สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 24 ตุลาคม 2556

Thailand proposes to pay full duty on gold exports to India

Worried over the possibility of India imposing restrictions on import of gold jewellery, Thailand today mooted a proposal under which its exporter would forego the duty benefit under the Indo-Thailand FTA and pay full duty. The issue was discussed during the meeting of Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Thai Deputy PM and Minister for Commerce Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan here.  "We have proposed that ... the exporters from Thailand and also importers in India agree that now we will pay tax on the gold (including gold jewellery) and things like that," Niwattumrong told reporters after the meeting. In March, the Commerce and Industry Ministry had advised the Revenue Department to suspend preferential import of gold jewellery from Thailand. "Department of Revenue has been advised to suspend preferential import of gold jewellery with identified tariff lines from Thailand till the retroactive check is conducted by the Thai side," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D Purandeshwari had said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. This suggestion came in the wake of doubts raised over the accuracy of information given on the Certificates of Origin issued by Thailand under the Early Harvest Scheme (a kind of free trade agreement). Niwattumrong said that Thailand's exports of gold to India is only 3 per cent of total imports of India. He added that rest of things in the scheme would not be changed.  "This is a private sector agreement. The FTA is still there. But in practice...exporters and importers agree so that we solve the problem," he added. The FTA with Thailand allows gold jewellery imports at a concessional customs duty of 1 per cent. This concessional rates make gold imports attractive, especially when considering that the duty for importing standard gold bars, gold coins and non-standard gold stand at up to 10 per cent. The Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had alleged that some traders were bypassing rules of origin norms to import gold under the FTA with Thailand. Under the rules of origin norms, a trader can import gold from Thailand if the value addition is 20 per cent. If strictly followed, sources said, the import of gold jewellery from Thailand should become less attractive as prices of gold in India and Thailand are the same. India, a big consumer of gold, has imposed restrictions on gold import due to rising current account deficit. In April-December 2012 gold imports stood at USD 38 billion, as against USD 56.5 billion in the full 2011-12 fiscal.

(Source: Economic Times)

Trilateral highway to Thailand may start soon

Days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggested that India and Asean countries should finalise a transit transport agreement by 2015, the government on Tuesday said that the ambitious trilateral highway covering India, Myanmar and Thailand will get operational soon. “We are working with the governments of Myanmar and Thailand to develop the trilateral highway, which, hopefully, will be completed soon,” said commerce & industry minister Anand Sharma. The highway will help in smoother and faster movement of goods between these regions.Incidentally, Singh had suggested the extension of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.Emphasising on the need to enhance road, air and sea connectivity, Sharma said that India is also working to develop the Kaladan multi-modal transport corridor, which comprises waterway and roadway. The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will connect Kolkata with Sittwe port in Myanmar by sea; it will then link Sittwe to Mizoram via river and road transport.Sharma said the project and the transport corridor will connect these countries (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Mayanmar) with the Northeastern part of India. The idea of the highway — from Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand, via Myanmar — was conceived at the trilateral ministerial meeting on transport linkages in Yangon in April 2002.The government is also looking at connecting India and Myanmar through a sea link, he added.

(Source: Financial Express)

Ban on import of gold coins and medallions to stay: P Chidambaram

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of lifting a ban on import of gold coins and medallions after he received suggestions that government should allow import of coins for 'shagun' (auspicious gift) purposes. "Import of gold coins and gold medallions is prohibited. Nobody can import gold coins and medallions," he said, adding that banks have been told to strictly follow guidelines on gold imports.  He said traders can buy gold from the domestic market and make coins, but the government will not relax the curbs that were imposed to contain the current account deficit (CAD). "I have asked banks to be very strict, at least for gold importing banks, to be very strict on gold imports. They have to scrupulously follow the RBI and government guidelines," he said.  The government is looking to contain gold imports at 850 tonne this fiscal as against 950 tonne in the corresponding period last year. Chidambaram had said this would lower the import bill by $4 billion. The government has raised the import duty on gold to 10% and the factory gate duty on gold bars to 9%.  High gold imports were one of the main reasons that pushed the CAD to a record high of 4.8% of GDP, or $88.2 billion, in the previous financial year.  Gold imports touched a high of 162.4 tonne in May and fell to 7.2 tonne in September. The government expects gold imports to come down to 800 tonne this fiscal.

(Source: Economic Times)

Economic Section

Royal Thai Embassy