Exports and Imports shall be free, except to the extent they are regulated by the provisions of this Policy or any other law for the time being in force. The itemwise export and import policy shall be, as stated in columns 3 to 5 of the book, titled "ITC(HS) Classifications of Export and Imports items" published and notified by the Director General of Foreign Trade and as amended from time to time.

For the purpose of claiming any benefit under the Policy, it shall be obligatory to mention 8 digit ITC (HS) Code invariably in the shipping bill with effect from 1st October,2000. Wherever a specific code entry does not appear at the 8 digit level, the 8 digit of "others" in that category will be mentioned.

(This Paragraph has been added vide Notification No.34(RE-00)/1997-2002 dated 11/09/2000)