DGFT Fixes New SIONs A-3687 to A-3689 for Chemical and Allied Products: What Exporters Must Recheck Before Filing Advance Authorisation

Public Notice No. 14/2025-26 dated 08 July 2025 fixes three new Standard Input Output Norms under the Chemical and Allied Product group, covering Azithromycin Dihydrate, Aldehyde C10, and a third chemical product. Exporters can now file Advance Authorisation against pre-fixed norms, but must verify input descriptions and quantities against the primary instrument.

What actually changed

Public Notice No. 14/2025-26 dated 08 July 2025 fixes three new Standard Input Output Norms under the Chemical and Allied Product group.

• SION A-3687 covers Azithromycin Dihydrate at 0.9434 kg of specified input per 1 kg of export product.
• A-3688 and A-3689 cover Aldehyde C10 (Capric Aldehyde) and a third chemical product; the draft does not reproduce their input descriptions or quantities, so exporters must verify those against the primary instrument.

The practical shift is that exporters of these products can now file Advance Authorisation applications against a pre-fixed norm instead of seeking ad hoc ratification through the Norms Committee. That shortens approval timelines. It also freezes the permissible input-output ratio, which creates a compliance problem for anyone whose actual batch consumption runs higher than the notified norm.

Why it matters

A fixed SION becomes the benchmark against which Regional Authorities test reasonableness at the time of Export Obligation Discharge. The Norms Committee discipline, as recorded in the corpus, is that the RA must issue the AA on the lesser of the Committee-ratified wastage or the wastage claimed in the application. Once a SION exists, that lesser-of rule means the SION quantity operates as the ceiling unless the exporter can justify a deviation.

The affected class is broader than fresh applicants.

• Exporters with pending AA applications for these products, where the norm was not yet ratified, may find the RA applying the new SION.
• Exporters holding an existing AA under an ad hoc or self-declared norm that now conflicts with the fixed SION may face queries at EODC stage if actual import consumption exceeded what the new SION would have permitted.

What this does not change

The Norms Committee route is not closed merely because a SION now exists. An exporter whose actual consumption exceeds the notified norm can still seek an ad hoc norm, but the Committee will expect a technical justification for deviating from a fixed standard, and the RA will apply the lesser-of rule at issuance.

The new SIONs do not automatically extend to Duty Free Import Authorisation. Under the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, SIONs generally apply to both AA and DFIA, but the corpus does not confirm this for A-3687 to A-3689. Exporters should confirm with the concerned Regional Authority before filing a DFIA application on these norms.

What to do this week

• Verify the exact export product description, input item, and quantity for A-3688 and A-3689 against Public Notice No. 14/2025-26. The corpus confirms A-3687 but does not reproduce the full table for the other two.
• Reconcile the SION quantity against your last twelve months of batch production records for each of the three products.
• Where actual consumption is within the SION quantity, file on the SION and keep the reconciliation for the EODC stage. Where it exceeds the SION, assess whether the excess can be absorbed through duty-paid procurement or whether an ad hoc norm application remains viable.
• For pending AA applications filed before 08 July 2025, check whether the claimed norm is higher than the new SION. If so, prepare a technical justification or consider withdrawing and refiling.
• Review shipping bill declarations for Drawback and RoDTEP interaction. Inputs imported duty-free under AA are not eligible for Drawback, and RoDTEP claims must not overlap with Drawback on the same inputs.

Primary sources

Public Notice No. 14/2025-26 dated 08 July 2025, issued under paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023. The broader framework includes Chapter 4 of the FTP 2023, the Handbook of Procedures 2023, and the Norms Committee mechanism. The corpus also references later Public Notices No. 6/2026-27 and No. 14/2026-27 notifying further SIONs for pharmaceutical and chemical products.

Confidence

Verified: Public Notice No. 14/2025-26 dated 08 July 2025 fixes SIONs A-3687, A-3688 and A-3689 under Chemical and Allied Products. SION A-3687 covers Azithromycin Dihydrate at 0.9434 kg input per 1 kg export.

Interpretation: The lesser-of rule from the Norms Committee minutes means the new SION becomes the practical ceiling for AA issuance and EODC reasonableness testing.

Needs confirmation: Exact input descriptions and quantities for A-3688 and A-3689, whether the SIONs carry wastage or by-product recovery notes, whether they apply to pending applications filed before 08 July 2025, and whether they extend to DFIA.

DGFT SION fixation, Advance Authorisation norms, chemical export compliance, EODC risk, Norms Committee ratification.