Page 43 - ELT_1st September 2020_Vol 373_Part 5

2020 ] TIT-BITS A145

Last week, the Finance Ministry notified the Manufacture and Other Op-
erations in Special Warehouse Regulations, 2020 (MOOSWR) simplifying the
procedures for in-bond manufacture of sensitive items. The Central Board of
Indirect Taxes and Customs issued a circular clarifying many issues and pre-
scribing simpler forms. For manufacturers getting license to operate under the
new regulation, physical control by the Customs for sensitive items will apply
for receipt, despatch and storage of goods in the strong room. The operations in
the licensed area, other than the strong room, will be free of physical control.
Some issues regarding the in-bond manufacture provisions include the
requirement of triple duty bond, absence of deemed export benefits for procure-
ment from domestic sources and clear procedures for sending duty free inputs
for job-work, requirement of duty payment on in-bond value when capital goods
used in the bonded warehouse are sold in domestic tariff area, inadequate clarity
on bond-to-bond transfer of manufactured goods, warehousing periods for
goods used for manufacture and goods not so used. Hopefully, these issues will
get due attention.
The Ministry deserves appreciation for trusting the manufacturers but
for the scheme of in-bond manufacture to become popular the irritants must be
removed.
[Source : T.N.C. Rajagopalan in Business Standard, New Delhi, dated 24-8-
2020]

Government frames ‘rules of origin’ norms for imports un-
der FTAs
The Government has come out with norms for the enforcement of ‘rules
of origin’ provisions for allowing preferential rate of Customs Duties on Prod-
ucts Imported under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The new norms have been
framed with a view to checking inbound shipments of low quality products and
dumping of goods by a third country routed through an FTA partner country.
These rules shall apply to import of goods into India where the importer
makes a claim of preferential rate of duty in terms of a trade agreement”, it said.
The “rules of origin” provision prescribes the minimal processing that should
happen in the FTA country so that the final product may be called originating
goods in that country.
Under this provision, a country that has inked an FTA with India cannot
dump goods from some third country in the domestic market by just putting a
label on it. It has to undertake a prescribed value addition in that product to ex-
port to India. ‘Rules of origin’ norms help contain dumping of goods. India has
inked FTAs with Japan and Singapore, among others.
[Source : The Times of India, New Delhi, dated 24-8-2020]

Tighter import norms for certain chemicals, plastics
India on 11-8-2020 tightened the import norms for certain chemicals and
plastics mandating their importers to submit the bill of entry to the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change for some items and prohibited the
imports of those which contain HCFC, an ozone-depleting chemical. These

EXCISE LAW TIMES  1st September 2020  43