6.What
has been the impact of imports in respect of items on which QRs were
removed earlier?
The factual
data regarding imports of some important items of mass consumption which
were freed in the last two years clearly brings out that there has been
no surge in imports of these items despite the phase out of QRs.
In fact, imports of such items in many cases account for just
a fraction of the total domestic production . For instance import
of fresh apples in the period April-September 1999 amounted to hardly
0.73% of the normal domestic production, while import of dust tea and
of skimmed milk powder represented only a fraction of the total domestic
production. Further, the duty structure has been caliberated in
each case to ensure a balance between the interests of the consumers
as well as of the domestic producers.
Following
the successful negotiations by India under Article XXVIII of GATT, the
bindings on many agro products were raised adequately.
Basic customs
duty of import tarrif has now been raised on the following agro items
with effect from 5th april,2000:
- Rice
in husk ( paddsy or rough) from zero to 80%
- Husked
(brown) rice, from zero to 80%
- Semi-milled
or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or glazed, from
zero to 70%
- Broken
rice, rice from zero to 80%
- Maize(corn)
seed, from zero to 50%
- Grain
sorghum, from zero to 50%
- Millet,
from zero to 50%
- Spelt,
from zero to 50%
- Fresh
grapes, from 25% to 35%
- Apples,
from 35% to 50 %
- Preparation
for infant use, in retail pack, from 15% to 35 %
Further
the basic customs duty(beyond tarrif rate quota) on Milk Powder and
Maize(corn) has been revised to 60% and 50 % respectively from previous
zero duty w.e.f. 12 th june ,2000
