India-Japan CEPA comes into force - Customs Exemption Notification issued
INDIA and Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force yesterday. This is India's 3rd Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (after Singapore and South Korea) and India's first with a developed country. The Agreement is most comprehensive of all the agreements concluded by India so far as it covers more than 90% of trade, a vast gamut of services, investment, IPR, customs and other trade-related issues. Under the India- Japan CEPA only 17.4% of the tariff-lines have been offered for immediate reduction of tariff to zero % by India. Tariffs will be brought to zero in 10 years on 66.32% of tariff lines to give sufficient time to industry to adjust to the trade liberalization.
Government has issued a Customs Notification granting concessional rates of duty for goods when imported from Japan.
The exemption shall be available only if importer proves to the satisfaction of the Deputy Commissioner of Customs or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, that the goods in respect of which the benefit of this exemption is claimed are of the origin of Japan, in terms of rules as may be notified in this regard by Central Government
Notification No. , Dated: July 29, 2011