The import policy in India is regulated by the Export and Import Policies, also known as EXIM Policy ,which plays an integral role in deciding India's foreign trade policy. Like the other sectors of Indian economy, namely industry, services, agriculture and retail, the import sector is considered to be an important parameter to determine the health of Indian economy.
Covered under EXIM policy, the import policy of India is mainly influenced by some elements, such as industrial and consumer needs, to optimize the foreign exchange effectively and to meet nation's economic needs in the fast changing business scenario. To put in the simple terms, it can be said that the Indian import policies are made to foster sustained economic growth with an easy access to the necessary imported consumables and services with simplification of import procedures along with the promotion of a healthy competition for the domestic producers.
Main Laws Governing the Indian Import Sector
- Every importer in India, whether individual or an entity, comply with the the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, the rules, orders made thereunder and the provisions for the time being in force.
- The different rates for the import duties, custom duty, excise and other mandatory duties are revised every year in the General Budget of India.
- The import of goods in India is strictly regulated by the domestic laws, rules, regulations and other norms applied for the safety of the environment.
- All the tariffs and taxes on the import of products are levied regulated by the Customs Act of India.
- Foreign Trade (Exemption from Application of Rules in Certain Cases) Order 1993
- Notifications under Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act 1992.
Regulations and Procedures
- The first category of goods that can be imported is named Freely Importable Goods. In this category any individual or an entity can import capital goods items without license of import.
- Few items need license for import by the individual or an entity. There are some items that can not be imported under this category are called the Negative Items like the products related to safety and security, plants and animals (in year 1993 government of India raised restriction of license for various agriculture products), few electronic items and some products groups like consumer goods, precious and semi precious stones.
- There are some items which can only be imported by specified Public Sector Agencies are called Canalised Items. For example the import of petroleum products can be done by the public sector oil company, the Indian Oil Corporation, the chemical fertilizers are imported in India by the Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation and like that oils and seeds can be imported by the State Trading Corporation.
Import of gifts which are freely importable is permitted under the policy, however in other cases a Customs Clearance Permit (CCP) is mandatory by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)
Every importer and exporter (unless exempted specifically) is provided a unique identification code called Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) number.
Restrictions
Apart from the negative items list and canalised items list, there are few other products list below, which are covered under the restriction of importing of goods.
- Prohibited List - Tallow, Fat and/or Oils (rendered, unrendered or otherwise) of any animal origin including the Lard stearine, Oleo stearine, Tallow stearine, Lard oil, Oleo oil and Tallow oil.
- Fats/ oils of fish/marine origin, meat's-foot oil and fats from bone or waste and poultry fats, rendered, solvent or extracted, also fall in this category.
- The products made from the ivory or any other part of the wild animals are also included in the prohibited list of products for import.
The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) may enforce a restriction through a notification for the interest and protection of public morals, environment safety, copyright act, trademarks, patents and also for the protection of national treasures having historic or archaeological values.
The ITC(HS) Classification of Export and Import items contains 99 chapters and in each chapter there are column heading covering Exim Code, items description, policy and nature or restriction. The information related to import policy for any item can be obtained from our site under Customs Duty Calculator Schedule.
If you want to know more about the Foreign Trade in India and to get the detailed regulations, procedures about the Export Import Policy of India, visit
exim.indiamart.com.
