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Country-of-origin onus on Importers
Why is it in news?
- The Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR, 2020), shall come into force from September 21.
Details:
- Importers will have to ensure that imported goods meet the prescribed ‘rules of origin’ provisions for availing concessional rate of customs duty under free trade agreements (FTAs).
- An importer would now have to enter certain origin related information in the Bill of Entry, as available in the Certificate of Origin.
- ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) FTA allows imports of most items at nil or concessional basic customs duty from the 10-nation bloc.
- Major imports to India come from five ASEAN countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
- CAROTAR 2020 supplements the existing operational certification procedures prescribed under different trade agreements.
To curb re-routing:
- The benefit of concessional customs duty rate applies only if an ASEAN member country is the country of origin of goods.
- This means that goods originating from China and routed through these countries will not be eligible for customs duty concessions under the ASEAN FTA.