Govt, exporters to talk customs issues today

NEW DELHI: A working group setup by the government is set to meet exporters of traditional goods such as leather, apparel, handicrafts, carpets and seafood on Monday to discuss ways to resolve customs-related bottlenecks and improve the competitiveness of Indian exports.

The consultative meeting will also discuss quality and cost of services provided by intermediaries in the customs environment, like customs brokers, shipping lines, forwarders and custodians.

“There is round-the-clock customs clearance on paper, but that is not happening even in major ports because of shortage of staff. We want the government to clearly say whether this facility can be made available in reality or not,” said an apparel exporter who is likely to attend the meeting.


India’s merchandise exports grew 9% to $331 billion in 2018-19, helped by higher shipment of engineering goods, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products and chemicals.

The working group, setup by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in February, will discuss with exporters the impact of free trade agreements signed by India, tariff concessions vis-à-vis non-tariff barriers faced by exporters in export markets, and facilitation of e-commerce exports.

“We want bank charges, while claiming drawback, to be waived off because many countries give that incentive,” said another exporter.

CBIC had constituted three working groups in February to study and recommend measures to facilitate trade, promote exports and improve compliance after holding consultations with stakeholders, including the Export Promotion Councils and department of commerce. The exercise is aimed at making it easy to do business, augment revenue and curb frauds.