Page 2 - Tnc Rajagopalan

A week of hopes, anxieties and expectations ahead for exporters

President Donald Trump surprised India earlier this month by imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods entering the US, in addition to the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs

Govt must resolve SEZ units' problems arising from definition of 'services'

SEZ service exports face DTA payment disputes, GST relief linked to strict compliance, and CBIC eases customs with a single all-India electronic bond system

GST reforms: Suggestions to boost ease of doing business and reduce costs

There should be no restrictions on taking input tax credit (ITC), on the essential principle that once tax is paid, it should either be refunded or go into the ITC chain

Trump tariff impact: No need to be alarmed, this difficult phase will pass

The exporters of steel will be affected, but they have the financial strength to manage the setback. Trump has so far exempted tariffs on pharmaceuticals, electronics, and petroleum products

DGFT should consider re-credit of advance authorisations in some cases

Where irrefutable evidence is available to show that 'certificate of supplies' or 'invalidation letter' has not been utilized, fully or partly, there ought to be no hesitation in granting re-credit

Our tariff, non-tariff barriers should be cut in our own interest

A US trade delegation is expected in India later this month and hopefully, the negotiators will strike a fair deal acceptable to both countries soon

Exim matters: No substantial changes in new law on bills of lading

The bill of lading, issued by the carriers to the shippers, will continue to be a receipt for goods, evidence of the contract of carriage and a document of title to the goods

DGFT should rethink provisions for deemed exports from DTA to EoU

Para 7.01(i) of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) says 'deemed exports' for this FTP refer to those transactions in which goods supplied do not leave the country

RBI's intent to close outstanding EDPMS entries deserves praise

The RBI introduced the EDPMS to monitor the realisation of export proceeds in February 2014

Heavy reliance on US forces govt to put up with Donald Trump's tantrums

Different countries have reacted differently to Trump's tantrums, but the global markets have remained reasonably steady, although nobody is sure of what he will do next

Notification effective from date of its publication in official gazette

The said Section 15(1)(b) says that (relevant extracts), 'the rate of duty applicable to any imported goods, shall be the rate in force, in the case of goods cleared from a warehouse under Section 68

Eight years on, GST regime is okay, but GST officers are not efficient

In pre-GST regime, importers of goods were paying additional duties of Customs & taking Cenvat Credit of the same. Now, they are paying Integrated GST and taking input tax credit (ITC) of the same

Looking beyond Europe: Nato defence spending hike could impact exporters

The Nato decision is a response to fears of security threats from Russia, which is enhancing its war capabilities and apprehensions that the US cannot be relied upon to defend Europe

SEZ to DTA clearance of used machinery should be on depreciated value

Despite GST treating intermediary services as domestic supply, other laws like FEMA and FTDR Act recognise them as exports; SEZ units must pay duty on depreciated value

Steel ministry's order on compliance for inputs can hurt downstream users

The latest order gives a table listing 144 steel items with their IS and the inputs and their IS for making 124 of those items

Build good external relations for steady supplies of critical materials

Serious doubts have now emerged in many countries regarding dependence on other countries for critical materials because it is not easy to develop alternate sources of supplies quickly

Imports under FTAs can be cleared under the provisional assessment

Rajagopalan answers readers' SME queries related to GST, export and import matters

SEZ Rules amended to attract more investments, facilitate operations

India has 276 operational SEZs with 6,275 units operating in them. Total investment in them is about ₹7.07 trillion and they employ about 3.19 million persons

Asean and our neighbouring countries now drifting closer to China

Deepseek says that in 2023 Asean countries exported goods worth $416 billion to China and imported goods worth $495.7 billion from them

Duty drawback on inputs used in export products shouldn't be denied

There is no bar on applying for advance authorisation under SION or Para 4.07 of HBP while your request for review of the SION under Para 4.06 of the HBP is pending