India Eyes Customs Pacts With 10 New Nations By Dec: Official

India has signed mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) with customs authorities of nine countries and is looking at inking such pacts with 10 more nations by December this year, a government official said on Tuesday. Under this agreement, trade facilitation is extended reciprocally.

Akhil Kumar Khatri, Principal Commissioner, Directorate of International Customs (DIC), said these MRAs help promote two-way trade. "We have signed these agreements with nine countries and by December this year, we are looking at signing with 10 more nations," Khatri told PTI on the sidelines of an event on 'Unlocking Global Trade Synergies: First India-Russia AEO Seminar in association with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)'. It was organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) here. Last year, the CBIC and the Russia's Federal Customs Service signed the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) MRA to provide reciprocal benefits to accredited and trusted exporters of both countries in the clearance of goods by the customs authorities of the importing country.

India has already signed such pacts with with the customs administrations of South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US, the UAE, Australia, and Russia. India has also signed joint action plans to conclude an MRA with Uganda, East African Community, South Africa, Japan, Bahrain, Singapore, New Zealand, the UK, Belarus, and BRICS. AEO is a programme under the aegis of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) to secure and facilitate global trade. It is a voluntary compliance programme that enables Indian customs to enhance and streamline cargo security through close cooperation with the principal stakeholders of the international supply chain including importers, exporters, logistics providers, custodians or terminal operators, custom brokers, and warehouse operators.

Indian AEO programme started in 2011. It is implemented by the Directorate of International Customs of CBIC. As on December 31, there are 5,947 AEO entities in India in a three-tier programme with additional tier of logistical operators. Speaking at the event, FIEO President S C Ralhan said the AEO programme, launched in India in 2011, enables customs to recognise secure, compliant businesses and offer them trade facilitation benefits.

This agreement with Russia provides huge opportunities to boost bilateral trade, currently valued at USD 11 billion across sectors like petroleum, gold, automotive, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. "We are aiming to increase the bilateral trade and make it little balanced by facilitating more exports from India," Ralhan said.