Export Controls in India: Book Review

With special expertise on export controls and trade remedies because of her flourishing practice at DGS Associates, where she is the co-founder, Ms. Ameeta Verma Duggal excels in representing clients before the Directorate General Trade Remedies and the Director General Foreign Trade. Who else could have been a better person to come up with a voluminous book on the export control laws of India, which continue to evolve consequent to India signing the multilateral export control regimes in the recent past?
The book – “Export Controls in India – Law and Procedures” published by Thomson Reuters and co-authored by Aditi Warrier, has a Foreword written by Union Minister for Finance and an eminent lawyer, Mr. Arun Jaitley.
Writes Mr. Jaitley: “This book is the first of its kind on the subject. It has compiled all regulations pertaining to export controls in India, making it exhaustive yet user-friendly. It will serve as a good reference point for the entire supply chain – from the exporters to the intermediaries and the ultimate end-user; the policy makers, researchers and the academics. The book is a commendable effort in bridging the gap between the existing regulatory framework and the lack of awareness in the industry of its responsibility to comply with the export controls of India and to be alert to any ‘red flags’ that are encountered during their trading activities.”
Mr. Jaitley goes on further to laud praises on the book and the authors, when he says: “The authors have also provided a model internal compliance program to assist the industry with the customization of an internal compliance program attuned to its specific requirements and suggested some best practices that may be worth considering.”
Ms. Duggal, through this book, has brought together her extensive experience in cross border transactional and conveyancing work, including review and drafting of escrow agreements, foreign collaboration agreements, joint ventures, shareholder agreements, technology license agreements and other commercial documents and presented the relevant laws and procedures related to export controls for the overall benefit of various stakeholders.
Describing the usefulness of the book, Ms. Duggal says: “The objective of this book is to provide a comprehensive and informed analysis of the applicable law, policy documents, international conventions and best practices introduced by the international regimes for benefit of the users, including governments, practitioners, exporters, importers and logistic providers seeking to deal with such dual use goods, services and technologies in defence, aerospace, chemical and biotechnology, nuclear, engineering goods, software, electronics, pharmaceuticals sectors and research institutions. The book also deals with the enforcement of these regulations both by the Custom authorities and the Directorate General Foreign Trade.”
The book has an exclusive section on procedures complete with all the applicable forms to facilitate the application process. There is also a model internal compliance program (ICP) template provided that can be customized by companies to their specific requirements. ICPs are gaining recognition in the Indian export control regulations and it is advisable for companies to put in place the ICPs as these may allow them better benefits as the export control regulations evolve in India.
In short, Ameeta Verma Duggal and Aditi Warrier need to be complimented for doing work of such importance, not just for exporters but also for policy planners and other stakeholders.