The Hindu Business Line : Tariff concessions for 93% of imports from Singapore

New coverage
Protocol to amend comprehensive pact signed
Tariff elimination is to be achieved in five equal cuts
Revenue Department to notify the products shortly

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Dec. 20 India has agreed to eliminate/reduce tariff on 539 products, mostly manufactured goods with Singapore within the extant India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).

The two countries today signed a Protocol to amend the India-Singapore CECA to expand the tariff liberalisation package within the Trade in Goods Chapter, an official release said. Singapore recently pleaded for tariff elimination/reduction for certain products.

Of the 539 tariff lines, tariff elimination is to be achieved in five equal cuts between January 15, 2008 and December 1, 2011 for 307 items. These 307 items comprise mainly articles of base metal, machinery and mechanical appliances, chemicals and textile and textile articles.

For another 97 products, tariff elimination is to be achieved in nine equal cuts between January 15, 2008 and December 1, 2015. These 97 items comprise mainly machinery and mechanical appliances, plastic and rubber articles and textile and textile articles.

For 135 products, tariff reduction to five per cent duty is to be achieved in 9 equal cuts between January 15, 2008 and December 1, 2015. These items comprised mainly chemicals, plastic and drubber articles and machinery and mechanical appliances.

Under the extant Trade in Goods Agreement, about 83 per cent value of India’s imports from Singapore are covered under products for which tariff is being eliminated or reduced. After the proposed additional tariff concessions, this coverage would go up to about 93 per cent. It has also been decided to extend, under India-Singapore CECA, additional concessions that India may offer under ASEAN-India FTA (free trade agreement) in goods in terms of product coverage, timeline, rules of origin, with appropriate amendments to India-Singapore CECA subsequently, it was clarified.

The Revenue Department is expected to notify the products shortly so that the tariff concession exchanged would take effect from January 1, 2008.

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