Nepal Foreign
Trade Association (NFTA) Tuesday urged India to remove the counter-vailing
duties (CVDs) while exporting Nepalese goods to the southern neighbor.
Speaking at
an interaction with the high officials of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu,
Nepalese export entrepreneurs asked the Indian ambassador to Nepal , Ranjit Ray to facilitate in the removal
of CVDs that India
imposed on Nepalese goods.
According to
Wikipedia, CVDs are trade import duties imposed under the World Trade
Organization (WTO) rules to neutralize the negative effects of subsidies. They
are imposed after an investigation finds, through its own examination, that a
foreign country subsidizes its exports, injuring domestic producers in the
importing country.
"Doing
away with the CVDs will increase Nepalese export to India and will help to lessen the
trade deficit of the country in bilateral trade. I request India not to
impose CVDs at least for a decade from now," said Ramesh Gupta, president
of NFTA.
He urged the
envoy to facilitate in removing the quota system for Nepalese goods in
bilateral trade between the two countries, and allowing the Nepalese importers to
carry the goods from the third countries upto Jogbani-Biratnagar and
Sunauli-Bhairahawa via train.
Currently,
bulk cargo from the third countries can be transported only to Raxaul-Birgunj
via train which has resulted in increased traffic at the border.
Gupta also
drew attention of the embassy officials at the insufficient railway rack to
carry goods from Kolkata-Haldia port to Raxaul or Birgunj Inland Clearance
Depot, and complained that it had been forcing the Nepalese importers to pay
high demmurage and detention charges.
The
businesspersons asked India
for the removal of the service tax that Nepalese importers were forced to pay
on cargo and services.
Likewise,
they requested to remove the provision under which a Nepalese citizen
travelling to India from China must
obtain a visa. "According to the bilateral treaties, Nepalese or Indian
citizens don't require visa to travel to both the countries but if a Nepalese
passport holder want to go to India
via China ,
he/she must obtain Indian visa. This is not practical."
In response
to the demands of the exporters, Indian envoy Ray informed that he would take
the issues regarding to the CVDs to respective agencies in India .
"Integrated
Check Posts (ICPs) at Nepal-India border will help to solve problems that
Nepalese traders face in import-export business. ICP Infrastructure is ready at
the Indian side, therefore you should force your government to constructure
required infrastructure across this side of the border," he said.
He asked the
businesspersons to suggest the goods that needed protection and the things that
the governments needed to do in order to facilitate the smoots movement of
goods across the border.
Likewise, Ray
said that India
should not impose any service tax to Nepalese importers.
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