India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade amended its importer-exporter code (IEC) provisions to mandate that IEC holders ensure that the details of their assigned code are updated every year between April and June. In a Feb. 12 notification, the DGFT said an IEC will be deactivated if an update is not submitted within the allotted time and an IEC may be flagged for scrutiny, in which case the IEC holder must ensure that any flagged risks are addressed in a timely manner. India will also require any IEC updates to be made in an electronic portal. An IEC is a 10-digit identification number assigned by the DGFT to exporters and importers in India.
The Singapore Customs TradeNet will undergo system maintenance Feb. 21 from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, it said Feb. 8.The agency advised users to avoid submitting applications during this time. This is in addition to the usual 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Sunday maintenance.
Malaysia recently designated its North Butterworth Container Terminal a free trade zone, exempting certain goods from customs duties, according to a Feb. 8 report from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. The terminal will allow foreign investors to process imported raw materials without any customs and excise duties or sales and services taxes “prior to exporting their finished products to other countries,” the HKTDC said. Some goods still will be subject to “statutory surcharges,” the report said, including perfumes, alcohol and tobacco.
India recently raised import duties on a range of goods as part of a government bid to boost domestic manufacturing, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Feb. 9. The higher duties, many that took effect this month, are on air conditioners, refrigerators, auto parts, mobile phones, steel products, iron products, LED lights, certain garments, textiles and other items. Among several changes, India raised duties on certain imported auto parts to 15%, from 7.5%-10%, and increased rates on refrigerator and air conditioner compressors to 15%, from 12.5%. It also imposed a 2.5% duty on certain technology products, including phones, power banks and raw materials used for lithium-ion batteries.
South Korea and Cambodia announced in a joint statement that negotiations have concluded on a bilateral free trade agreement. Cambodian Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak and South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee revealed the finished FTA talks at a joint Feb. 4 videoconference, The Korea Herald reported. The FTA is intended to boost both countries' exports and comes after six months of negotiations. When combined with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Cambodia will lift tariffs on 93.8% of all South Korean products, while South Korea will lift duties on 95.6% of Cambodian goods, The Korea Herald said. “The FTA will pave the way for the two countries to overcome challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, and seek sustainable economic growth,” Yoo said on the videoconference.
Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is experiencing delays processing various food-related import documents, including documents related to inspection bookings and the issuance of post-treatment releases, according to a Feb. 8 alert from C.H. Robinson. The agency said it is seeing “unprecedented demand” for certain services and said “all efforts are being made to manage increased workloads.” To lessen the delays, Australia said it is diverting resources, returning certain staff to the office from remote work and fast-tracking the training of “Imported Food Assessment officers.” The agency also said it is prioritizing clients who have waited in the services queue the longest and urged clients to submit their documents “well in advance of arrival of the goods,” avoid submitting unnecessary documents and to make sure all their information is accurate. “There are a number of other medium/longer term initiatives underway, however we recognise these larger reforms will not address the immediate challenges we are experiencing,” Australia said.
Vietnam is readying for a boost to its coffee exports due to global shortages in coffee stocks and the recently implemented European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (see 2003310027), the Vietnam Customs Department's CustomsNews reported Feb. 1. Noting global coffee stocks in port warehouses have fallen to “their lowest level in many years,” the report said exporters should benefit from the EUVFTA's removal of all taxes on processed coffee (down from 9% tariffs) as well as unroasted and roasted coffee products (down from 7%). The report said Germany is the largest importer of Vietnamese coffee.
As part of an information technology revamping effort, the Indian government introduced an online e-filing system for those looking to import products under the subcontinent's tariff-rate quota system. The new online module, the e-TRQ System, must be used effective Feb. 8 by all importers to submit their TRQ applications on the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's website. Requests for changes or amendments to the TRQ licenses also must be submitted online through the e-TRQ system and no paper copies of the licenses will be provided. Any TRQ applications already submitted for fiscal year 2021-22 yet to be processed will be migrated to the new system with no additional action required of the filing party.
China temporarily suspended imports of cattle and cattle products from Sri Lanka due to an outbreak of “bovine nodular skin diseases” in the country, according to an unofficial translation of a Jan. 28 notice. All illegal imports of cattle from Sri Lanka will be returned or destroyed, China said.
Singapore Customs issued a Jan. 28 notice warning traders of scam calls and messages pretending to be from the agency. The agency said it does not request payments through texts or calls. It urged industry to “verify the authenticity of any correspondence” from Singapore Customs by reaching out to the agency directly.