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India practically

Werner Van der Cruyssen

Embassy of Belgium – Customs Attache

206, Jor Bagh Road (2nd floor)

New Delhi 110003

Mob: +91 99 58 58 14 90

Werner.vandercruyssen@minfin.fed.be

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Overview

IntroductionCustoms in India: brief overviewLegal frameworkInternational trade with India: lots of opportunities….But it pays to be prudent2 Cases

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Customs in India

Central Board of Customs and ExcisePart of Ministry of Finance, Revenue department General competency for all fiscal matters related to import / export of goodsExterior services at major im- / export points headed by (chief) commissioners of customs

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Indian customs practically:Mission: perception of import duties & enforcement of non-fiscal measures

High import duty tariffs relative to EC averagesSome export duties

Evolution:Modernization: E-filing of declarations, electronic payment of dutiesGrowing awareness of role in trade process

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Legal FrameworkIndia is a member of the WCO

WCO framework of rules accepted and implementedTariff structure along HC-linesBroadly speaking the same customs regimes exist as under EC-legislation (import, export, warehousing, inward processing…)

National legislation (main acts)Customs Act, 1962Customs Tariff Act, 1975Foreign Trade Acts, 1992, 1993

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International trade with India: lots of opportunities

GDP (real) growth forecast (EIU, March 2010): 7.7% for FY 2010, 8% for FY 2011, mainly domestic-drivenBoth im- and exports show a rising trend Market is (slowly) opening upMajor possibilities for development in industry / logistics / distribution

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…but it pays to be prudent:

Regulatory framework very complexMarket access impeded by:Plethora of fiscal and non-fiscal rulesLack of fully unified taxation regime (28 states)Obtaining reliable information is problematic

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….but it pays to be prudent:

From a total of 183 economies surveyed, Global rank of BE=22, CN=89, SG=1

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2 brief cases:

Lack of knowledge = loss of money

•Wood export from India / Belgian cheese import

If nothing can possibly go wrong…

•The story of a Belgian exporter who received full payment in advance, yet ended up with a 20 K EUR bill.

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FederaleOverheidsdienstFINANCIEN Recommendations:Know your customer:due diligence is absolutely essentialtrust is earned, not given

Minimize financial risk:Terms of saleInsurance

When in doubt, ask independent and expert advice before proceedingWe (trade authorities, business associations, myself)…are here to help. 10

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Thank you!

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