Page 7 - Imports

US trade deficit shrinks sharply as imports hit more than 1-1/2 year low

Imports drop 1.0%, goods imports decline 1.2%; exports dip 0.1%, goods exports decrease 0.1%

Govt may give 1 month transition period for electronics import restrictions

Within a day, the government officials said there will be a transition period for this policy without providing further details

'Timeline for implementing import restriction on laptops may get extended'

The government is likely to push its order of licensing requirement for imports of laptops, PC and tablets by at least a month, sources said, as officials did fire-fighting after the decision announcement took the industry by surprise. The move is expected to offer a breather to companies, who have been on tenterhooks following Thursday's order. DGFT will soon issue a notification on timeline extension, IT Ministry sources said. In a post on 'X' social media platform (earlier known as Twitter), Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said: "There will be a transition period for this to be put into effect, which will be notified soon". Meanwhile, IT Ministry sources indicated that implementation timelines will be extended by at least a month, which means players will have more time in hand to apply for a licence if they wish to import these products. Time will be given to companies so that they apply for licences, sources said, adding that timelines will be ...

Govt should announce objective criteria for importers of computers: GTRI

With India imposing import curbs on laptops and computers, the government should take steps such as announcing objective criteria for importers to seek licence for inbound shipments of these items to meet domestic demand, trade think-tank GTRI said on Friday. On August 3, the government said importers of these goods have to seek licence/permission from Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for imports. PCs, laptops, and tablets connect us to the world of education, business, entertainment and everything else. The government must take all steps to avoid short supply and market disruption. One way is announcing objective criteria that will constitute the basis for the grant of licence, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) co-founder Ajay Srivastava said. In similar cases earlier, criteria like past performance have been used for granting licences. He said the government may inform all firms of their next year's annual import eligibility in terms of the number of units and va

Govt restricts import of laptops, computers to push local manufacturing

"Their import would be allowed against a valid licence for restricted imports," the notice said

Rupee snaps 3-day winning run on RBI intervention, importer hedging

The one-year dollar-rupee implied yield rose four bps to 1.73%, amid the RBI's possible intervention in the forwards market

India's trade deficit falls to $20.13 bn in June from $22.1 bn in May

Services exports in June were $27.12 billion, while imports were $15.88 billion

Gold, silver prices unchanged; yellow metal trading at Rs 59,620 per 10g

The price of ten grams of 22-carat gold was Rs 54,650, at par with yesterday's price

Falling inbound shipments cast a shadow on IGST and cess on imports

Imports were the only exception in the otherwise strong GST numbers in the first three months of the current financial year

Centre prohibits import of cigarette lighters priced less than Rs 20

The government on Thursday prohibited imports of cigarette lighters if the price per unit is less than Rs 20, with a view to discourage inbound shipments of the product. "The import policy of cigarette lighters...is revised from 'free' to 'prohibited'. However, import shall be free if CIF value is Rs 20 or above per lighter," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. CIF value (cost, insurance, and freight) is a trade term used in international commerce to determine the total value of goods being imported. The prohibition has been imposed on pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable or refillable. Imports of pocket lighters, gas fuelled, non-refillable stood at USD 0.66 million in 2022-23. It was USD 0.13 million in April this fiscal. Similarly, the inbound shipments of pocket lighters, gas fuelled, and refillable, stood at USD 8.87 million in 2022-23 against USD 7 million in 2021-22. It was USD 0.96 million in April of this fiscal. These are impo

Coal India to phase out mining equipment imports that costs Rs 4,500 cr

In a boost to domestic manufacturing of earth-moving equipment used in mines, Coal India Ltd has decided to phase out imports over a period of 5-6 years, the Coal Ministry said on Monday.

India can cut energy import bill by using 10% of coal bed methane: Experts

India can cut its energy imports bill by USD 2 billion if the nation harnesses 10 per cent of the coal bed methane reserves of 2,600 billion cubic meters, said experts. This assumes significance in view India's coal production clocking record high during the last iscal year and plans afoot to increase it further. The experts believe that the industry's collective efforts in utilising Coal Bed Methane (CBM) can help the country save over USD 2 billion on imports bill in near future. India has an estimated Coal Bed Methane Reserve of 2600 billion cubic metres, they say. "India touched a record-high growth in coal production of more than 778.19 million tonne, posting record growth in coal production in the year 2022-23. "Plan is to increase the production to over one billion tonne by 2025-26. Therefore, we collectively must tap and utilise Coal Bed Methane which in turn would help reduce emissions and also boost India's energy security. Even if the industry can tap about 10 per cent o

EU imports high-tech products worth euro 482 bn from extra-EU nations

In 2022, the EU imported Euro 482 billion worth of high-tech products from extra-EU countries (+22 per cent compared with 2021), according to an estimate published by Eurostat

India's merchandise trade deficit in March stood at $13.7 billion

That was lower than the $17.43 billion recorded in the previous month, and below the $18.30 billion forecast in a Reuters poll

India's exports rise 6% to $447 bn in 2022-23, imports up 16.5% at $714 bn

The country's exports rose by about 6 per cent to a "record" USD 447 billion during 2022-23 on account of healthy growth in the outbound shipments of sectors such as petroleum, pharma and chemicals and marine, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. The country's imports also grew by 16.5 per cent to USD 714 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 613 billion in 2021-22. He said that the exports of goods and services together scaled "new heights" and has increased by 14 per cent to USD 770 billion in 2022-23 as against 676 billion in 2021-22. "I am delighted to share with you the outstanding export performance for 2022-23, with India's overall exports scaling new heights at USD 770 billion, registering 14 per cent growth over the previous year and all-time high record growing from USD 500 billion in 2020-21 to USD 676 billion in 2021-22," the minister told reporters in Rome. India's services exports too have increased by 27.16 per cent to USD 323 billion in 2022-23

Govt may import dairy products on tight supply amid stagnant milk output

The country may look at importing dairy products if needed as there is a supply constraint for such items due to milk production remaining stagnant in the last fiscal, a top government official said on Wednesday. The government will intervene to import dairy products like butter and ghee, if required, after assessing the stock position of milk in Southern states, where the flushing (peak production) season has started now, he added. Milk output in the country stood at 221 million tonne in 2021-22, up 6.25 per cent from 208 million tonne in the previous year, as per the official data. Addressing a press conference, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said the country's milk production remained stagnant in the 2022-23 fiscal due to lumpy skin disease in cattle, while the domestic demand grew by 8-10 per cent in the same period because of a rebound in the post-pandemic demand. "There is no constraint in milk supply as such in the country...There is an adequate ...

Govt hikes duty on X-ray machine imports from 10% to 15% starting April 1

The government has hiked customs duty on import of X-ray machines and non-portable X-ray generators to 15 per cent with effect from April 1. Currently, portable X-ray machines and non-portable X-ray generators and apparatus attract 10 per cent import duty. The changes in the customs duty rate was brought in as part of the amendments to the Finance Bill, 2023, which was passed by the Lok Sabha last Friday. The new rates would be effective from April 1, 2023, the amendment said. AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said this is intended to improve barriers to manufacturing in India. "This will encourage 'Make in India' to reduce import dependence in the niche sector," he said.

Safety in the storm

As the requirement for capital import into India at present is low, the global tornado has modest implications for us

Centre to cut imports of non-essential items to raise domestic production

The government is undertaking an exercise to cut imports of non-essential goods with a view to enhancing domestic production of those items, an official said on Wednesday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that the commerce ministry has provided product-wise import figures to all the ministries. "We are asking the different ministries that they should analyse that data and they should look at data from the angle that which imports are essential and which are non-essential," he told reporters here. The ministries would look at issues like if those goods are being manufactured in India and if there is sufficient capacity for those products. "If there is a sufficient capacity within the country and still it is being imported, then we are trying to educate that it can be substituted by the domestic manufactured product," he said. "What we are saying is that if our domestic maker is capable of producing the same kind of quality with the same price then obviously that should be ...

To curb import of sub-standard goods, 58 quality control orders soon

There will be 315 product standards under these orders