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| Friday, 30 January 2004 |
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India allows free import of gold NEW DELHI, Thursday (AFP) India freed up Wednesday the import of gold into the country, the world's largest consumer of the precious metal, and eased customs duties on other goods to boost trade. The announcement by the government came as it geared up for early national elections expected to be held in April or May and followed a flurry of tax cuts and other economic concessions announced earlier. "In keeping with demands from the trade, we are allowing the free import of gold and silver into the country," said Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, while announcing India's interim import-export policy for the fiscal year 2004-2005. The move to lift quantative restrictions would allow gem and jewellery exporters to pay customs duties and bring gold and silver into the country directly, bypassing authorised agencies. Jaitley said the government would issue a more far-reaching import-export policy after the national elections. He also told a news conference that the government would allow the duty free import of professional equipment for the booming services sector. The move to lift quantative restrictions would allow gem and jewellery exporters to pay customs duties and bring gold and silver into the country directly, bypassing authorised agencies. Jaitley said the government would issue a more far-reaching import-export policy after the national elections. He also told a news conference that the government would allow the duty free import of professional equipment for the booming services sector. India's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has pushed for elections in April or May to capitalise on the country's robust economic growth and electoral gains in recent state polls. The government also introduced what it called a "gold card" scheme for credit-worthy exporters with good track records to permit them to get credit on "the very best terms" that would be worked out by the Reserve Bank of India. The government also allowed the duty-free import of fuels for the manufacturing sector to offset high power costs. Jaitley added that cultural heritage and budget hotels would be permitted to import alcohol without paying duties, although import restrictions would remain on agricultural, dairy products and automobiles. "The duty concessions being shown to heritage and two- and three-star hotels must be passed on to customers," said Jaitley. The customs duty on Scotch whisky stands at nearly 200 percent, while it adds up to 104 percent for French, Australian, American and Italian wines. India, which was one of the most protectionist countries, has been steadily liberalising its economy since 1991 but import restrictions remain on more than 100 items, mainly defence and hazardous chemicals. Jaitley said India was on course to meet its target of 12 percent export growth in the fiscal year to March 2004. In fact, India's exports in the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2004 recorded 13.48 percent growth from the same period in the previous 12 months. Total exports in April to December 2003 were valued at 42.4 billion dollars. "We've seen a dramatic turnaround in exports. We're confident of meeting our target. In fact, exports in the last few months and the months ahead will far exceed the target," Jaitley told the conference. India finally managed to cross exports of 50 billion dollars in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2003. "The government plans to push exports to 80 billion dollars annually by 2007," said Jaitley, adding that India aimed to grab one percent of global trade by 2005, up from 0.64 percent currently. |
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