Bharti Airtel said on Friday it has been removed from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade’s (DGFT) ‘Denied Entry List' (DEL).

The DGFT, under the Commerce Ministry, removed the telecom major from the list after reviewing the relevant details and documents submitted by it, according to the company’s official media statement.

Bharti Airtel had been placed on the DEL, referred to as the ‘black-list’ after the company failed to meet the export obligations under the Export Promotion Capital Goods scheme.

EPCG scheme provisions

The EPCG scheme is meant to enable an importer (in an export-oriented business) to import capital goods at zero rates of customs duty. The scheme is subject to an export value equivalent of six times the duty saved on the import of such capital goods, within six years from the date of issuance of the authorisation, according to Cleartax.in. 

The DEL is drawn under the provisions of Rule 7 of Foreign Trade(Regulation) Rules, 1993. Companies placed under it can have their import licence revoked for non-compliance.

The company on Wednesday had said that it was in talks with the DGFT for an “expeditious closure” of the matter and to get its name removed from the list.

In its regulatory filings on Wednesday, Airtel had also mentioned that the matter did not limit the company from undertaking future imports and exports. It did not requirea licence for any operational purposes. It had not applied for any such licence, the company had said in the filings, according to the ET report.

Earlier this month, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had approved a 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) limit for Bharti Airtel. Earlier, the limit was 49 per cent, according to previous reports.

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