Daily News - Wednesday, 3 July 2024
Put Off Health Stamp for Milk, Pork, Fish Imports: US to India (The Economic Times)
The US has requested India to delay by six months the enforcement of a new health certificate requirement for imported food consignments of milk, pork, and fish to allow time for bilateral negotiations to reach a mutually agreed solution. At the WTO, the US, supported by the EU, Australia, and Japan, raised concerns that India's requirement for health certificates, which confirm the absence of certain diseases and contaminants, is trade restrictive and involves unnecessary duplication of certificates. The US urged India to implement only necessary science and risk-based sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, suggesting the delay would minimize trade disruptions while continuing to allow market access under existing conditions.
‘Moderating inflation aiding goods trade recovery in India, China’ (The Indian Express)
India and China demonstrated strong quarter-over-quarter export growth in Q1 2024, reversing the decline in goods trade among major economies, according to a UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report. This resurgence in global trade was supported by positive dynamics in the US, driven by moderating inflation and improved economic forecasts, as well as rising demand for products related to energy transition and artificial intelligence. However, UNCTAD warned of persistent downside risks, including geopolitical tensions, rising shipping costs, and emerging industrial policies, which could concentrate global supply among major exporters, fuel inflation, and marginalize smaller economies, potentially leading to trade fragmentation and increased protectionism.
Power sector eyes green policy push, tax breaks (Business Standard)
With India's accelerating green energy transition, the energy sector is looking to the upcoming Union Budget for policy support and tax benefits, particularly in reducing GST rates on renewable energy components and providing viability gap funding for emerging sectors like green hydrogen, offshore wind, and energy storage. Hero Future Energies CEO Srivatsan Iyer and AMPIN Energy Transition CFO SK Gupta both emphasised the need for lower GST on solar modules, wind turbines, and electrolysers to cut project costs and suggested removing or relaxing the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) requirement to ease capacity constraints. Additionally, there is a call for initial subsidy support and tax relaxation on crucial raw materials to boost the growth of green hydrogen and battery storage, with EY India’s Raju Kumar highlighting the need for policy support to address infrastructure, storage, and transportation challenges for the green hydrogen mission.
Merchants get time to shift to new tax reporting regime (mint)
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the deadline for importers, exporters, and other stakeholders to transition to a new advance reporting regime for consignments by two months, moving the deadline from June 30 to August 31. The new Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment (SCMT) Regulations of 2018, amended on June 30, replace outdated regulations and specify timelines and formats for manifest declarations based on voyage duration. This extension aims to allow stakeholders time to adapt to the new system, which enhances transparency and predictability, and expedites customs clearance. The CBIC's initiative, part of broader efforts to improve customs processes, includes encouraging parallel filing in both old and new formats to ensure a smooth transition.
RBI proposes to ease forex rules for exporters (Financial Express)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed that banks, as authorised foreign exchange dealers, must provide traders with a reasonable opportunity to be heard before being 'caution listed' for failing to realise payments for exports within 24 months. This proposal is part of the draft Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Act Regulations 2024, which reiterates that all export proceeds must be repatriated to India within nine months from the shipment date for goods and invoice date for services, while also requiring exporters to provide a declaration specifying the full export value. The new guidelines suggest that if exporters can demonstrate efforts to pursue delayed payments, they may avoid being caution-listed, which previously led to automatic restrictions by the RBI's system if payments were delayed beyond 24 months.
