New Delhi, June 23 India has knocked off import duties on 2,202 items as part of its tariff elimination commitments under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Singapore.
The 2,202 items on which tariffs have now been eliminated include sail boats, ships, trawlers and fishing vessels, dredgers, golf clubs, wrist watch, wall clocks, percussion instruments, musical keyboards, flutes, ultrasound scanners, aircraft parts, optical fibre, helicopters, railway coaches, instant print film, photographic paper, new tyres for aircraft, used tyres, ice-cream, pasta, and fish.
Ever since the CECA came into effect in August 2005, the rupee has depreciated about 30 per cent against the Singapore dollar, making imports into India costlier. This may to an extent nullify the advantages of tariff removal on these products.
The CECA with Singapore was India’s first comprehensive agreement with a trade partner. The bilateral merchandise trade has seen a near five-fold increase in the three years post-CECA from about $3.6 billion in 2005 to $19.11 billion in 2008.
Meeting its other commitment under the CECA, the Centre has reduced tariffs on 2,413 items. These can now be imported into India at tariff equivalent to 50 per cent of the most favoured nation (MFN) applied rate, according to Finance Ministry sources.
As for the 539 additional items, mostly manufactured products, on which India had taken newer tariff liberalisation commitments in December 2007, the Finance Ministry has now taken the next step by slashing import tariffs.
Of the 539 tariff lines, tariff elimination is to be achieved in five equal cuts between January 15, 2008 and December 1, 2011 for 307 items. The 307 items are mainly articles of base metals, machinery and mechanical appliances, chemicals, and textiles and textile articles.
For another 97 products, the tariff elimination is to be achieved in nine equal cuts between January 15, 2008 and December 1, 2015. These 97 items comprise mainly machinery and mechanical appliances, plastic and rubber articles and textile items.
For 135 products, the tariff reduction to five per cent duty is to be achieved in nine equal cuts between January 15, 2008 and December 1, 2015.
Source : Business Line