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Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020

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BestCurrentAffairs.com The Department of Commerce comes under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The Department formulates, implements and monitors the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP). The long-term vision of the Department is to make India a major player in the world trade by 2020.  India’s merchandise exports recorded a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.09 per cent from April March 2009-10 to April-March 2018-19 (QE). Merchandise exports reached a new peak of US$ 331.02 billion during April-March 2018-19 (QE) surpassing the earlier high of US$ 314 achieved in 2013-14 registering a positive growth of 9.06 per cent over previous year.  The Trade deficit in Apr-Mar 2018-19 (QE) was estimated at US$ 176.42 billion which was higher than the deficit of US$ 162.05 billion during the corresponding period of the previous year.  As per the latest report i.e. WEO, April, 2019, India has achieved a growth rate of 7.1 per cent in 2018, while China had a growth of 6.6 per cent.  As per the current rankings for the year 2018, India is the 19th largest exporter (with a share of 1.7 per cent) and 10th largest importer (with a share of 2.6 per cent) of merchandise trade in the world. China is the top ranked exporter and America is the first largest importer of merchandise trade in the world. In Commercial Services, India is the 8th largest exporter (with a share of 3.5 per cent) and 10th largest importer (with a share of 3.2 per cent). USA is the top exporter as well as the top importer of commercial services trade in the world.  The Five-year Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 provides a framework for increasing exports of goods and services. The procedure contains the following documents:- (a) Hand Book of Procedures, (b) Appendices & Aayat-Niryat Forms and (c) Standard Input Output Norms (SION).  The FTP introduces two new schemes, namely Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) for export of specified goods to specified markets and Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) for increasing exports of notified services. MEIS schedule was launched and has been running successfully since 2018. A new Risk Management System has been developed to scrutinize cases under MEIS based on HS Codes rather than random selection and is under implementation by the field offices of DGFT.  The e-com module for applying for MEIS for e commerce shipments was launched in 2019 and a new Aayat Niryat form, with minimum documentation for the same was also notified.  A new application form for exporters to apply under Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) was notified in 2018, which does away with unnecessary fields.  Advance Authorization Scheme allows duty free import of inputs, along with fuel, oil, catalyst, etc., required for manufacturing the export product. Inputs are allowed either as per Standard Input Output Norms (SION) or on adhoc norms basis under actual user condition. Norms are fixed by Technical Committee or Norms Committee. This facility is available for physical exports (also including supplies to SEZ units and SEZ Developers) and deemed exports including intermediate supplies.  Under DFIA Scheme operational from 2006, Duty Free Import Authorization shall be issued on post export basis for products for which Standard Input Output Norms (SION) have been notified, once export is completed.  The Schemes for Gems and Jewellery Sector are – Advance Procurement/replenishment of Precious Metals from Nominated Agencies; Replenishment authorization for Gems; Replenishment authorization for Consumables; Advance authorization for Precious Metals. In view of demand raised by the industry, the Findings like posts, push backs, locks which help in collating the Jewellery pieces together, containing gold of 3 carats and above up to a maximum limit of 22 carats have also been allowed under scheme.  Authorizations are issued under the various schemes, viz., Advance Authorization, Duty Free Import Authorization (DFIA) and Replenishment License (Gems and Jewellery).  Export Promotion of Capital Goods (EPCG): The objective of the EPCG Scheme is to facilitate import of capital goods for producing quality goods and services to enhance India’s export competitiveness. The Scheme allows import under of capital goods at zero customs duty subject to an export obligation equivalent to 6 times of duties, taxes.  Established in 1991, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is headed by Director General of Foreign Trade.  This Directorate, with headquarters at New Delhi, is responsible for formulating and implementing the Foreign Trade Policy with the main objective of promoting India’s exports. The regional offices are located at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Belagavi, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Dehradun, Ernakulam (Kochi), Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Madurai, Moradabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Panaji (Goa), Panipat, Patna, Puducherry, Pune, Raipur, Rajkot, Shillong, Srinagar, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi, Visakhapatnam, Vadodara and Vijayawada. DGFT HQ and many of its regional offices are ISO 9000:2008 certified organizations.  In the last two years, over 50,000 entrepreneurs have been trained under the Niryat Bandhu programme implemented by DGFT, thus complementing the Startup India and Skill India initiatives. Institutional set up under the Department like – Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Indian Institute of Packaging, Indian Institute of Plantation, Export Promotion Councils, Centres of Excellence, Plantation Research Institutes, etc., – are being leveraged for capacity building, export promotion, research and analysis and long term policy formulation.

Book by BestCurrentAffairs.com for IAS Prelims 2020  The Centre for Research in International Trade (CRIT) will have 5 centres namely Centre for Trade and

Investment law, Centre for Regional Trade, Centre for Training, Centre for Trade Promotion and Centre for

WTO Studies. The Council for Trade Development and Promotion was constituted in July 2015. BestCurrentAffairs.com India was one of the first in Asia to recognise the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was announced in April 2000. SEZs in India functioned from 2000 to 2006 under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy and fiscal incentives were made effective through the provisions of relevant statutes. The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect in 2006, providing simplification of procedures and single window clearance on matters relating to central and state governments.  Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) created a dedicated e-market 'Government Marketplace' (GeM) for different goods and services procured/sold by government/PSUs, a technology driven platform to facilitate procurement of goods and services by various ministries and agencies of the government. The portal was launched in 2016 and became fully functional by October, 2016. DGS&D was wound up in October 2017.  National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) was set up following ratification by India of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Four working groups have been set up to focus on (i) infrastructure, (ii) legal issues, (iii) outreach and (iv) time release study. Further, the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) drawn out in consultation with the stakeholders, identifying 76 trade facilitation measures with implementation timelines of which 51 are TFA-plus activities. Under TFA category ‘B’ items, efforts are being made to expedite implementation of these measures within 3 years, in advance of the envisaged 5 years. Comprehensive IT-based system called Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) for monitoring of export of goods and software and facilitating authorised dealer banks to report various returns through a single platform developed by RBI.  A state-of-art trade analytics has been put in place in Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for data based policy actions. Successful implementation of the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) had been rolled out in all PAOS of this office Pay and Accounts Offices of Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.  The role of Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) under the Department is to provide the level playing field to the country’s domestic industry from the foreign exporters so that they are able to compete effectively in the domestic market. This measure is taken under the WTO agreement and comes under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and Rules made there under. In August 2017, the investigation processes of DGAD became ISO 9001:2015 compliant which brought in transparency and accountability in its operations.