Relief likely in physical checks of Chinese cargo | Economic Times

New Delhi: India could partially relax 100% physical verification of Chinese import consignments at ports and airports. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting in the finance ministry on Friday, an official told ET.The government is considering industry’s demand to allow importers with Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status to get clearance without the 100% manual checks for goods from China with the plea by business groupings reaching the Prime Minister’s office, said another government functionary.“Checks were being carried out on the basis of an intelligence input,” said the first official, adding that relaxations would be worked out after a thorough examination of the ground-level situation. There is no formal instruction from the government for conducting such verification but customs authorities had to resort to checks after a system-based alert on goods of Chinese origin, officials have said.Indian customs began 100% physical verification of all consignments from China and Hong Kong on Monday, leading to delays in their release. The exercise began at Chennai port, which is a key channel for telecom equipment and medical devices from China, and was soon expanded to all ports, airports and customs freight stations in the country. 76654887Supply Chain Hurdles FlaggedSuch physical verification of consignments continued on Friday, said people with knowledge of the matter.Industry lobby groups have taken up the issue with the government, highlighting how this was hurting supply chains and the restart of businesses after the lockdown. “Industry has reached out to the government and the proposals are being considered,” a senior government official told ET. Electronics, automobiles and pharmaceuticals have been the worst-hit sectors so far. The official added that several rounds of meetings in the finance ministry were held on Friday morning after which the issue was referred to the PMO. Meanwhile, customs last night permitted the clearance of shipments of some US companies that had been stuck for the past four days.The customs department is weighing changes in the criteria for alerts that prompt full verification. Goods of certain categories such as inputs for pharmaceuticals and medical devices could be put on priority clearance without checks. These changes could be finalised soon, said the first person cited. A more selective approach is likely going forward. Several Chinese telecom companies with local subsidiaries that have Authorised Economic Operator status may still need to undergo checks following the intelligence alert. ET had on Friday reported that US companies such as Apple that import goods or inputs from China for the Indian market may be exempted from the scrutiny that has held up shipments. “The delays in clearance of some goods at the customs depending on country of origin have created uncertainty in the supply chain and the industry awaits some clarity to plan their future supplies,” said Bipin Sapra, partner, EY.Separately, the Ministry for Electronics and IT (MeitY) has called on the revenue department, urgently seeking green channel clearance for AEO importers for the electronics and smartphone sector. MeitY has said that if this is not done, production and exports of electronics and smartphones worth thousands of crores may collapse and could jeopardise investments under the ambitious production-linked incentive scheme.AEO status is accorded after international importers, in line with guidelines of the World Customs Organization, meet stringent conditions.The Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT), the lobby group for electronics manufacturers, and the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) have both urged the government to permit AEOs to get clearance without the 100% manual check as this had disrupted production of smartphones, tablets, watches, laptops and other electronic devices. They work on just-in-time models and cannot afford delays in shipments.