Mumbai: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the ministry of commerce & industry, has announced amendments to the Standard Input Output Norms (SION) for the export of erythromycin stearate tablets. The changes were detailed in a Public Notice issued by Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary (Part-I, Section-I).
Erythromycin is used to prevent and treat infections in different parts of the body, including respiratory tract infections, skin infections, diphtheria, intestinal amebiasis, acute pelvic inflammatory disease, Legionnaires disease, pertussis, and syphilis.
SION in short is standard norms which define the amount of input/inputs required to manufacture a unit of output for export purpose. SION is notified by DGFT in the Handbook (Vol.2), and is approved by its boards of directors. An application for modification of existing SION norms may be filed by manufacturer exporter and merchant-exporter.
The DGFT from time to time issues notifications for fixation or addition of SION for different export products. Fixation of SION norms facilitate issues of Advance License to the exporters of the items without any need for referring the same to the Headquarter office of DGFT on repeat basis.
The amendment specifies revised input-output norms for erythromycin stearate tablets of 250 mg. According to the new norms, each tablet containing erythromycin stearate equivalent to 250 mg of erythromycin will require 334 mg of erythromycin stearate as an import item. Additionally, norms for other variants of the export product may be calculated on a pro-rata basis.
Speaking on the development, DGFT Santosh Kumar Sarangi stated, “The amendment in SION A-222 will streamline export norms, ensuring better compliance and efficiency in trade. This modification aligns with the evolving needs of the pharmaceutical industry and aims to facilitate smoother trade operations for exporters.”
The amendment has come into immediate effect and is expected to benefit pharmaceutical exporters by providing clearer guidelines on input requirements for erythromycin stearate tablets. The notice has been issued under the authority granted by paragraphs 1.03 and 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) -2023, as amended periodically.
Exporters and stakeholders in the pharmaceutical sector are encouraged to review the updated norms and align their operations accordingly. Queries regarding the amendment can be directed to the DGFT via email at dgft@nic.in.
