India: Tariff concessions for imports from enumerated LDCs

Measure #1739 | Published 30 Aug 2010 ▲

Description

On 13 August 2008, the government initiated a scheme granting tariff concessions to enumerated least developed countries (LDCs). The list of beneficiaries from the Indian programme has repeatedly been extended since.
 
The content of the concessions has been unaffected by the change of beneficiaries and includes the following points:

  • In general, import tariffs are capped at a maximum of 80 percent of the applied rate.
  • In Appendix I, the government enumerates tariff lines with concessions smaller or equal to 20 percent.
  • In Appendix II, a negative list exempts 140 tariff lines from this concession.

 
On 8 June 2010, the announced concesssions have been doubled. From this day, imports from the beneficiaries are subject to a maximum tariff of 60 percent of the applied rate. Also, all tariff concessions smaller or equal to the cap have been doubled. 
 
On 15 September 2010, the concessions were again increased. The maximum tariff is now 40 percent of the applied rate. Also, the concessions in Appendix I have been increased (see Notification 95/2010).
 
The list of beneficiaries includes the following countries:

  • 13 August 2008: Cambodia and Tanzania.
  • 28 August 2008: Ethiopia, Lao, Malawi, Mozambique and Samoa.
  • 19 January 2009: Benin, Eritrea, Malawi and Myanmar.
  • 4 May 2009: Sudan.
  • 9 June 2009: Senegal.
  • 6 August 2009: Lesotho and Mali.
  • 13 May 2010: Somalia.
  • 14 May 2010: Bangladesh, Burundi and the Maldives.
  • 8 June 2010: East Timor and Zambia.
  • 1 December 2010: Central African Republic

 
This measure is evaluated as amber as it discriminates among LDCs. Judging from the current list of beneficiaries, 22 LDCs that have trade with India exceeding USD 1 million do not benefit from the stated scheme.

Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:

Question Result
Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations?
Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered?
Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government?
Was such evidence identified?
Is such evidence publicly available?
Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives?
Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken?
Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory?
Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation?

Implementing Jurisdiction:

Affected Trading Partners:


[view 6 more jurisdictions]

Measure type:

Affected Sectors:


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Affected Tariff Lines:


[view 49 more tariff lines]

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Date Discovered:

Implemented: Yes

Date of inception: 1 Dec 2010

GTA Evaluation: Amber

Source:

Ministry of Finance. (2008). Notification 96/2008. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k8/cs96-2k8.htm

Ministry of Finance. (2008). Notification 99/2008. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k8/cs99-2k8.htm

Ministry of Finance. (2009). Notification 7/2009. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k9/cs07-2k9.htm

Ministry of Finance. (2009). Notification 45/2009. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k9/cs45-2k9.htm

Ministry of Finance. (2009). Notification 59/2009. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k9/cs59-2k9.htm

Ministry of Finance. (2009). Notification 86/2009. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k9/cs86-2k9.htm

Ministry of Finance. (2010). Notification 63/2010. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k10/cs-tarr2...

Ministry of Finance. (2010). Notification 64/2010. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k10/cs-tarr2...

Ministry of Finance. (2010). Notification 67/2010. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k10/cs-tarr2...

Ministry of Finance. (2010). Notification 95/2010. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k10/cs-tarr2...

Ministry of Finance. (2010). Notification 121(2010. Available at http://www.cbec.gov.in/customs/cs-act/notifications/notfns-2k10/cs-tarr2...

Government Response:

  • 854 reads
Glossary of trade terms