Commerce min notifies procedure for imports under India-Mauritius FTA

Commerce ministry notified tariff rate quota for certain items including pineapples, tunas, beer made from malt, rum and procedure for imports of those goods under India-Mauritius free trade agreement

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The commerce ministry on Tuesday notified tariff rate quota (TRQ) for certain items including pineapples, tunas, beer made from malt, rum and procedure for imports of those goods under India-Mauritius free trade agreement.

The India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA), a kind of free-trade pact, came into effect from April 1.

The pact covers 310 export items for India, including food and beverages, agricultural products, textile and textile articles, base metals, electricals and electronic items, plastics and chemicals, and wood.

Mauritius benefits from preferential market access into India for its 615 products, including frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, beer, alcoholic drinks, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.

"TRQ for items...on India-Mauritius CECPA and procedure for such imports is notified," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.

Items that are permitted under TRQ under the pact include pineapples (1,000 tonnes at 30 per cent duty), lichi (250 tonnes at 10 per cent duty), tunas (7,000 tonnes at zero duty), and beer made from malt (20 lakh litres at 25 per cent duty), rum (1.5 million litres at zero duty).

The DGFT said all applications must accompany a pre-purchase agreement from one of the eligible exporters of specified items in Mauritius.

"At the time of clearance of the import consignment, the importer in India must produce a certificate of origin issued by concerned authorities in Mauritius," it said adding that the year in respect of these imports will be from April to March 31.

Allocation will be made equally among the eligible applicant subject to the quantity applied.