Singapore Customs identified four types of bullion coins that meet the requirements as Investment Grade Precious Metals that will be exempted from a Goods and Services Tax starting on Aug. 6. The four coins include Canada Creatures of the North series silver coin, Canada Goose silver coin, United Kingdom Royal Arms platinum coin and South Africa Big Five series platinum coin. To apply for GST exemption for importation of the coins, interested parties may navigate to the Singapore Customs website, www.customs.gov.sg, for instructions on how to proceed.
Beef consumption in Thailand is outpacing local cattle production, potentially providing more opportunities for U.S. beef exporters, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in an Aug. 4 report. Although the majority of Thailand’s imported beef comes from Australia and New Zealand, a rise in Thai “specialized beef restaurants” and other “new concept restaurants is a great opportunity for U.S. beef importers since they are looking for premium beef quality,” USDA said. The agency also said Thai consumers “still regard U.S. beef as high quality for its outstanding tenderness and flavor,” and Thai home cooks often make decisions on beef quality based on country of origin.
The Philippines recently suspended a 12% value-added tax on formerly zero-rated exporter transactions, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Aug. 6. The imposition of the VAT in June “sparked widespread controversy” and was suspended because of concerns that it burdened exporters and hurt the country’s competitiveness, HKTDC said. All relevant exporter transactions will be “restored to their zero‑rated status for the foreseeable future.”
A rise in global wheat prices over the last year has been caused by increasing export restrictions among major suppliers and strong foreign demand, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in an Aug. 5 report. The report mostly focused on Indian grain exports, saying the country is expected to see record rice and wheat exports for 2020-2021 and said the country has “re-emerged as an exporter due to significant production and trade disruptions for other major exporters.” The agency said Indian grain exports are “likely to remain high for the foreseeable future.”
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade is creating an online procedure for the filing and transfer of export obligations from an original company to a new one in the case of an amalgamation, “de-merger,” acquisition or insolvency, the DGFT said in an Aug. 4 notice. The original company is required to follow a procedure to transfer any advance authorizations and Export Promotion Capital Goods authorizations to the new one. The notice lays out the steps a company must take for filing.
Bruneian aquaculture goods entering China are now subject to inspection and quarantine requirements upon entering the country, China's General Administration of Customs said in an Aug. 4 notice, according to an unofficial translation.
Australia will allow imports of certain raw milk cheese from France with new recognized foreign government certificates, Australia’s agricultural agency said Aug. 4. The certificates, which are “consignment specific,” will authorize imports of French Ossau-Iraty and Roquefort cheese, Australia said. The imports must be accompanied by a certificate issued by France’s agricultural ministry, along with other import requirements. Australia said it will allow the imports because it “determined that France’s regulatory requirements for raw milk cheese production provides an equivalent food safety outcome” to Australia’s regulatory requirements.
All Indian exporters with scrips under the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies scheme for shipping bills up to March 31, 2020, should upload their Electronic Bank Realization Certificates in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade's online “portal by their AD banks” by Sept. 15, the agency said in an Aug. 4 notice. Many pre-March 31, 2020, shipping bills with Let Export Orders do not have their corresponding e-BRCs uploaded, prompting the notice from the DGFT.
India recently lowered import duties on lentils, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service said in a July 30 report. The country eliminated its 10% basic duty on lentils for all origins except the U.S., and reduced basic import duties on U.S. lentils from 30% to 10%. India also lowered its Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess on imported foreign lentils from 20% to 10%. USDA said the “total effective import duty” on U.S. lentils was lowered from 55% to 22%.
China raised export tariffs on certain steel products and canceled export tax rebates for others in a bid to control domestic supply, the country's finance ministry said. The measures, which took effect Aug. 1, will raise export tariffs on ferrochrome from 20% to 40% and tariffs on pig iron from 15% to 20% while eliminating export rebates on 23 types of steel products, Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, reported July 29. Those 23 steel products include “flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel,” “natural Seamless casing and pipe for gas,” “plated or zinc-coated ordinary steel sheet” and more, a finance ministry document said, according to an unofficial translation.