Exports of COVID-19 rapid antigen testing kits from India for July, August and September will be restricted to 1,176 units per month, the country's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in an Aug. 17 trade notice. Interested exporters are also “requested” to apply for export licenses through the DGFT's ECOM system for export authorizations, but exports above the 1,176-unit threshold must be applied for online from Aug. 20 to Aug. 30. Licenses are valid for six months, the DGFT said. For an application to be considered, an exporter must submit proof of manufacturing, a copy of a purchase order or invoice and an “undertaking duly signed by the authorized signatory in the company letter head to be submitted by the manufacturer certifying that as on date, all domestic commitments/orders have been filled.”
Vietnam's Hai Phong Customs Department launched the prosecution of a case of red sandalwood smuggling, the Customs Enforcement Team said Aug. 13 via the state-run Customs News website. The enforcement team detected a shipment of 297 sandalwood logs on the KMTC Tokyo container ship from Nhava Sheva Port in India that was transshipped across the Hong Kong Port to Vietnam's Dinh Vu Port May 26. The Hai Phong Customs Department initiated the shipper's criminal case July 30, transferring inspection documents and the wood to the Hai Phong Investigation Police Department, the report said.
India is expected to soon allow up to 1.5 million metric tons of foreign-origin soybean meal at a 16.5% basic customs duty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said Aug. 13. But USDA said it is awaiting final approval from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and said the lack of any official guidance is causing “high uncertainty on how this import quota will be implemented” through Oct. 31. Despite the uncertainty, USDA said Indian buyers are “starting to contract for soybean meal imports from neighboring Bangladesh, Vietnam, and for transshipments from the United States and other origins.”
Australia on Aug. 16 officially opened applications for its revised Export Market Development Grants program, which it said will help exporters access new markets and ship more goods. New changes to the program include a “streamlined application process” and a shift to a “forward-looking grant program which will ensure exporters know how much funding they will receive before they spend,” a trade ministry news release said. The top five markets for grant recipients last year were the U.S., the United Kingdom, China, Singapore and Canada.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai released a readout of her Aug. 12 talk with South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, in which she said they discussed supply chain resiliency collaboration, tackling climate change and reform of the World Trade Organization.
The Singapore Customs TradeNet will undergo system maintenance Aug. 29 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, it said Aug. 13. Singapore Customs 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.
India’s recently launched Compliance Information Portal will provide traders free access to the country’s customs procedures and compliance requirements in a bid to better streamline trade activities, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 13. The portal, introduced earlier this month, provides compliance information and import-export procedures for nearly 12,000 tariff lines and for courier and postal services, HKTDC said. It also includes information on reimports and reexports and features a COVID-19 help service, which allows traders to “request the rapid resolution of any cargo‑clearance problems” related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ships registered in Panama will pay taxes at the preferential rate of tonnage tax, China's General Administration of Customs said in an Aug. 13 announcement, according to an unofficial translation. If any taxable ship from Panama paid the ordinary tax rate from May 17 to Aug. 14, it can apply for a refund within six months of Aug. 15.
South Korea recently unveiled plans to secure its rare metals supply chain and increase competitiveness, including through more industry support, the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said this month. The plan, which will cover a range of metals used to make semiconductor chips and batteries, includes tax breaks and other incentives for its rare metals sectors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. The measures are designed to “establish a secure supply chain to cope with potential supply uncertainties,” Argus said in an Aug. 5 blog post. The U.S. has taken similar measures to support its semiconductor industry (see 2107280051 and 2107220006).
China recently issued new guidance specifying that certain imported goods processed in the Yangpu Bonded Zone in Hainan are exempt from import tariffs when sold elsewhere in China, KPMG said Aug. 11. The guidance, issued by China’s General Administration of Customs last month, covers companies operating in certain “'encouraged industries' when over 30% of the value-add … is generated in Hainan.” Although value-added and consumption taxes will still need to be paid for the goods, KPMG said the policy will “reduce the tax burdens” of certain companies and is “intended to make their products more price competitive.”