Certificate is DGFT’s confirmation that you met your export obligation. Until it is issued, your customs bond stays open and any bank guarantee stays blocked. An authorisation that is never closed does not quietly expire, it sits open, and non-closure can lead to placement on the Denied Entity List, which stops all future import-export benefits.
What is the process to obtain an EODC for Advance Authorisation?
Closure is applied for online in Form ANF 4F through the DGFT portal, under Services, Advance Authorisation, Closure of Advance Authorisation. EODCs are not issued manually or through legacy systems.
Two submission routes exist. The validation route is used where the complete dataset is available in the system, covering shipping bills, bills of entry, e-BRC, GST invoices and bills of export. Where some documents require physical submission, the application is still filed on the portal without validation, and the Regional Authority examines the case with correspondence conducted through the portal.
An EODC issued online is electronically transmitted to the Customs ICEGATE system in near real time, which is what enables discharge of the customs bond and release of the bank guarantee at the port.
The current EODC drive
Trade Notice No. 34/2026-27 dated 1 April 2026 extended a special EODC disposal drive to 31 May 2026. The March 2026 drive that preceded it produced 11,791 EODCs, of which 7,518 were under Advance Authorisation and 4,273 under EPCG. Regional Authorities were directed to clear pendency age-wise, prioritising older cases.
If you are sitting on an unclosed authorisation from an earlier year, that ageing bias works in your favour. Older files are being taken first. The practical move is to get the file complete and responsive rather than waiting for the Regional Authority to chase you, because deficiency letters that go unanswered push a case back down the queue.
Payment realisation and e-BRC
Shipment alone does not discharge the obligation. Payment realisation matters equally, and delays in e-BRC or e-FIRC slow down EO discharge even where the exports themselves are complete. Treat realisation tracking as part of the EO timeline, not as an accounting task that follows it.
The Four-Gate Pre-Filing Check
Most Advance Authorisation problems are decided before the application is filed, not during it. The four questions below are the ones that determine whether a file closes cleanly, and they are worth answering in writing before anything is submitted. We run this check on every authorisation we handle at Rasp International, and the pattern holds: files that clear all four gates close without incident, files that skip one produce the problem at redemption, twelve to twenty-four months later, when options have narrowed.
Gate 1: Norms
Does a notified SION cover this product? If yes, use it. If no, does a ratified ad-hoc norm already exist that can be used on a repeat basis under the extended validity to 31 March 2028? If neither, you are choosing between prior fixation, which is slower and safer, and self-declaration, which is faster and carries ratification risk. Decide deliberately. Do not default.
Gate 2: Obligation feasibility
Can this export obligation realistically be met inside the applicable period, working backwards from the authorisation issue date rather than the import date? Check whether the product touches Appendix 4J, which shortens the window substantially. Check whether a pre-import condition applies, because that reorders your entire production sequence. Model the timeline before committing, not after.
Gate 3: Input mapping and value addition
Does your input consumption map cleanly to the norm, with wastage accounted for correctly? Does the projected export FOB against import CIF clear the 15% minimum value addition, or 50% for tea, or whatever applies if your product sits in Appendix 4D? Value addition is checked at closure, not at issue. A file that clears every other test fails here if the arithmetic was never run.
Gate 4: Realisation and closure readiness
Will payment realisation land inside the obligation window, and is your document set complete enough for the validation route, meaning shipping bills, bills of entry, e-BRC, GST invoices and bills of export all reconciled? Are you positioned to file ANF 4F promptly once the obligation is met? Closure preparation begins at filing, not at the end.
A file that clears all four gates is a file that can be defended at redemption. That is the only standard that matters, because redemption is where the scheme is actually tested.
Common Failure Points
Patterns that recur across files, in rough order of how expensive they are to fix:
- Self-declaring when a SION existed. Ratification risk taken on for no reason. Check the SION list first, every time.
- Counting the EO period from the import date. The clock generally runs from authorisation issue. Months disappear before the first container moves.
- Missing the Appendix 4J shortened window. The 18-month assumption applied to a product that never had 18 months.
- Ignoring the pre-import condition. Where it applies, inputs must land before export production starts. Production sequence built the other way around cannot be retrofitted.
- Treating surplus duty-free material as free stock. Actual User condition survives EO fulfilment. Transfer is a violation.
- Applying for EO extension after expiry. Weaker case, worse outcome, and beyond two Regional Office extensions it goes to the Policy Relaxation Committee.
- Leaving the authorisation unclosed. Bond stays open, bank guarantee stays blocked, and Denied Entity List exposure builds quietly.
- Letting a deficiency letter sit. An unanswered deficiency pushes the file back in the queue, which matters more than usual while the age-wise disposal drive is running.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Advance Authorisation Scheme?
Advance Authorisation is a duty exemption scheme under Chapter 4 of India’s Foreign Trade Policy 2023. It allows duty-free import of inputs that are physically incorporated into an export product, along with packaging material and the fuel, oil and catalyst consumed in production. Basic Customs Duty, IGST and Compensation Cess are exempted, against a commitment to export the resultant product within the export obligation period.
Who is eligible for Advance Authorisation?
It can be issued to a manufacturer exporter, or to a merchant exporter tied to a supporting manufacturer. Advance Authorisation for pharmaceutical products manufactured through a Non-Infringing process is issued to manufacturer exporters only. For the annual requirement variant, the exporter needs export performance in at least the two preceding financial years, and it is not available on a self-declaration basis.
What is the export obligation period under Advance Authorisation in 2026?
For general authorisations the standard export obligation period is 18 months from the date of issue. Items listed in Appendix 4J carry shorter periods, for example 12 months from the date of clearance of each consignment for drugs imported from unregistered sources. Separately, Public Notice No. 51/2025-26 dated 6 March 2026 automatically extended the EO period to 31 August 2026 for authorisations where it was expiring between 1 March 2026 and 31 May 2026.
What happens if the export obligation is not fulfilled?
The exempted duty becomes payable along with interest. Two extensions of six months each may be sought from the DGFT Regional Office for general licences, after which further relaxation must be sought from the Policy Relaxation Committee in New Delhi. Applying before the period expires produces a materially better outcome than applying after.
What is SION and what if no SION exists for my product?
Standard Input Output Norms are notified input-output ratios for specific export products, published in the Handbook of Procedures. Where no SION covers your product, you can apply on a self-declaration basis under Para 4.07 of HBP with subsequent ratification by the Norms Committee, apply for applicant-specific prior fixation of norms, or use the Self-Ratification Scheme if you hold an AEO certificate.
Can inputs imported under Advance Authorisation be sold?
No. Imported material is subject to the Actual User condition. It can be used only by the authorisation holder and cannot be transferred or sold, and that restriction continues even after the export obligation has been fulfilled, unless DGFT specifically permits otherwise.
How long does Norms Committee ratification take?
DGFT has not published a service standard for this. What is published is throughput. Between January 2026 and 7 April 2026, the seven Norms Committees held 38 meetings, took up 3,925 cases and disposed of 1,770, following an increase in technical members from twelve to twenty-two. Plan on the assumption that norms fixation is the longest step in your timeline where a SION route is unavailable.
Is Advance Authorisation better than Duty Drawback?
They work differently and the right answer depends on your input profile and working capital position. Advance Authorisation avoids the duty outflow entirely at import, which protects cash flow, but carries an export obligation and a closure process. Duty Drawback refunds duty after export, meaning the cash goes out first and comes back later, with no forward obligation. Input-heavy manufacturers with predictable export volumes usually gain more from Advance Authorisation. Exporters with irregular volumes or uncertain schedules often find drawback simpler to live with.
Where Rasp International Fits
We handle Advance Authorisation end to end, from norms assessment through filing, EO monitoring and EODC closure, for exporters across handicrafts, textiles, leather, engineering goods, chemicals and food products. The work that matters is usually the part before filing, choosing the right route, and the part at the end, closing the file cleanly. Both are where files are won or lost.
Rasp International is an ISO 9001:2015 certified EXIM consultancy based in Agra, with family involvement in international trade since 2005 and over 500 exporters served in DGFT and customs liaison work.
If you are evaluating whether Advance Authorisation fits your product, or you have an authorisation approaching its obligation deadline, get in touch and we will look at the file.
Official Sources
- Foreign Trade Policy 2023, Chapter 4 and Handbook of Procedures 2023, Chapter 4, Directorate General of Foreign Trade
- Public Notice No. 11/2026-27 dated 14 May 2026, DGFT
- Public Notice No. 07/2026-27 dated 5 May 2026, DGFT
- Trade Notice No. 34/2026-27 dated 1 April 2026, DGFT
- Public Notice No. 51/2025-26 dated 6 March 2026, DGFT, and Press Information Bureau release dated 7 March 2026
- Notification No. 28/2025-26 dated 28 August 2025, DGFT
- DGFT Frequently Asked Questions, Advance Authorisation v1.0
- Press Information Bureau release on Norms Committee reforms, April 2026
This page summarises policy positions current as of 23 July 2026 and is provided for general guidance. Foreign trade policy changes frequently. Verify the current position against the relevant notification on dgft.gov.in before acting, or ask us to check it for your specific case.