Import Sector of Indian Economy

The import sector of Indian economy is one of the most important sector of India's economic health. The performance of the import sector of Indian economy determines the Export policy of India and most importantly the export import policy of India. Further, it is one of the most important part of the India's foreign trade policy. The current EXIM policy of India covers policy statements for the period covering 2002 to 2007.

The basic laws that governs the import sector of Indian economy are as follows -

• Imports shall be free, except in cases where they are regulated by the provisions of this Policy or any other law for the time being in force
• The item wise import policy shall be, as specified in published and notified by Director General of Foreign Trade, as amended from time to time
• Every importer shall comply with the provisions of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, the Rules and Orders made thereunder, the provisions of this Policy and the terms and conditions of any license / certificate / permission granted to him, as well as provisions of any other law for the time being in force
• All imported goods shall also be subject to domestic Laws, Rules, Orders, Regulations, technical specifications, environmental and safety norms as applicable to domestically produced goods
• No import of rough diamonds shall be permitted unless the shipment parcel is accompanied by Kimberley Process Certificate required under the procedure specified by the Gem & Jewelery Export Promotion Council
• Duty credit allowed for import of capital goods, spare parts, office equipment, office furniture and consumables that are importable under ITC (HS). Such imports covers all items of the service sector
• The Customs Act of India governs the process of levying of tariffs on imports and frames the rules and it also specifies the tariffs rates and provides for the imposition of anti-dumping and compensation charges
• Tariff rates, excise duties, regulatory duties are revised in each annual budget of India
• Total duties on imports now consist of basic duty which ranges from zero to 65% plus additional or countervailing duties
• On manufactured "luxury" items, total import taxes may amount to whooping 150%
• Import duties are product specific and can be revised in mid-year

The latest export import policy of India have led to growth of India's Import on the following lines -

The Government of India latest export policy for the exporters will help in stabilizing the export growth levels attained in the 1st quarter of 2007-2008. The Indian imports shoot up by 34.30% during the 1st quarter of 2007-2008. Today, India ranks second in the manufacture of small passenger car segment. It is the worlds largest producer of generic pharmaceutical and its Information Technology sector is registering three figure growth consistently. Moreover, it is the most preferred destination for business process outsourcing. The world's knowledge process outsourcing business is valued at US$ 15 billion out of which US$ 12.5 billion worth of business is expected to be outsourced to India alone by 2010. According to reports, productivity growth rate of Indian economy is estimated to be around 8% and above until 2020.