Section 19 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 19 lets the Central Government make rules by notification to carry out the Act, and lists in sub-section (2) the matters on which rules may be made: special licences, fees, classes of goods, licence conditions, suspension and cancellation, search and seizure, settlement, confiscation, redemption charges and, since 2010, quantitative restrictions. Sub-section (3) requires every rule and Order to be laid before Parliament. The 2010 Amendment Act changed most clauses of sub-section (2) and added clause (ea). This article explains section 19 as per the Act as enacted in 1992 read with the 2010 Amendment Act, and shows which subject in the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993 matches which clause.
Section 19(1) is a general power: the Central Government may make rules "for carrying out the provisions of this Act". Section 19(2) lists matters "in particular", clauses (a) to (j), with (ea) added in 2010 for quantitative restrictions. Section 19(3) requires every rule and Order to be laid before Parliament for thirty days; Parliament can modify or annul it, without prejudice to what was done earlier. The 1993 Rules were made "in exercise of the powers conferred by section 19".
Section 19(1): the general power
"The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act." The power is general, and sub-section (2) says expressly that the list that follows is "without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power". If you are unsure whether a requirement placed on you goes beyond what section 19 allows, a legal consultation can help you check.
The Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993 (G.S.R. 791(E), 30 December 1993) and the Amendment Rules of 2015 (G.S.R. 300(E), 17 April 2015) say they are made "in exercise of the powers conferred by section 19". They cite section 19 as a whole and name no clause, so matching a rule to a clause, as the table below does, is done by subject.
Section 19(2): the matters, clause by clause
Section 19(2) says rules may provide for "all or any of the following matters". The table gives each clause as it reads after the 2010 changes, in short form, and the subject of the Rules that deals with the same subject. "Licence" in the clauses amended in 2010 now reads "licence, certificate, scrip or any instrument bestowing financial or fiscal benefits".
| Clause | Matter on which rules may be made | Section referred to | Rule on the same subject (by subject) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) | Manner and conditions for issue of a special licence | 8(2) | Rule 3 (grant of special licence) |
| (b) | Exceptions, persons or classes for whom fees may be levied; manner of granting or renewing a licence, certificate, scrip or instrument | 9(1) | Rule 5 (fee, exemptions, refund) |
| (c) | Class or classes of goods (including goods connected with service or technology) for which a licence, certificate, scrip or instrument may be granted | 9(2) | Rules 4 and 7 (application; refusal) touch this subject |
| (d) | Form, terms, conditions and restrictions for a licence, certificate, scrip or instrument | 9(3) | Rule 6 (conditions of licence) |
| (e) | Conditions for suspension or cancellation of a licence, certificate, scrip or instrument | 9(4) | Rules 9 and 10 (suspension; cancellation) |
| (ea) | How goods subject to quantitative restrictions may be identified and how causes of serious injury or threat may be determined | 9A(3) | Safeguard Measures (Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012 |
| (f) | Premises, goods (including goods connected with service or technology), documents, things and conveyances for entry, search, inspection and seizure, with requirements and conditions | 10 (see the note below) | Rule 15 (entry, search, inspection, seizure) |
| (g) | Class or classes of cases and manner for determining an amount by way of settlement | 11(4) | Rule 16 (settlement) |
| (h) | Requirements and conditions for confiscation of goods and conveyances | 11(8) | Rule 17 (confiscation) |
| (i) | Manner and conditions for release on payment of redemption charges | 11(9) | Rule 18 (redemption) |
| (j) | Any other matter to be, or that may be, prescribed, or on which provision may be made by rules | Any | The remaining rules fit here if not under an earlier clause: rules 8, 11, 12, 13 and 14 |
The last column is a reading by subject; the Act does not tie rules to clauses.
Notes on particular clauses
Clauses (a) to (e), the licence clauses. In 2010 the word "licence" in clauses (b), (d) and (e) was replaced by the longer phrase, and clause (c) was substituted in full. See our articles on section 9 and on the Importer-exporter Code and the licence definition in section 2.
Clause (ea). It was inserted in 2010 and reads, as printed, "the matter in which goods the import of which shall be subject to quantitative restrictions, may be identified and the manner in which the causes of serious injury or causes of threat of serious injury in relation to such goods may be determined under sub-section (3) of section 9A". The printed word "matter" is evidently meant to be "manner"; this is a printing slip in the Amendment Act, flagged here and not corrected in the quotation. The Safeguard Measures (Quantitative Restrictions) Rules, 2012 (G.S.R. 381(E), 24 May 2012) say they are made in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 9A. See our article on section 9A.
Clause (f). The clause refers to powers of entry, search, inspection and seizure "under sub-section (1) of section 10". Section 10 was substituted in sub-section (1) in 2010. See section 10.
Clauses (g), (h) and (i). These clauses show how the 2010 Act re-numbered the references. In 1992 they pointed to sub-sections (3), (5) and (6) of section 11. Section 11 was substituted in full in 2010 and the clauses now point to sub-sections (4), (8) and (9). Clause (g) as amended reads "sub-section (4) of the section 11" (a printing slip, "the section"). In the 1992 text clause (h) read "goods and conveyances"; the 2010 clause adds "(including the goods connected with the service or technology)". See our articles on section 11(1) to (4) and section 11(5) to (9).
Section 19(3): laying before Parliament
"Every rule and every Order made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions". If, before the expiry of the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or the Order, or both agree that it should not be made, it "shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or the Order."
Three points:
- It covers every rule and every Order, so an Order under section 3 is also laid before Parliament.
- The period is thirty days in total, in one session or more.
- Modification or annulment does not undo what was done before it. The sources consulted do not say when each rule was laid.
What this means in practice
A rule can be tested against the Act: it has to fit within section 19(1) or one of the clauses of section 19(2). The Foreign Trade Policy is a separate instrument, announced under section 5, while rules are made under section 19. When a condition is said to come from "the Rules", check whether it appears in the Rules as amended, whether it fits a clause of section 19(2) or the general power, and whether the Policy contains the same condition.
Need help tracing a rule or condition to its source?
If you face a condition or a requirement and are not sure whether it comes from the Act, the Rules, the Policy or the Handbook, our legal consultation service can help you find the source and check whether it is open to question. Later amendments to the Act, the Rules and the Policy should be checked.
Key takeaways
- Section 19(1) gives the Central Government a general power to make rules by notification for carrying out the Act.
- Section 19(2) lists matters in clauses (a) to (j); clause (ea), added in 2010, covers quantitative restrictions under section 9A(3).
- The 2010 Act widened clauses (b) to (e) to cover certificates, scrips and instruments, and re-pointed clauses (g), (h) and (i) to sub-sections (4), (8) and (9) of section 11.
- Rules and Orders must be laid before Parliament for a total of thirty days; modification or annulment does not undo earlier acts.
- The 1993 Rules and the 2015 Amendment Rules cite section 19 as a whole, not a clause.
Read next
- Rules 1 and 2 of the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993: short title and definitions
- Section 9A: quantitative restrictions on imports
- Section 5: the Foreign Trade Policy
- FTP 2023: legal framework and FTP versus HBP
Disclaimer: Based on the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 as enacted read with the Amendment Act of 2010, and on the Foreign Trade (Regulation) Rules, 1993 as notified read with the Amendment Rules of 2015, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendments, the current Foreign Trade Policy and the Handbook of Procedures should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.