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This is an archive article published on January 24, 1999
Free import list to be expanded
NEW DELHI, Jan 23: The next phase of economic reforms is on with the proposed transfer of roughly 200 to 300 items, now on the restricted...
Written by S Venkitachalam
January 24, 1999 12:00 AM IST
2 min read
2 min read
NEW DELHI, Jan 23: The next phase of economic reforms is on with the proposed transfer of roughly 200 to 300 items, now on the restricted list of import in the 1997-2002 export import policy, to the special import licence SIL and freely importable lists. This is in keeping with India8217;s commitment to the World Trade Organisation to phase out qantitative restrictions on imports.
The shifting expected to take effect along with other changes in the policy due to be announced by commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde on April 1. There are about 1200 items including the above ones which are currently on the restricted list of imports of the policy.
As per the agreement reached with the European Union and several other developed countries, these items are to be phased out by the year 2003. The issue is under dispute with the US.
About 1200 such items are already allowed to be imported freely against SIL, though the measure according to WTO amounts to quantitative restrictions. Following changes announced inthe policy on April 13 last year, 227 of out of 436 items had been transferred from the SIL to the free list and 99 from the restricted to the free list. Included in the transfer was about 100 items shifted in a similar manner in January 1998. In 1996-97, abut 460 items were transferred in a similar manner in line with the commitment to the WTO.
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