New Delhi, Feb 27: The government has decided to introduce a bill to amendthe Foreign Trade (Regulation & Development) Act during the Budget sessionwith a view to enable it to take safeguard measures by re-imposingquantitative restrictions (QRs) in case there is an import surge.Commerce and industry minister Murasoli Maran stated this in a statementtabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. He was responding to the questionsraised by members of the lower house on the likely impact of the removal ofQRs on the remaining 715 tariff lines from April 1.
The prime minister had on August 30 last, announced a policy package forsmall-scale industries and the tiny sector to make them more competitive.
Mr Maran said an inter-ministerial group had also been constituted by thegovernment to assess the likely impact of the impending removal of QRs andto suggest suitable corrective measures. The group is headed by commercesecretary Prabir Sengupta.
Mr Maran said imports are being closely monitored and the government isdetermined to ensure that imports do not cause any serious injury todomestic producers.
Measures taken in this direction include raising the import duty on a numberof items and imposition of anti-dumping duty on batteries and sports shoesoriginating in China.
Further, imports of all packaged commodities had been made subject tocompliance of all the conditions of the Standard Weights and Measures(Packaged Commodities) Order, 1997, as applicable to domestic producers.
In addition, it has been made mandatory for 131 import products to complywith the local quality standards as applicable to domestic goods. Foreignsuppliers will have to register themselves with the Bureau of IndianStandards. The list includes various food preservatives and additives, milkpowder, infant milk food, certain kinds of cement, household and similarelectrical appliances, gas cylinders and multi-purpose dry batteries.
New Delhi has been following a continuous policy of removal of restrictionson imports since 1991. Tariff-line wise import policy was first announced onMarch 31, 1996. As on that date, imports of 6,161 tariff lines out a totalof 10,202 tariff lines were made free.
Import restrictions on 488 tariff lines were removed between April 1, '96 toMarch 31, '97. Another 391 tariff lines were freed during the period April1, '97 and April 13, '98, and 894 tariff lines were freed on April 1, '99.QRs on 714 tariff lines were removed on March 31, '00.
Under the liberalised regime, the domestic industry would be obliged to facecompetition from imports, subject to the applicable rate of customs duty, MrMaran stated.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
