By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, NOV 29, 2014: IN reply to a question in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the Commerce Minister, Mr Nirmala Sitharaman, said that the 'Second Task Force on Transaction Costs in Exports' was constituted by the Government in April 2013. The scope of the Task Force involved identifying key issues and evolving a strategy towards reducing transaction costs in terms of specific operational problems for export/import processes.

The Task Force has submitted its report in July, 2014. It has made recommendations for simplification of procedures and processes relating to procedural and EDI level changes. In addition, specific recommendations relating to Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of Textiles have also been suggested by the Task Force. Besides, it has suggested framework for an efficient trade facilitation mechanism in India. Respective Departments/Ministries/Authorities have been requested to take appropriate action on these recommendations.

The key elements of the model developed by the Task Force are: (i) an integrated online environment, (ii) introduction of smart gateways and improvement of export infrastructure, (iii) reduction in level of physical checks and removing redundancies (iv) provisions for post clearance examination at factory, (v) re-defining and simplifying criteria for accredited entities and (vi) transparency measures related to classification and tariff information. Once implemented, this framework would have the capability of significantly improving our export competitiveness and brining India at the forefront of global trade.