India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade as of Sept. 25 is permitting soya cake imports to be brought in through the ports of Ghojadanga and Kolkata, it said in a notification. The expansion to include the two ports follows an Aug. 24 change in policy for imports of crushed and d-oiled GM soya cake, which allowed them through just two other ports. That list was later expanded to include a total of five ports (see 2109080020).

India's Directorate of General Trade changed the export policy for mercury under Harmonized System Code 28054000 from free to restricted, in a Sept. 23 notification. Mercury exports will be subject to obtaining Prior Informed Consent from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the notification said. Earlier this month, an update was made to the import policy on mercury (see 2109090009).

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade will open an investigation into evasion of trade remedies for sugar products from Thailand, the state-run CustomsNews said, after receiving a petition from the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association and other domestic cane sugar refineries. The petition claims Thai producers are skirting antidumping and anti-subsidy duties on the subject merchandise by importing it through Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. The relevant AD and anti-subsidy duties were imposed on June 15.

India's betel leaf exports to the European Union are now subject to registration with the Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL), the designated Competent Authority for issuing a health certificate, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said Sept. 23. India previously required betel leaves to be registered with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

The list of eligible services and rates under the Service Exports from India (SEIS) Scheme for services rendered in fiscal year 2019-20 was updated in a Sept. 23 notification. The limit on total entitlement under SEIS has been imposed for service exports from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, and capped at Rs 5 Crore per Importer Exporter Code, the notification said. This amounts to over $678,000. Also, the facility to claim benefits under SEIS payments in Indian rupees shall not be available for services in FY 2019-20, and the deadline for submissions for SEIS benefits for FY 2019-20 is Dec. 31. Late cut provisions for the applications will not apply.

Japan updated its End User List to include 600 entities, upped by 54 from the last version, in 14 countries and regions, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a Sept. 17 post. The list gives exporters information on foreign entities “for which concern cannot be eliminated regarding involvement in activities such as the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and other items.” The list's purpose is to enhance the effectiveness of Japan's export license system for shipments to riskier end-users. While not an embargo list, it requires an exporter to apply for an export license for the end-user listed.

India will again start exporting COVID-19 vaccines for the World Health Organization's Covax initiative starting Oct. 1, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, Bloomberg reported Sept. 20. The vaccines will be exported as part of the country's vaccine donation program, Mandaviya said. No details were provided, Bloomberg said. India, home to the world's largest vaccine-production industry, halted vaccine exports in April following the surge of the delta variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The minister said India expects to have around 300 million vaccine doses ready next month.

All Importer Exporter Codes in India that have not been updated after Jan. 1, 2005, will be de-activated on Oct. 6, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said. The period until Oct. 6 is meant to give IEC holders one last chance to update their IEC codes, DGFT said (see 2108090021). De-activated IECs will have the chance for re-activation post-Oct. 6, but the holder must go to the DGFT website and update the IEC online.

India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade opened applications for allocation of Tariff Rate Quotas under the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement for the fiscal year 2021-22, the DGFT said. The applications are due by Oct. 31.

Vietnam exempted imports serving COVID-19 prevention and control purposes from import duties and value-added taxes, the state-run CustomsNews said Sept. 17. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai signed Resolution 106 Sept. 11 updating the tax policy change following a Ministry of Finance recommendation, the report said. The General Department of Vietnam Customs requests that importers contact Customs for instructions “on the quick customs clearance” of any goods subject to this change, CustomsNews said.