INDIA'S EXIM POLICY DISMANTLES QUANTATIVE RESTRICTIONS.

NEW DELHI, April 2 Asia Pulse - A "landmark" Exim (Export-Import) Policy, unveiled on Saturday, dismantles all Quantitative Restrictions (QRs) with adequate safeguards to domestic industries, introduces a new market access initiatives, moots agri-economic zones and drastically simplifies procedures.

The 2001-02 policy, last of the five-year 1997-2002 EXIM policy, announced by the Federal Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran puts Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in all manufacturing sectors in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) under automatic route besides giving infrastructure status to SEZ developers to move on to Export led Growth as in China.

With the lifting of all QRs from April one, the minister said a Standing Group would be set up to have early warning system for monitoring imports to protect domestic industries and check dumping.

Outlining a new agri-export policy, Maran said the EXIM would hereafter be applicable to agro-sector also.

While allowing import of second-hand automobiles with the phase-out of QRs, Maran put a ban on import of beyond three-years-old and left-hand drive cars. Such imports would be allowed only through Mumbai Port.

Under the policy, import of new automobiles too would be allowed subject to the condition that they are from the country of manufacture and confirm to the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

Elaborating on the new market access initiative, Maran said the federal government would assist the industry in research and development, market research, specific market and product studies, warehousing and retain marketing infrasturcture in select countries and direct market prommotion activities through media advertising and buyer-seller meets.