Frozen Hilsa Fish imports made attractive
THE Central Government has amended notification 46/2011-Cus which prescribes a reduced import tariff on more than 1500 items imported from ASEAN and Philippines. This amendment introduces a new proviso and a new entry sr. no. 31A which reads -
TABLE
S. No. | Chapter, Heading, Sub-heading and Tariff item | Description | Rate (in percentage unless otherwise specified) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) |
31A | 03038910 | Frozen Hilsa Fish | 5% | - |
As per the proviso, this attractive rate is frozen only in respect of goods imported into the country from Myanmar. The desire to build stronger economic relations via the Hilsa route coupled with some gastronomic diplomacy led to the issuance of this notification, it can be said.
For much of the world's 230-million Bengali population, there is fish, and then there is Hilsa - a silvery tropical variety that has celebrity status on local plates. Last year, as local prices spiralled due to overfishing, Bangladesh, the largest Hilsa producer in the world banned exports so that Bangladeshis get to fill their insatiable appetite of their ‘National fish'.
That action of the Bangladesh government had prompted the West Bengal Chief Minister to write to the Commerce Ministry seeking clarification on Hilsa imports from Myanmar, the other major producer in the region.
In response, the Commerce Ministry had made it clear that there were no import restrictions on Hilsa from Myanmar, but nonetheless there were persistent fears over smuggling of the fish into India from Bangladesh.
But for all its cross-border clout, the Hilsa is still swimming in troubled waters.
Notification No. , Dated: July, 22, 2013