Advance Authorisation - Regularisation
Advance Authorisation - Regularisation has seen two important changes in recent years: a special one-time Amnesty Scheme for old export obligation (EO) defaults and a shift to a fully online regularisation and closure process through the DGFT portal. These changes apply to all categories of licence holders—manufacturer exporters, merchant exporters, and even importers who brought in machinery or other goods duty-free under Advance Authorisation for export production. Together, these updates are designed to help such exporters clean up past non-compliance and manage future cases more efficiently.
One-time Amnesty Scheme for EO defaults
DGFT introduced a one-time Amnesty Scheme through Public Notice No. 02/2023 and related Customs Notification No. 32/2023 Customs to settle long-pending export obligation defaults under Advance Authorisation and EPCG. Under this window, defaulting manufacturers, merchants, and other exporters could regularise cases by paying customs duty on the unfulfilled portion of EO, along with interest capped at a defined ceiling (up to 100% of duty where interest applied), while DGFT penalties on such defaults were waived. The scheme covered bona fide defaults—cases where market conditions, business issues, or misunderstandings led to non fulfilment—rather than fraud or deliberate misuse.
Although time-bound, this Amnesty Scheme was significant for businesses carrying old, unresolved Advance Authorisation licences, because it allowed them to obtain EODC and clear their records with both DGFT and Customs. Many exporters and importers who were stuck due to legacy non-compliance, show cause notices, or fear of heavy penalties used the scheme to pay a defined duty plus interest amount and close out their obligations on the duty-free goods or capital machinery they had imported. Even where the formal amnesty window has closed, its structure shows the policy direction: DGFT is prepared to offer structured, rule-based settlement options instead of leaving exporters with perpetual default status.
Online regularisation and closure via the DGFT portal
Alongside the amnesty, DGFT has moved the regularisation and closure of Advance Authorisation onto its new online platform. The “Advance Authorisation / DFIA” module now includes a dedicated service for “Closure / Redemption / Bond Waiver”, under which manufacturers, merchants, and other exporters file EODC applications and request surrender or regularisation fully online. Exporters upload import and export statements for the relevant goods, explain any shortfall, and attach challans for customs duty and interest where regularisation is needed under para 4.28 of the Handbook of Procedures.
Trade Notices from DGFT also clarify that EODCs for Advance Authorisation and EPCG are to be issued through the portal, with Regional Authorities examining documents and raising any deficiency as an online query rather than through physical letters. This means exporters and importers can track the status of their regularisation and EODC applications in one place, respond quickly to RA queries, and maintain a complete digital trail of how a default on duty-free imports of inputs or machinery was settled.
What this means for exporters and importers
For manufacturers, merchant exporters, and other businesses, the combined effect of these updates is a more practical path to clean compliance. The Amnesty Scheme offered a time-limited chance to settle old defaults at a predictable cost, while the ongoing portal-based system makes it easier to regularise new issues promptly by paying proportionate duty and interest and then obtaining EODC. Exporters who actively use the online closure module, keep accurate import-export data for all goods, and address shortfalls early are far less likely to face prolonged disputes, penalties, or restrictions on future licences.
If your business still has unresolved Advance Authorisation cases—whether for imported raw materials, components, or capital machinery—it is sensible to review each licence, compute any potential shortfall, and use the current DGFT online framework to regularise and close them before they escalate into enforcement or litigation.