NEW DELHI, April 13: The new government has gone much beyond its commitment to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by shifting as many as 436 items from the restricted to the special import licence list (SIL) and from SIL to the freely importable (OGL) list this year without imposing any quantitative restrictions. Around 300-400 items were to be transferred from the restricted to the free list as per the commitment.Explaining the details, Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) L.N. Lakhanpal told The Financial Express in an exclusive interview immediately after the press conference on changes in the exim policy that out of these items, 227 items had been transferred from the SIL to the free list and 99 items from the restricted to the free list from Monday.
Earlier in January this year, the government had phased out quantitative restrictions by shifting around 100 items in a similar manner, he added.
Last year also (when the United Front government was in office), about 460 items weretransferred in a similar manner in keeping with the commitment to the WTO, Lakhanpal said, pointing out that about 2,800 items still remain in the restricted list of the 1997-2002 exim policy. Of these, about 1,800 items figure in the restricted list and the remaining are in the SIL list.
This meant that already roughly 7,800 items stood transferred from the restricted to the OGL list, he said. Lakhanpal explained that import of items against OGL will attract customs duties ranging from 30-40 per cent.
The items now shifted to the free list include marine items like shrimp (scampi), macrobactium, frozen prawns, frozen crabs, oysters, dried quids, processed foods like apple juice, mango juice, cheeries, apricots, lemonade, chemicals like trimellecit anhydrice isophythalic acid, synthetic enamel, other colours, dispersion paints, sandal wood oil in bulk form, agar oil, sindur, bindi, kumkum, medicated soaps etc.
Imports of items against SIL include synthetic or reworked precious or semi-preciousstones other than synthetic ruby, unworked or simply sawn or roughly shaped, hand or foot-operated air pumps.
The transfer from the restricted to the free list is in keeping with India's plan to phase out quantitative restrictions on imports over a six-year period. The plan has been accepted by all developed countries which are members of the WTO, except the United States. The US has filed a petition before the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO, even as bilateral talks are underway to reach a settlement between the two countries.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
