The India Cellular & Electronics Industry (ICEA) has sought further amendments in Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty Rules that would benefit the manufacturing fraternity.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had recently amended the Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty (IGCR) Rules, 2017 to benefit the importers on the consumption of imported goods covered in the notification for the manufacture of any product.
While welcoming the move, it said there are a couple of amendments that have been overlooked and should also be taken into consideration to benefit the manufacturing fraternity. The 3-4 amendments that have been overlooked and should also be added to the current circular without any delay, it said in a statement.
Proposed amendments
The proposed amendments were —Timeline for re-export or clearance for home consumption needs to be extended to 12 months from the current 6 months: movement of goods from one plant to another should be allowed, inter-unit transfer is extremely important for manufacturers as they have more than one manufacturing unit; on clearance of capital goods, the interest payable should not be included since the goods are cleared on depreciated value; and standard input output norms for the goods imported under IGCR Rule should to be defined
“The recently-notified CBIC circular will create the necessary confidence in industry and boost the ecosystem for electronics manufacturing. These amendments were much awaited and are reassuring the manufacturers in these difficult times,” Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, ICEA, said.
ICEA also noted that the job work to vendors by the industry majors can now be performed seamlessly after the clarifications. They can also distribute from major warehousing nodes without unnecessary interference from customs field formations. The machinery can be imported duty free.
Communications, including consumption return to the customs, will be accepted by email. The proposed online submission of compliances is also a step in the right direction, it said.