A neglected story

Unilateral, multilateral and regional trade liberalisation strands have all played a role in the abolition of import licensing in India

For 30 years up to 1990 we used to operate a hideously complex system of quantitative restrictions (QRs) on imports, run by the Ministry of Commerce and the Customs administrations. Anyone remember the massive Export-Import Policy handbooks? Nearly all imports were under licensing, with the broad categories being: “Prohibited”, “Restricted”, “Limited Permissible”, “Canalized”, and “Open General License (OGL)”. Prohibited meant just that and Restricted was usually very restricted, bordering on prohibited. OGL did not always mean free of import restrictions: Sometimes they were “free” for “actual users” only; traders could not import them. Some Restricted and Limited Permissible items could