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A38 EXCISE LAW TIMES [ Vol. 372

duty reduction from the Government to withstand the onslaught of the Corona-
virus Outbreak (COVID-19).
At a meeting called by the Commerce Department, they said products
that rely on imports have been affected by the outbreak.
Meanwhile, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) has asked the In-
surance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) to review exist-
ing insurance products to ensure risk cover against loss because of abnormal
delay in delivery of shipments. Irdai has also been asked to modify the terms and
conditions of such policies, if necessary.
Ravi Sehgal, Chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council, said
there were about 30-40 per cent engineering products that were seeing increase
in exports, but there were others that had imported components, and these were
affected. Shipments to Iran, Italy or Southeast Asia were impacted, he said.
Sources said that for auto parts, ships were taking too long and this was
affecting the production cycle, and the Industry would have to spend more on
air freight. “We have sought 5 per cent duty reduction to offset part of air freight
cost. As for electronics, the stock will be depleted by April and a plan needs to be
drawn up now,” one of those who attended the meeting, chaired by Minister of
State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash, said.
Sources said some firms had imported plant and machinery but could
install these because of a lack of professionals thanks to travel restrictions. “Once
it resumes, we request faster clearance for these professionals,” one person said.
Meanwhile, DFS advised all public sector undertakings to set up special
cells to provide full assistance to Industry segments and micro, small and medi-
um enterprises and process their requests with sensitivity. Banks were also re-
quested to provide support to units that were identifying opportunities for im-
port substitution.
India’s exporters have had mixed experiences with their global clients af-
ter the outbreak of COVID-19 - some sectors have seen a major decline in trade,
while others are seeing clients queue up, looking for alternative sources to re-
duce their dependence on China.
Sample this : Exports of cut and polished diamonds fell about 41 per cent
in February to $ 1.38 billion, one of the sharpest monthly falls in a decade. To be
sure, the sector has been witnessing a slowdown for a while - in the 11 months of
this fiscal, exports are down 19.38 per cent to $17.7 billion. Overall, the gross
exports of gems and jewellery was down 20.6 per cent to $ 2.9 billion in Febru-
ary.
However, COVID-19 hasn’t helped. For instance, a major annual indus-
try event that was scheduled to be held in Hong Kong last month was post-
poned, hitting India’s gems and jewellery exporters hard. Subodh Rai, Senior
Director, CRISIL Ratings said that, “business side pressures are expected to con-
tinue for 2-3 quarters, also because of worsening impact of COVID-19 in the US
and Europe, which are the other critical export markets. The liquidity profile of
companies are somewhat constrained. However, we are yet to observe any major
payment delays.” In this instance, the global slowdown has compounded exist-
ing domestic issues (like difficulty in securing bank finance).
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas said in a report that the anticipation of an
economic slowdown had already led several US-based businesses to pull back
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