India Wants IC-Dollar Parity for DRP .

KATHMANDU, Nov 28: At the upcoming inter-governmental committee (IGC) meeting, India is likely to ask Nepal to introduce Duty Refund Procedure (DRP) - a payback of local excise duty levied on exported goods - on imports against Indian Currency (IC) as enjoyed by importers paying in US dollars.

The secretary-level bilateral meeting is scheduled for December 5-6 in New Delhi. Both countries have already exchanged their agenda for the meeting.

Purshottam Ojha, secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS), said in addition to old issues, India has proposed the issue of equal treatment to imports against IC as US dollar for the purpose of DRP. "India has purposed to seek equal treatment for the inbound consignment imported by paying IC as in case of imports by paying US dollar," said Ojha.

India had raised the issue also during the last IGC meeting held in 2009 in Kathmandu.

Like at earlier IGC meetings, India has proposed the issues of timely arrangement of land for Manipal College in Pokhara, waiver of 4 percent Agriculture Reform Fee (ARF) on Indian farm products, and widening the margin of preference -- a difference in customs duty for Indian products and the same products imported from overseas countries. Nepal has been levying 5 percent ARF on imports of Indian farm products.

"To make Indian goods more competitive than third-country imports in Nepali market, India has this time also proposed to increase the margin of preference to India goods," Ojha added. In the Inter-Governmental Sub-Committee (IGSC) meeting held in March, India had asked Nepal to widen the margin of preference to 20 percent from existing 7 percent. Besides this, India is going to raise the issue of copying trademark of reputed Indian products in Nepal.

Similarly, Nepal has proposed early review of Railway Service Agreement, which should have completed in 2009, early operationalization of the Rohanpur-Sighabad route linking Bagladesh with Nepal, and opening Visakhapatnum port for the shipment of goods to Nepal. "Waiver of additional duty for over 162 Nepali products has also been put in the agenda by us to make our products more competitive in Indian market," said Ojha.

Similarly, Nepal is also seeking recognition for Nepali labs for standard accreditation for Nepali exportable products to make the process of exporting goods from Nepal to India more formal.

To facilitate the transportation of petroleum products from India, Nepal will also ask India to construct 42-km long Raxaul-Amlekhgunj pipeline.

Source : myrepublica.com