INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Alina Arora, Samarth Gupta and Parth Singh, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
• Category 0 – nuclear materials; • Category 1 – toxic chemicals and precursors; • Category 2 – micro-organisms and toxins; • Category 3 – materials and related equipment; • Category 4 – nuclear-related equipment; • Category 5 – aerospace systems and missile-relat - ed items; • Category 6 – munitions list; • Category 7 – advanced semiconductors, quantum technologies and cryogenic systems (added in 2025); and • Category 8 – electronics, computers, telecommuni - cations and information security items. Category 6 corresponds to the Wassenaar Arrange - ment Munitions List and the remaining categories track the Wassenaar dual-use, Missile Technology Control Regime, Australia Group and Nuclear Suppli - ers Group lists. The SCOMET list is generally updated annually. 3.3 Licence Requirements Export of any SCOMET item requires prior authori - sation from the concerned licensing authority, which is generally granted on a transaction basis against end-user documentation. For Category 6 items, the DDP issues authorisations for defined purposes – ie, export for military end use, export for civil end use, participation in exhibitions/tenders, re-export after repair, return to the OEM, and testing/maintenance. General authorisations under Chapter 10 of the HBP dispense with transaction-specific authorisations in defined situations – ie, repeat orders, stock and sale arrangements, export after repair, intra-company transfers (multiple exports under a global authorisa - tion for intra-company transfers (GAICT) or single exports), specified telecommunications and informa - tion security items, specified chemicals, and certain drones. As regards munitions items, the DDP issues the open general export licence (OGEL) to allow export of specified munitions list items to approved destina - tions (excluding UN-sanctioned or embargoed desti - nations and an unpublished list of sensitive countries) without needing individual permits for each shipment.
The OGEL is a single framework, valid for three years, covering major platforms and equipment, parts and components, and intra-company transfers of technol - ogy. The OGEL may be aligned to the term of a long- term contract with a foreign OEM and operates on one-time registration with quarterly reporting. 3.4 Licence Application Process Applications are made online – ie, on the DGFT’s por - tal for dual-use items and on DDP’s defence export portal for munitions items. Applications are typically accompanied by: • the end-user certificate in prescribed format (EUC); • technical specifications of the items; • the purchase order/contract; • profiles of the parties; • a description of company operations; • an internal compliance programme (ICP) for han - dling defence and dual-use goods (for the OGEL and GAICT); with • additional documentation as may be queried dur - ing processing. The IMWG’s processing timelines vary with sensi - tivity of the items and destination and usually take at least six to eight weeks. For munitions items, the DDP’s published processing time is two to four weeks, depending on whether stakeholder consultation is required. 3.5 Criteria for Granting or Refusing Licences Applications are assessed against national security and non-proliferation criteria rather than purely trade considerations. The FTP requires the licensing author - ity to consider, inter alia: • credentials of the end user; • credibility of the stated end use; • integrity of the supply chain; • risk of diversion to weapons of mass destruction programmes or non-state actors; • export control system of the recipient country; • nature of service and use of technology involved in the export; and • India’s international obligations and bilateral arrangements.
90 D EFENCE CON TRACTS 2 026
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook