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| Exim Policy 2001-02 |
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HIGHLIGHTS
1. AGRICULTURAL
EXPORT ZONES
With a view to providing
remunerative returns to the farming community in a sustained manner, efforts will be made
to provide improved access to the produce/ products of the Agriculture and Allied sectors
in the international market.
State Governments may identify product specific Agri
export zone for end to end development for export of specific products from a
geographically contiguous area. State Government may evolve a comprehensive package of
services provided by all State Government Agencies, State Agricultural Universities and
all institutions and agencies of the Union Government for intensive delivery in these
zones.
Such services would include provision of pre/ post
harvest treatment and operations, plant protection, processing, packaging, storage and
related research & development, etc. Department of Commerce will supplement, within
its schemes and provisions, efforts of State Governments for facilitating such exports.
The service providers; setting up common infrastructural facilities such as sorting, grading, polishing, packaging, cold storage, transport equipment/ refrigerated vans, vapour treatment heat treatment plant, X-ray screening facility etc. shall be entitled for EPCG Scheme.
Agri exporters shall be entitled for recognition as
Export House/Trading House/Star Trading House/Super Star Trading House on achieving 1/3rd
of the threshold limit prescribed for exporters of goods.
2.
MARKET
ACCESS INITIATIVE (MAI)
The
Government would assist the industry in research & development, market research,
specific market and product studies, warehousing and retail marketing infrastructure in
select countries and direct market promotion activities through media advertising and
buyer seller meets. A plan scheme has been evolved for this purpose.
¨ A new Chapter on Special Economic Zones introduced.
¨ Special Economic Zones developers are allowed duty
free import/ procurement from DTA for development of SEZ to give a boost for development
of integrated infrastructure for exports.
¨ Duty free import/procurement from DTA of goods for
setting up of factory in the Zone permitted.
¨ Items reserved for SSI do not require any licence for
setting up units in SEZ.
¨ Units in SEZ can bring back their export proceeds in
365 days as against normal period of 180 days and can retain 100% of the proceeds in the
EEFC account.
¨ Special Economic Zones trading units permitted to sell
goods in the DTA in accordance with the import policy in force.
¨ Subcontracting of part of production abroad permitted.
¨ To facilitate greater flexibility and to attract
capital intensive units into Special Economic Zones, amortization of value of imported
Capital Goods is being spread over a period of 8 years instead of 5 years at present.
¨ SEZ developer given infrastructure status under Income
Tax Act as provided in the Finance Bill, 2001.
4.
REMOVAL
OF QRs.
¨ The process of removal of import restrictions, which
began in 1991, has been completed in a phased manner this year with removal of
restrictions on 715 items. Out of these 715, 342 are textile products, 147 are
agricultural products including alcoholic beverages and 226 are other manufactured
products including automobiles.
¨ Import of agricultural products like wheat, rice,
maize, other coarse cereals, copra and coconut oil has been placed in the category of
State Trading. The nominated State Trading Enterprise will conduct the imports of these
commodities solely as per commercial considerations. Similarly, import of petroleum
products including petrol, diesel and ATF has also been placed in the category of State
Trading. Import of urea will also be done through the mechanism of State Trading.
¨ Care has been taken to ensure a level playing field to
domestic producers vis-à-vis imports. In conformity with the “National Treatment
Principle” of GATT, imports have also been made subject to the following domestic
regulations:
(i) |
Import of all food products will be subject to
compliance of all the provisions of Food Adulteration Act and Rules thereunder; |
(ii) |
Import of meat and poultry products will be subject to
compliance of all the provisions of Meat Food Product Order; |
(iii) |
Import Tea Waste will be subject to compliance of Tea
Waste (Control Order); |
(iv) |
No import of textile material using the prohibited
dyes like azo dye shall be allowed. For this purpose, a pre-shipment inspection
certificate has been made mandatory. |
¨ In view of road safety and environment considerations,
imports of second hand automobiles have been allowed subject to the following conditions:
(i) |
Import of autombiles older than three years is not
allowed; |
(ii) |
Imported vehicles need to conform to Central Motor
Vehicle Rules; |
(iii) |
Import of left hand drive vehicles not allowed; |
(iv) |
For ensuring the requirements, preshipment as well as
post shipment certification made mandatory; |
(v) |
Imported automobiles to have a minimum residual life
of five years and the importer to ensure supply of spares and service during this period;
and |
(vi) |
Such imports allowed only through customs port at
Mumbai. |
Similarly, import of new automobiles allowed subject
to following conditions:
(i)
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Import allowed only from the country of manufacture; |
(ii)
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Import of left hand drive vehicles not allowed; |
(iii)
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Imported vehicles to conform to the provisions of
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988; |
(iv)
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Prototype of vehicle to be approved by notified
agencies in India; and |
¨ To ensure that import of agricultural products do not
lead to unwanted infiltration of exotic diseases and pests in the country, it has been
decided to subject import of primary products of plant and animal origin to ‘Bio
Security & Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Permit’ to be issued by Deptt. of
Agriculture and Cooperation. This permit will be based on Import Risk Analysis of the
product to be conducted on scientific principles, in accordance with the WTO agreement on
Application of Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Measures.
5.
EXPORT
PROMOTION CAPITAL GOODS SCHEME
¨ Imports of jigs, fixtures, dies, moulds to be allowed
for the full CIF value of the licence instead of restricting to 20% of the CIF value of
licence.
¨ Time limit of 180 days prescribed for finalisation of
nexus by EPCG Committee failing which the nexus applied by the applicant becomes final.
¨ Extension in export obligation period under EPCG for
licences issued during 1990-1996 upto 31.3.2002 upon execution of Bank Guarantee with the
licensing authority.
¨ Extension in export obligation period for two years in
respect of EPCG issued under Customs notification 29/1997 dated 1.4.97 and 49/2000 dated
27.4.2000.
¨ No penalty for valuewise shortfall under EPCG except
for the customs duty together with interest.
¨ Facility for partial fulfilment extended under EPCG
scheme to reduce transaction time.
¨ For redemption, the licence holder has been extended
the facility to submit either a consolidated statement signed by all banks or separate
statements signed by individual banks.
6.
ANNUAL
ADVANCE LICENCE
¨ Extension of Annual Advance Licence facility for
deemed exports and intermediate supplies.
¨ The entitlement for Annual Advance Licence increased
from 125% to 200% of the FOB value of preceding year exports.
¨ Extension of Annual Advance Licence to other than
Standard Input Output Norms exports.
¨ Clubbing facility for Annual Advance Licence.
¨ Dispensing with the need of technical characteristics
for inputs except for items in the sensitive list.
7.
ADVANCE
LICENCE
¨ Duty free import/procurement of fuel allowed under
Standard Input Output Norms for sectors where the same cost more than 10% of the
manufacturing cost.
¨ The facility of Advance Licences extended even to the
cases where some of the inputs are supplied free of cost by the buyer.
¨ The entitlement for Advance Licence where SION does
not exist increased from 100% to 200% of the FOB value of preceding year exports for
Export House/Trading House/Star trading House/Super Star Trading House.
¨ Additional facility for Advance Licence where SION
does not exist beyond entitlement as well against execution of Bank Guarantee.
¨ Dispensing with the need of technical characteristics
for inputs except for items in the sensitive list.
¨ The facility of back to back LC for Advance Licence,
which is presently confined to one bank and one branch, extended to cover any bank and
branch.
¨ Revalidation of expired Advance Licences, where export
obligation has been completed, by six months.
¨ 506 new Standard Input Output Norms fixed during
2000-01.
¨ No penalty for valuewise shortfall under Advance
Licence except for the Customs duty together with interest provided the licence holder has
achieved positive/minimum value addition.
¨ Coverage of additional ports under Advance Licence
¨ Simplification of form relating to Advance Licence on
SION.
¨ Validity of DFRC to be extended from 12 months to 18
months.
¨ Dispensing with the need of technical characteristics
for inputs except for items in the sensitive list.
¨ Automatic calculation of CIF value under DFRC scheme
without reference to international price of individual inputs.
¨ Provision incorporated for claim of DFRC against
advance payment.
¨ Coverage of additional ports under DFRC
¨ Split up facility extended to DFRC scheme to give
operational flexibility to the holder of DFRC.
¨ Provision made for claiming DEPB against advance
payment.
¨ Validity of DEPB extended upto the last day of the
month in which the same is expiring.
¨ Rationalisation of DEPB rates in line with changes in
Customs duty on account of union budget.
¨ Coverage of additional ports under DEPB.
¨ TRA facility extended to all notified ports under DEPB
scheme.
¨ NFEP/EP norms rationalized. EOU/EPZ units allowed to
achieve minimum Export Performance of 3 times the value of CG over 5 years instead of 5
times the value of CG. Highest NFEP requirement pegged at 10%.
¨ Gem and Jewellery provisions relating to EOU/EPZ units
contained in Chapter 8 merged into Chapter 9 for greater clarity.
¨ Supplies made to bonded warehouses set up under para
11.14 and 9.21 of the policy by EOU/EPZ units to be treated as exports for the purpose of
domestic sales entitlement.
¨ Sub-contracting of production process abroad
permitted. At present sub-contracting is permissible only within the country.
¨ DTA sale against foreign exchange, which is counted
towards NFEP/EP is being confined to payment made from EEFC account of the buyer only.
¨ Simplification of procedure regarding utilization of
goods. EOU/EPZ units now have to account for duty free goods in over all terms and not
consignment-wise. This is expected to facilitate ease in operation.
¨ E-Mail address is being made compulsory for approving
EOU/EPZ units from 1.4.2001.
¨ Greater delegation to Development Commissioner’s
to approve EOU/EPZ projects. At present, Development Commissioners cannot approve project
beyond US$20 million.This value restriction is being withdrawn.
¨ Suitable procedure provided for conversion of DTA
units into EOU scheme having outstanding export obligation under advance licensing scheme
by carrying forward goods imported under advance Licensing scheme.
¨ Joint Monitoring of EOU/EPZ units by a Committee
consisting of DC and customs.
11.
GEMS & JEWELLERY SECTOR :
¨ Extension of Diamond Dollar Account scheme (DDAS) to
diamond studded jewellery exporters, having an average annual turnover of Rs.5 crore or
above during the preceding three licensing years, allowing DDAS holders to operate up to
five bank accounts (from maximum of two accounts prescribed earlier) and allowing non-DDAS
holders to supply cut and polished diamonds to DDAS
holder, which would counted towards discharge of his export obligations or entitle for a
Replenishment licence as the case may be.
¨ With a view to facilitate certification/grading by
international laboratories/ agencies cut and polished diamonds weighing 0.50 carats and
above, have been permitted for export and return of such diamonds for certification
purposes.
¨ More flexibility to exporters under the Gold Loan
Scheme by allowing exporters to fix the price and repay the gold loan within 180 days from
the date of export subject to this price being also confirmed by the final buyer and the
nominated agency supplying the gold.
¨ Exporters allowed to personally carry gems and
jewellery of a value not exceeding US$ 2 million for purposes of holding/ participating in
overseas exhibitions.
¨ The foreign buyer scheme wherein precious metals can
be supplied free of cost to the Indian manufacturers for job working, has been extended to
exporters having an annual average turnover of Rs.5 crores during the preceding three
years.
¨ The provisions of personal carriage of gems and
jewellery export and import parcels is now available from Bangalore Airport also in
addition to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
¨ The suppliers have been given the option to file
application either projectwise or covering supplies to all projects during a month/quarter
or half yearly while claiming Terminal Excise duty/Drawback facility. They have also been
given the option to file claim covering all the supplies to a project.
¨ A standard format prescribed for receipt of payment
through normal banking channel.
¨ For supplies under paragraph 10.2(d)(e)(f) and (g) of
the Policy, the sub-contractor has been given the facility to file Terminal Excise duty
refund without waiting for payment from the main contractor.
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