Import

Local procurement mandate for solar power projects may get stringent

Proposal comes amid rising solar imports despite regulatory, tax curbs

Over $4 bn imports this year under management system for laptops, tablets

With the deadline for review of import management system for laptops and other IT products nearing, the companies which have received authorisations have imported these products worth over USD 4 billion so far this fiscal, an official said. These imports stood at USD 8.4 billion in 2023-24 and most of these imports were coming from China, the official said. In October last year, the government rolled out an import management/ authorisation for imports of laptops, personal computers and certain other IT hardware products. The system is aimed at monitoring inbound shipments of these items into the country without hurting market supply. The importers are allowed to apply for multiple authorisations and those authorisations would be valid up to September 30, 2024. The authorisations will be issued for any number of consignments for imports till September. On November 1, 2023, the government cleared over 100 applications, including those of Apple, Dell and Lenovo, which sought permissio

India, Aus to resume comprehensive FTA talks on Monday; progress expected

Chief negotiators of India and Australia will begin the next round of talks for the comprehensive free trade agreement from tomorrow in Sydney, where both sides are likely to close negotiations on several chapters of the pact, an official said. Both countries have already implemented an interim pact and are in discussions to expand its scope under the CECA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement). The interim pact - Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) - came into force in December 2022. The tenth round of negotiations is scheduled from August 19-22 in Sydney. "Out of the total 19 areas of the agreement, we have completed our discussions on four chapters, and we are in very advanced stages in a few others. We hope that in this round, we should be able to close altogether, maybe more than 10 chapters," the commerce ministry official said. In this round, the official said that both countries are likely to get into market access discussions in goods and services. Th

India free-trade agreement with Oman hits market-access roadblock

Differences over access to petrochemical products major bone of contention

Customs duty cut on silver likely to give Centre breather for now

This may help check spurt in imports from UAE under CEPA

SC stays Gujarat HC order reinstating anti-dumping duty on imported PTA

PTA is used to make products containing polyester such as sportswear, swimsuits, jackets, sofas, curtains, and car seat covers

Exports to top-10 nations grow faster than overall figures in Q1 FY25

After witnessing a 3 per cent contraction in the financial year 2023-24, outbound shipments from India saw positive growth in the three consecutive months

Customs clearance time for imports drops 6% at air cargo complexes: CBIC

For imports, the study has noted that, out of the 15 ports covered under the purview of the study, 9 ports have witnessed a reduction in the average release time in 2024 vis-a-vis the previous year

RBI proposes to change regulations on export, import transactions

The RBI on Tuesday proposed rationalising regulations that cover export and import transactions with an aim to promote ease of doing business and empower banks to provide more efficient service to their foreign exchange customers. The central bank has issued 'Regulation of Foreign Trade under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 Draft Regulations and Directions' in this regard. As per the draft, every exporter should furnish to the specified authority a declaration specifying the amount representing the full export value of the goods or services. "The amount representing the full export value of goods and services shall be realised and repatriated to India within nine months from the date of shipment for goods and date of invoice for services," it said. The draft also proposes that an exporter who has not realised the full value of export within the time specified may be caution listed by the authorised dealer. An exporter who has been caution listed can undertake export

Govt begins anti-dumping probe into glass fibre imports from China, Bahrain

India has initiated an anti-dumping probe into the import of glass fibre from China, Thailand, Bahrain following a complaint by a domestic player. The duty is aimed at protecting the domestic industry from cheap imports. The commerce ministry's investigation arm Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) is probing the alleged dumping of glass fibres and its articles originating in or exported from these countries. Glass fibre or fibre glass is reinforced plastic that is strong, lightweight, flexible and can be moulded into many complex shapes. It has many industrial and domestic uses. Owens-Corning (India) has filed the application seeking initiation of an anti-dumping investigation on the imports. The applicant has alleged that material injury is being caused to the domestic industry due to the alleged dumped imports and has requested for the imposition of anti-dumping duties. "On the basis of the duly substantiated written application submitted by the applicant and having rea

Govt grants duty concessions for corn, vegetable oil imports under TRQ

India is the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils such as palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil and the top producer of milk

India has sufficient wheat stocks, no plans to change import duty: Govt

India has sufficient wheat stocks to meet domestic requirements and undertake market interventions, if required, to keep prices stable, the government said on Thursday, adding that it has no plans to alter the import duty on the grain for now. The Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, is closely monitoring the market price of wheat, it said in a statement. "Suitable interventions, as warranted, shall be undertaken to ensure that there is no hoarding by unscrupulous elements and the price remains stable," the statement said. During the 2024 rabi marketing season, the department reported wheat production of 112 million tonnes. The state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured around 26.6 million tonnes of the grain until June 11. After meeting the requirement for the public distribution system and other welfare schemes, estimated at around 18.4 million tonnes, sufficient wheat stock will be available

India to begin wheat imports after six years, to shore up reserves

As the new-season wheat harvest rolls in, the government is likely to wait until after June to scrap the import tax, in time for Russia's harvest, the sources said

India-UK FTA: Work in progress to resolve issues, says commerce ministry

Senior officials of India and the UK held negotiations last month on the outstanding issues of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and the work is in progress to iron out the differences. According to the commerce ministry, the Indian team visited London from April 16-19 for negotiations. "The teams have made good progress and work is in progress in resolving pending issues. Chapter-wise textual negotiations are nearly closed and schedules on goods and services are at an advanced stage of negotiations," the ministry said. The ministry, however, did not disclose further details. So far, 13 rounds of talks have been completed. The 14th round started in January. There are 26 chapters in the agreement, including goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights. The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty. On the other h

Next round of talks for India-Asean trade agreement review in July

Senior officials of India and the 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian nations - ASEAN - will hold the next round of talks in July to review the existing free trade agreement in Jakarta, Indonesia, an official statement said on Sunday. The last round of the three-day negotiations concluded on May 9 in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The discussions for review of AITIGA (Asean-India Trade in Goods Agreement) started in May 2023 to make it more trade-facilitative and beneficial for businesses across the region, the commerce ministry said. A joint committee, which is undertaking the review work, has so far met four times. It has finalised its terms of reference and the negotiating structure for the review in its first two meetings and initiated talks for the review from its third meeting, which was held on February 18-19 here. "The fourth Joint Committee meeting for the review of AITIGA was held in Putrajaya, Malaysia from 7-9 May," the statement said. The committee was co-chaired by Rajesh Agraw

Govt allows pea import of consignments with bill of lading issued till Oct

Import of yellow peas is allowed after registration under the import monitoring system for all consignments where bill of lading (shipped on board) is issued on or before October 31, according to a commerce ministry notification. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said the import is permitted without the MIP (Minimum Import Price) and port restriction conditions. "Import of yellow peas...is free without the MIP condition and without port restriction, subject to registration under online Import Monitoring System, with immediate effect for all import consignments where Bill of Lading (shipped on board) is issued on or before October 31, 2024," the DGFT notification said. During April-December this fiscal, the import of yellow peas stood at USD 5.43 million. It was USD 0.14 million in 2022-23.

Govt, industry must work together to reduce import dependence: Pharma secy

Government and industry should work together to bring down import dependence in the medical device segment to below 50 per cent over the next five years, Department of Pharmaceuticals Secretary Arunish Chawla said on Tuesday. Highlighting the critical need to focus on quality to ensure that India becomes globally competitive, he noted that the government is in the process of formulating standards for over 2,000 medical devices being produced in the country in order to make them globally competitive. "Right now our med-tech sector is 75-80 per cent import dependent. In the next five years, we want to bring down this import dependence to less than 50 per cent," Chawla said while speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of an industry event to formulate better policies for the sector. Chawla noted that deliberations were also held during the Meditech Stackathon 2024 to scale the medical device exports to match the level of imports of such articles into the country, he added. Stress

Trade deficit narrows slightly to $69.4 billion in March, says US govt

Goods imports fell 1.6% to $263.8 billion. There were decreases in imports of motor vehicles and parts as well as industrial supplies and materials, which include crude oil

Chatroom: Duty-free inputs used in export output are not export benefits

When you re-import the goods under notification 45/2017-Cus dated June 30. 2017, you have to pay the GST, DBK and RoDTEP amounts at the time of clearance

China's exports decline 7.5% in March, imports also fall as demand slows

China's exports contracted in March after growing in the first two months of the year, underscoring the uneven nature of the country's recovery from the pandemic. Customs data released Friday show exports declined 7.5 per cent in March from a year earlier, while imports slipped 1.9 per cent. Both figures fell short of estimates. In the January-February period, exports rose 7.1 per cent year-on-year while imports climbed 3.5 per cent. China, the world's second-largest economy, posted a trade surplus of USD 58.55 billion in March. The surplus in the first two months of the year was USD 125 billion. The decline in exports partly reflected a higher base of comparison with March 2023, when exports jumped 14.8 per cent as the economy reopened after languishing under strict COVID-19 controls. The economy has slowed partly due to a crisis in the property industry brought on by a crackdown on excessive borrowing. Weakness in exports would be a further drag on growth. We think export volum