Importer

The Trade Intelligence and Analytics (TIA) portal will open up new insights for importers, exporters, startups, and MSMEs of the country, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. Launching the portal here on Tuesday, he said the platform will help exporters better utilise the free trade agreements implemented by India so far. Developed by the Department of Commerce, the TIA Portal is a one-stop trade intelligence and analytics platform that integrates multiple global and national databases along with macro-economic indicators into a unified analytical model offering over 270 analytics. The platform provides real-time, interactive insights on India and global trade, commodities and sectoral analytics, market intelligence, including export opportunities, and competitor analysis. It also includes automated trade reports and tracking of trade trends for manufacturing sectors related to PLI (production linked incentive) and critical minerals. Vanlalram Sanga, Economic Advi

The amendments in the customs rules to tighten checks on goods imported under free trade agreements (FTAs) could make it harder for businesses to do imports at concessional duties and may increase compliance cost, economic think tank GTRI said on Sunday. However, it said the move would curb the misuse of FTAs as India has seen repeated instances where goods originating from non-FTA countries, such as China, were rerouted through FTA member countries like Vietnam or Singapore to exploit preferential duty benefits. On March 18, the Ministry of Finance issued a notification, introducing amendments to the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR). The amendment replaces the term, "Certificate of Origin" (CoO), with a broader term, "Proof of Origin", across various rules and forms under the CAROTAR framework, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. "This change comes in conflict with the several existing FTAs with ASEAN etc where

Central bank will conduct a 6-month dollar/rupee buy-sell swap, one of its many planned measures aimed at injecting liquidity worth about Rs 1.5 trillion ($17.33 billion) into the banking system

If goods are imported into India after exportation therefrom, such goods shall be liable to duty and be subject to all the conditions and restrictions

The country's drugs and pharmaceuticals exports increased 9.67 per cent year-on-year to USD 27.9 billion in 2023-24, even as the total exports dipped by 3 per cent in the last fiscal. According to the commerce ministry data, pharma exports in March grew by 12.73 per cent to USD 2.8 billion. In 2022-23, the exports stood at USD 25.4 billion. The top five export markets, for the sector during the last fiscal, are the US, the UK, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. The US accounts for over 31 per cent of India's total pharma exports, followed by the UK and Netherlands (about 3 per cent each). In 2023-24, the outbound shipments also entered new geographies like Montenegro, South Sudan, Chad, Comoros, Brunei, Latvia, Ireland, Chad, Sweden, Haiti and Ethiopia. An industry expert said that increasing market opportunities and healthy demand in countries like the US are helping exports to record healthy growth rates month after month. Experts have said that Indi

The government has set up a task force under the Department of Commerce to identify, categorise and develop tailored strategies for the resolution of non-tariff barriers, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Such barriers include prior registration requirements in the exporting country, cumbersome testing and certification requirements and unreasonable domestic standards/rules. Different countries enforce various regulatory measures to ensure the safety and quality of the products placed in their territory. These measures apply equally to domestic manufacturers and importers. However, such measures may sometimes act as trade barriers due to various reasons like gaps in the regulatory frameworks and quality compliance requirements of the trade partners, lack of transparency, arbitrariness or differing interpretation of the rules, and improper implementation. "Taking cognizance of the challenges involved in mapping the trade barriers, and to give increased focus, a task force has

The government on Wednesday notified the procedure for traders to register imports of yellow peas under the import monitoring system. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said that an importer can apply under the system online on the DGET website. "The importer on submission of advance information in this online system and online payment of Rs 500 shall be issued an Automatic Registration Number," the DGFT said. The importer has to apply for registration not later than five days before the expected date of arrival of the import consignment. After that, they have to submit the registration number to the concerned Customs authorities when filing for import clearance. "One Automatic Registration Number granted shall be valid for any number of import consignments up to March 31, 2024 only," it added. Further, one number shall be valid for one specific country of origin and one Port of import only. Recently, the government has made it mandatory to register the import of yel

Imports from Russia second-largest in April-August period, shows data

The CBIC has extended the interest waiver on customs duty payable by importers and exporters through the Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) till April 13. An upgraded Customs duty payments system was launched by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on April 1. After the members of the export-import trade complained of difficulties in making duty payments via ECL in the automated system, CBIC last week said that no interest would be charged on customs duty paid through ECL till April 10. In a notification dated April 11, it said the interest on duty payable in respect of goods where payment is to be made from ECL will be exempt till April 13, 2023. Through the Customs (Waiver of Interest) Second Order dated April 11, the CBIC waived the whole of interest payable for the period from April 11 to April 13, in respect of such goods, where the payment of import duty is to be made from the amount available in electronic cash ledger. AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat ...

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So far this week, the domestic currency has shed 0.7% against the greenback, making it among the weakest performing Asian units over the past few days

Average dollar purchases by importers, beyond the spot date, rose to $1.64 bn last week from $1.14 bn the week before, latest data collated by The Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL) revealed

The new rules now say they come into play even in situations where the notifications prescribe end use of imported goods but do not specifically prescribe application of the new rules.

Nove comes after customs dept observed several consignments from South-East Asia in which rules of origin were flouted, and the FTA route was being used to evade duties

SC said the impugned levy imposed on the 'service' aspect of the transaction is in violation of the principle of 'composite supply' enshrined under Section 2(30) read with Section 8 of the CGST Act

Private players in Russia have met with potential suppliers in India's big cities and are opening specialised bank accounts at home for roubles-to-rupees transactions, with blessing of the two govts

The move would help in knowing the actual number of real traders in the country

Industry says goods originating from least-developing countries but routed through some other country are not getting the preferential duty benefit

74 per cent of consignments at ports got nod in less than 48 hours on Sunday

The government has raised import duties on several items and restricted import of many items subjecting them to import licensing