India's betel leaf exports to the European Union are now subject to registration with the Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL), the designated Competent Authority for issuing a health certificate, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said Sept. 23. India previously required betel leaves to be registered with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.
The list of eligible services and rates under the Service Exports from India (SEIS) Scheme for services rendered in fiscal year 2019-20 was updated in a Sept. 23 notification. The limit on total entitlement under SEIS has been imposed for service exports from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, and capped at Rs 5 Crore per Importer Exporter Code, the notification said. This amounts to over $678,000. Also, the facility to claim benefits under SEIS payments in Indian rupees shall not be available for services in FY 2019-20, and the deadline for submissions for SEIS benefits for FY 2019-20 is Dec. 31. Late cut provisions for the applications will not apply.
Japan updated its End User List to include 600 entities, upped by 54 from the last version, in 14 countries and regions, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a Sept. 17 post. The list gives exporters information on foreign entities “for which concern cannot be eliminated regarding involvement in activities such as the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and other items.” The list's purpose is to enhance the effectiveness of Japan's export license system for shipments to riskier end-users. While not an embargo list, it requires an exporter to apply for an export license for the end-user listed.
India will again start exporting COVID-19 vaccines for the World Health Organization's Covax initiative starting Oct. 1, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said, Bloomberg reported Sept. 20. The vaccines will be exported as part of the country's vaccine donation program, Mandaviya said. No details were provided, Bloomberg said. India, home to the world's largest vaccine-production industry, halted vaccine exports in April following the surge of the delta variant of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The minister said India expects to have around 300 million vaccine doses ready next month.
All Importer Exporter Codes in India that have not been updated after Jan. 1, 2005, will be de-activated on Oct. 6, India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade said. The period until Oct. 6 is meant to give IEC holders one last chance to update their IEC codes, DGFT said (see 2108090021). De-activated IECs will have the chance for re-activation post-Oct. 6, but the holder must go to the DGFT website and update the IEC online.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade opened applications for allocation of Tariff Rate Quotas under the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement for the fiscal year 2021-22, the DGFT said. The applications are due by Oct. 31.
Vietnam exempted imports serving COVID-19 prevention and control purposes from import duties and value-added taxes, the state-run CustomsNews said Sept. 17. Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai signed Resolution 106 Sept. 11 updating the tax policy change following a Ministry of Finance recommendation, the report said. The General Department of Vietnam Customs requests that importers contact Customs for instructions “on the quick customs clearance” of any goods subject to this change, CustomsNews said.
Marco Dittrich, a Singapore-based importer, was fined $64,000 (in Singapore dollars) by the city-state's State Courts for evading Goods and Services Taxes on 46 shipments of bicycle frames and components, Singapore Customs said Sept. 17. The total amount of evaded GST was $13,483.89. Dittrich, the director of Singapore Tri-Global Pte. Ltd., pleaded guilty to one count under Singapore's Customs Act for undervaluing his import shipments. Under the Customs Act, fines can be levied “up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded,” Singapore Customs said.
An agreement between Japan and Brazil over mutual administrative assistance and cooperation in customs operation will enter into force Sept. 21, Japan's Ministry of Finance said. The agreement finds that both parties will assist each other with “administrative assistance, to ensure proper application of Customs laws, and to prevent, investigate and repress any Customs offense, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.” This entails simplifying and harmonizing customs procedures and providing assistance upon request on issues such as whether goods imported into either country were lawfully exported by the other.
Hong Kong last week updated its export and import control lists for certain chemical weapons and strategic commodities to align its regulations with multilateral nonproliferation regimes. The revisions, which took effect Sept. 17, reflect control changes recently made by the Chemical Weapons Convention, Hong Kong’s Trade and Industry Department said Sept. 16. The agency also reminded traders that violators of the regulations face various fines and prison time.