Alerts from the Indian Trade Portal on Tariff/Preferential Tariff/SPS and TBT measures/GST/Export incentives/Export-Import Policy Conditions etc. are given under. Please click on a notification for the details.

COVID-19 MEASURES

Import free time announcement by Shipping lines on 6 May 2020

• MSC India Pvt. Ltd - All uncleared containers discharged at Indian Ports or arrived at ICDs on or after March 5th till May 3rd shall be eligible for free time from March 22nd till May 3rd 2020.
  
  
• MEARSK  - Revised guidelines on Import Free time - Pan India, Nepal and Bhutan published
  
  
• Ocean Network Express - COVID-19 Customer Advisory: Revised guideline on import free time published
  
  
• CMA CGM - Extending detention free time for export & import shipments (Pan India) from 22nd March 2020 to 3rd May 2020 (both days inclusive). This is in addition to any free time arrangement that is currently agreed and availed as part of negotiated contractual terms
  
  
• HAMSBURG SUD - COVID-19 Guidelines on Import free time pan India published
  
  
• Safemarine - Revised guidelines on Import free time - pan India, Nepal and Bhutan

Pharmaceutical/Medical devices

• Rapid / CLIA / ELISA Kits approved for testing of Covid-19 as on 04.05.2020 published
  
  
• PCR Kits approved for testing of Covid-19 as on 04.05.2020 published
  
  

• Characteristics of cosmetic products containing alcohol for hand sanitization that are not allowed to produce, import or sale
  
  
• Establishes temporary criteria for acceptance of Certificates of Free Sale assemble for granting market authorization of imported medical devices during the epidemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19)
  
  
• Establishes temporary criteria and procedures for market authorization of imported pharmaceuticals, medical devices (surgical mask, N95 mask, Personal Protective Equipment: PPE, in vitro diagnostic test kits), hazardous substances used in households (70 percent w/w ethyl alcohol and sodium hypochlorite) and hand sanitizers during the epidemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19)
  
  
• Import of industrial products subject to conformity assessment shall be granted for import per shipment only
  
  
• Brazil - National Health Surveillance Agency published norms related import of ICU equipment

General

• India - Clarification with regard to Description of Stock Lot used in Notification No-45-2015-20 dated 31st January, 2020

• India - Provisional Clearance of Goods under India’s Trade Agreements

• Lebanon - Falsified medical products including in vitro diagnostics, that claim to prevent, detect, treat or cure COVID-19.

GOODS & SERVICES TAX

• Seeks to clarify ’’issues in respect of challenges faced by the registered persons in implementation of provisions of GST Laws’’(Circular No. 138/08/2020)
  
  
• Seeks to extend the due date for furnishing FORM GSTR-3B, Jan-March, 2020 returns for the taxpayers registered in Ladakh(Notification 42/2020- Central Tax)
  
  
• Seeks to extend the due date for furnishing of FORM GSTR 9/9C for FY 2018-19 till 30th September, 2020 (Notification no 41/2020- Central Tax)
  
  
• Seeks to extend the validity of e-way bills till 31.05.2020 for those e-way bills which expire during the period from 20.03.2020 to 15.04.2020 and generated till 24.03.2020 (Notification no 40/2020- Central Tax)
  
  
• Seeks to make amendments to special procedure for corporate debtors undergoing the corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016(Notification no 39/2020- Central Tax)
  
  
• Seeks to make fifth amendment (2020) to CGST Rules(Notification no. 38/2020- Central Tax)

AGRICULTURE

Animal Originated Products

• Brazil - Proposes Animal health requirements for exporting products to Brazil and Import requirements for sheep embryos collected in vivo

• New Zealand - Proposes Import Health Standards for bovine germplasm

• South Korea - Enforcement decree of the prevention of livestock epidemics published

• South Korea - Enforcement decree of the livestock law published

Plant & Plant Products

• Birdseed
• Raw seed for human consumption
• Medium risk plants for use as nursery stock
• Bulbs to be grown in open quarantine for use as nursery stock
• Plant species that are weeds
• Animal trophies, articles and handicraft items
• Situational changes for the import of untanned animal hides and skins

Food Products

• Canada  - Modified the list of permitted preservatives to enable the use of benzoic acid and its salts in oyster flavoured sauce

• Mexico - Establishes the process and requirements that producers or product managers must meet to demonstrate compliance with products called cheese and their different names in accordance with the Official Mexican Standard NOM-223-SCFI / SAGARPA-2018

• Singapore - Veterinary Conditions for importation of Pasteurised Shell Eggs published

• India - Tariff Value of Edible Oils, Brass Scrap, Poppy Seeds, Areca Nut, Gold and Silver notified

• South Korea - Proposing following amendments to Standards and Specification for Health Functional Foods
  • Expand the manufacturing method and health claim of "Probiotics"
  • Apply the company’’s own test method
  • Revise the health claim in "Vitamin E, Vitamin C"
  • Add new health claim and daily intake amount in "Ginseng"

• South Africa - Proposes use of Electronic system for the issuance of phytosanitary certificates and electronic stamps and signatures

• India - Union Agriculture Minister says the Government accords highest priority to agriculture sector even during the lockdown period

• Indonesia - Accepting electronic/digital/scanned Phytosanitary Certificate from all countries

PHARMACEUTICAL, MEDICAL DEVICE & CHEMICAL PRODUCTS

Pharmaceutical Products

• India -The Notification No. 53 dated 24.03.2020 is amended to the extent that only "Alcohol based Hand Sanitizers" falling under any ITCHS Code including the HS Codes 3004, 3401, 3402, 380894 are prohibited for export. All other items falling under the above HS Codes are freely exportable

• Lebanon - Department of Pharmacy and Medicines, Lebanon published following on 4 May 2020
  • Decision to cancel the registration of Zordyl Mouth Wash from the Lebanese market and prevent its circulation.(Resolution 473-2020)
  • Decision warning regarding the presence of counterfeit medicines in Africa.(Resolution 474-2020)
  • Decision to withdraw medical product smuggled from the Lebanese market and prevent its circulation, Chloroxidex, 300 ml produced under GMP for TrioPharm Ltd.-UK.(Resolution 475-2020)

• United Kingdom - The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 published

Medical Device

• South Korea - Medical device act enforcement rules published

Chemical Products

• EU- Seek to approves formaldehyde as an active substance for use in biocidal products of product-types 2 & 3

• USA - Cancellation Order for Certain Pesticide Registrations and Amendments To Terminate Uses

PETROL & DIESEL

• India - Seeks to amend notification No. 18/2019-Customs dated 6th July, 2019 so as to increase effective rate of Road and Infrastructure Cess (RIC) collected as additional duty of customs on petrol and diesel by Rs. 8 per litre(Notification No. 21/2020-Customs)
• India - Seeks to amend notification No. 04/2019-Central Excise dated 6th July, 2019 so as to increase effective rate of Road and Infrastructure Cess (RIC) collected as additional duty of excise on petrol and diesel by Rs. 8 per litre(Notification No. 6/2020-Central Excise)
• India - Seeks to amend notification No. 05/2019-Central Excise dated 6th July, 2019 so as to increase effective rate of Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on petrol by Rs. 2 per lire and on diesel by Rs. 5 per litre(Notification No. 5/2020-Central Excise)

• Philippines - Temporarily modifying the rates of import duty on crude petroleum oil and refined petroleum products under section 1611 of republic act no. 10863

ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATION

• India - Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad exhorts the Electronics Industry to explore the new opportunities arising out of the adversity

Telecommunication products

• Regulation on VHF radiotelephone used in maritime mobile service
• Regulation on VHF radiotelephone used in survival craft
• Regulation on digital receiver used in DVB-T2 digital terrestrial television broadcasting
• Regulation on radio equipment in the Low power wide area networks (LPWAN) operating in the 920 MHz frequency range
• Regulation on wideband data transmission equipment operating in the 2.4 GHz band

Date: 5 May 2020
Product coverage: VHF radiotelephone, digital receiver used in DVB-T2, radio equipment, wideband data transmission equipment

HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE

• India - Clarification with respect to submission of Pre-shipment Inspection Certificate (PSIC).

• Thailand - Department of Industrial Works made an announcement on 4 May 2020 that importer of  hazardous  substance can apply for a registration and a certificate of hazardous substance through the electronic platform called HSSS (Hazardous Substance Single Submission)
  
  
• Thailand - Department of Foreign Trade made an announcement on 4 May 2020 that import of E-waste covers electronic and electrical equipment assemblies including a scarp containing accumulators and other batteries mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glasses and, PCB-capacitors, not contaminated with Cadmium, Mercury, Lead Polychlorinated Biphenylasetc into Thailand is prohibited

EXCHANGE RATE & OTHERS

• India - Exchange rate of one unit of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees

• India - Shri Goyal says that in the post-Covid era, there is going to be perceptible change in the global supply-chains, and India should be looking to capture significant share in the world trade

• India - MHA to States/UTs: Ensure Free Movement of Trucks/Goods Carriers; Essential to Maintain Supply Chain of Goods and Services in the country

• India - PM Modi holds a meeting to discuss ways to boost Coal & Mining sector and Defence & Aerospace Sector