Local Value Add in India-Singapore FTA Down to 35% from 40%
·
India Implements Second Review
Protocol
India and Singapore implements the second protocol amending the
Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), which will boost bilateral
trade, with both sides agreeing to expand the coverage of tariff concessions.
"Both sides agreed to expand the coverage of tariff
concessions, liberalize the Rules of Origin, rationalize Product Specific Rules
and include provisions on Certificate of Origin and Cooperation on its
verification.
"These measures will further facilitate trade between India
and Singapore and also improve utilization of CECA," the statement issued
by the Commerce Ministry said.
The provisions of the Second Protocol came into effect from
September 14, 2018.
"The two countries are exploring the possibility of
launching the 3rd Review of India-Singapore CECA in September 2018," an
official statement said here.
The conclusion of the Second Review of CECA was announced during
the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore on June 1, 2018.
Singapore is the second largest trading partner of India within
ASEAN, while India is the largest trading partner of Singapore in South Asia,
with a bilateral trade of $17.7 billion in 2017-18.
Singapore's trade with India constitutes about 21.8 percent of
India's total trade with ASEAN and 2.3 per cent of its global trade.
The CECA was the first comprehensive agreement covering trade in
goods, services and investments, which India had signed with any of its trading
partners. The CECA was signed on June 29, 2005 and its first review was
concluded on October 1, 2007.
[Notification No. 79/2018 - Customs (N.T.)
dated 14 September 2018]
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5 of
the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it
is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby makes the following rules further to amend
the Customs Tariff Determination of Origin of Goods under the Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of India and Republic of Singapore Rules, 2005, namely:-
1. Short title
and Commencement- (1)
These rules may be called the Customs Tariff Determination of Origin of Goods
under the Comprehensive Economic
Cooperation Agreement
between the Republic of India and Republic of Singapore (Amendment) Rules, 2018.
(2) They shall come into force on the
date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. (1) In the Customs Tariff Determination
of Origin of Goods under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the
Republic
of India
and Republic of Singapore Rules,
2005, (hereinafter referred to as the said rules),-
(2) In the said
rules, in Rule 5, in paragraph 1,-
(i) in clause (i) of sub-paragraph (a) for the figure “60%”, the words “sixty-five per cent.” shall be substituted;
(ii) in clause (ii) of sub-paragraph (a) for the words “four digit”, the words “six-digit” shall be substituted.
(3) In the said
rules, after Rule
5, the following rule shall be inserted,
namely:-
“5A. De Minimis
1.
A good that does not undergo a change in tariff classification pursuant to Rule
5 and Annex B in the final process
of production shall be
considered as originating if:
(a) for all goods except
those falling within chapters
50 through 63 of the Harmonised System:
(i) the value of all non-originating materials used in its production, which
do not undergo the
required change
in tariff classification, does not
exceed ten per cent. of the FOB value of
the good; and
(ii) the good meets all other applicable criteria set forth in the rules for
qualifying as an originating
good; and
(b) for goods falling within chapters
50 through 63 of the Harmonised System:
(i) the total weight of non-originating basic textile
materials used in its production, which do not undergo the required change in tariff
classification, does not exceed seven per cent. of the total weight of
all the basic textile material used;
and
(ii) the good meets all other applicable criteria set forth in the rules for qualifying as an originating
good.
2. The value of such
non-originating materials shall be included in the value of non-originating materials for any applicable local value added content requirement for the good.”.
(4) In the said rules, in Rule 16,-
(i) after the words “the government of the exporting Party”, the brackets and words
“(referred
to herein as “the Issuing
Authority”)” shall be inserted;
(ii) the brackets and words “(referred to herein as “the certifying Authority”)”
shall be omitted.
(5)
In the said rules, in Rule 17,-
(i) in paragraph 2, for the words “the customs administration”, the words “the
Customs Authority” shall be substituted;
(ii) in paragraph 2, for the words “the certifying authority”, the words “the Issuing
Authority” shall be substituted;
(iii) in paragraph 3, for the words “the certifying authority”, the words “the Issuing Authority” shall be substituted.
(6)
In the said rules, in Annex A,-
(i) in Rule 1, for the brackets, word and figure “(Attachment 1)”, the brackets and word
“(Attachment)” shall be substituted;
(ii) in
Rule
7,-
(a) in paragraph (b), for the word and figure “Appendix 1”, the word “Attachment”
shall be substituted;
(b) after paragraph
(e),
the following paragraphs shall be inserted, namely:-
“(f)
In
all cases, the number and date of the commercial invoice
shall be indicated in the box reserved for
this
purpose in the Certificate
of Origin.
(g) The
Certificate of Origin shall bear the signature and official
seal of the Issuing Authority. The signature and official seal
may
be applied electronically.”
(iii) in Rule 13, for paragraph (a), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(a) Certificate of Origin shall be submitted to the Customs Authority of the importing
Party within its validity
period, together with the
documents required at the time of customs clearance of the goods for the importation in accordance
with the laws and regulations of
the importing Party;
(aa) If a claim for preferential treatment is made without producing the Certificate of Origin, the Customs Authority of the importing Party
may deny
preferential treatment and request a guarantee in any
of its
modalities or may take any action necessary in order to preserve fiscal
interests, as a pre-condition for the completion of
the importation subject to and in accordance
with the laws and procedures of the importing Party. The guarantee shall be refunded to the importer if a
Certificate of Origin is subsequently
produced by
the Importer in
accordance to the laws
and procedures
of the importing Party.”;
(iv) for Rule
15, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(va) RETROACTIVE CHECKS
RULE 15
(a) The Customs
Authority of the importing Party, may
initiate a retroactive check relating to the authenticity of a certificate, as well as
the veracity of the information contained therein, in accordance with
the procedures established in the Rules, in cases of doubt or
on random
basis.
(b) In cases where the Customs Authority of the importing
Party deems it necessary
to seek a retroactive check from the Issuing Authority
of the
exporting Party, it shall specify
whether the verification is on random
basis or the veracity of the information
is in doubt. In case the
determination
of origin is in doubt, the Customs
Authority shall provide detailed grounds for the doubt concerning the veracity
of Certificate of
Origin.
(c) The Customs Authority
of the importing Party may
suspend the provisions on preferential treatment while awaiting the result of verification. However, it may release the products to the importer
subject to any administrative measures deemed necessary, provided
that they are not held to be subject to import prohibition or restriction
and there is no suspicion of fraud.
RULE 15A
Any request made pursuant to rule 15 shall
be in accordance with the following procedure, namely:
(a) The Customs Authority of the importing Party shall make a request for
retroactive check
by
providing a copy of
the Certificate(s)
of Origin.
(b) The Customs Authority shall specify whether it requires a verification of the genuineness of the Certificate of Origin to rule out any forgery, or seeks to verify the determination
of Origin.
(c)
In
cases where the Customs Authority of the importing Party seeks to verify the determination of origin, it shall send a questionnaire to the
competent authorities of the exporting Party, which shall be passed on to the exporter/producer/manufacturer, for such inquiry or documents, as
necessary.
(d) The Issuing Authority of the exporting Party
shall provide the information and documentation requested,
within:
(i) fifteen days of the date of receipt of the request, if the request pertains to the authenticity of issue of the Certificate of Origin, including the seal and signatures
of the Issuing Authority;
(ii) ninety days
from the date of receipt of such request, if the request is on the grounds of suspicion of the accuracy of the determination of origin of the product. Such period can be
extended through
mutual consultation between the
Customs Authority of the importing Party and Issuing Authority of the
exporting Party for a period
no more than sixty days.
(e)
On receiving the results of the retroactive check pursuant to clause (d),
if the Customs Authority of the importing Party
deems it necessary
to request for further
information, the Customs
Authority of the importing Party shall communicate the fact to the Issuing Authority
of the
exporting Party
within thirty days. The term for the presentation of additional information
shall be not more than ninety days, from the date
of the receipt of the request
for
the additional information.”.
(7)
In the said rules, for
the Annex B, the following Annex shall be
substituted, namely:-