Procedure for Advance Authorisation Basis Notified Norms or Ad Hoc Norms Fixed by the Norms Committee

Deepak Purohit

Deepak Purohit

Published on: Mar 24, 2026

Megha Makharia

Updated on: Mar 24, 2026

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Introduction

The Advance Authorization (AA) Scheme is a pivotal duty exemption measure under India’s Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, designed to make Indian exports globally competitive. Its primary status is to grant Duty Exemption covering Basic Customs Duty, IGST, Compensation Cess, and other duties on the import or domestic procurement of inputs that are physically incorporated into the export product, including normal wastage. The scheme is available to both Manufacturer Exporters and Merchant Exporters tied to a Supporting Manufacturer. This facility ensures exporters can access raw materials and intermediates duty-free, thereby neutralizing the tax incidence on inputs used for exports.

This Authorization is issued for inputs, based on following four mechanisms:

• As per Standard Input Output Norms (SION) notified by authority
• On the basis of Self-Declaration
• Applicant specific fixation of norms by the Norms Committee,
• On the basis of Self-Ratification Scheme.

While the scheme is generally open, some categories of products have specific obligations as under:

• Duty-free import of Spices, restricted only for value-addition processes (e.g., crushing, not re-packing)
• A strict pre-import and actual user condition, imposed for fabrics under the Special AA for Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories, etc.

Applicable Provisions

1. Para 4.03 and 4.06 of Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), 2023
2. Para 4.06, 4.10, 4.12(vi), 4.14(i), 4.15, 4.22, 4.39(a), 4.40(a) of Handbook of Procedures (HBP), 2023.

Mandatory Requirements

1. Valid Importer-Exporter Code (IEC)
2. Application in ANF-4B to be submitted to concerned Norms Committee (NC), for fixation of SION/Ad hoc norms
3. Provide along with norms fixation application:
   • Production and consumption data etc. for the past 3 years, for fixation of SION
   • Undertaking to abide by norms fixed by Norms Committee.

Procedure to be Followed (Step-By-Step)

1. Obtain Importer-Exporter Code (IEC)
   Importer/ Exporter shall obtain valid Importer-Exporter Code (IEC), in case they do not already possess the same.

   (Please refer Article on Import-Exporter Code – https://www.lawrbit.com/article/importer-exporter-code/, for detailed information)

2. Application for Fixation of Ad-hoc Norms (Form ANF 4B)
   In cases where norms have not been notified or the applicant wants to get the ad-hoc norms fixed before making an application for the actual Authorization, it shall submit Form ANF 4B online via the DGFT website, along with the following documents:
   • Production and Consumption data of the manufacturer/ supporting manufacturer, of the preceding 3 financial years, as given in the column of ‘Past Year Production/consumption Data Details’, duly certified by the Chartered accountant/ Cost Accountant / Jurisdictional Excise Authority
   • Applicable Technical details, as per Appendix-4E
   • A Certificate from a Chartered Engineer, certifying the import requirements of raw materials, as per Appendix-4K.

   Note*

   • Application must be directed to the relevant Norms Committee at DGFT HQ, determined by the ITC HS Chapters of the export product (e.g., NC-1 for Engineering, NC-3 for Chemicals/Pharma, etc.)
   • Any ad-hoc norm fixed is generally valid for only one authorization. Repeat authorizations require a specific validity extension from the NC.
   • Items are not included in the “Excluded Items” list as provided under 4.11 of FTP (e.g., certain edible oils, cereals, and high-duty spices) unless specifically allowed.
3. Scrutiny by Norms Committee (NC)
   • Concerned Norms Committee scrutinizes the application and technical data
   • Ad-hoc norms may also be decided in a rule-based IT environment. However, cases flagged by the Risk Management System (RMS) are referred to the NC for manual validation
   • Norms Committee may seek data from the Department of Revenue or conduct a physical audit of the manufacturing premises to verify the claimed consumption ratios.

   Note*

   • Norms ratified by any NC, in the O/o DGFT, on or after 01.04.2023, w.r.t any AA obtained, under paragraph 4.07, shall be valid for a period of 3 years from the date of ratification
   • Norms ratified by any NC, on or after 01.04.2015, in respect of any AA obtained, under paragraph 4.07 of HBP, 2015-2020 shall also be valid further upto 31.03.2026.
4. Application for Obtaining the Advance Authorisation (Form ANF 4A)
   Once the Ad-hoc Norm is fixed or while the fixation is in progress:
   • Online application in Form ANF 4A, is submitted, to the Regional Authority (RA)
   • The NC Meeting date or File Number, under which the Ad-hoc norms were approved/ submitted, is to be quoted.
5. Issuance and Validity
   • RA issues the Authorization, specifying the quantities as per the Ad-hoc norm fixed, by the NC
   • Authorization shall be valid for 12 months from the date of issue of Authorisation for import and 18 months from the date of issue of Authorisation for fulfilment of export obligation under AA
   • Ad-hoc norms fixed for one applicant are valid only for that specific Authorization unless the NC specifies an extended validity (not exceeding 2 years).
6. Procurement of Inputs and Closure of Advance Authorization
   • The holder must execute the Import and Procurement of Inputs duty-free as permitted. Alternatively, inputs can be procured domestically against an Invalidation Letter or an Advance Release Order (ARO) issued by the RA.
   • For the Closure of Advance Authorisation, the AA holder is required to submit an online application in Form ANF 4F via the official DGFT website, to obtain the Export Obligation Discharge Certificate (EODC) from the RA.