Import Procedure for India

As governed by the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992] With the globalisation of Indian economy and consequent upon comfortable balance of payment position Government of India has liberalised the Import Policy and practically all Controls on imports have been lifted.Imports may be made freely except to the extent they are regulated by the provisions of Import Policy or by any other law for the time being in force. Principal Law & Import Policy Principal Law Imports in to India are governed by Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act 1992. Under this Act, imports of all goods are Free except for the items regulated by the policy or any other law for the time being in force. In exercise of the powers conferred by the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act 1992 the Government has issued the following Rules & Order: Foreign Trade(Regulation)Rules, 1993, which inter alia, provide for grant of special licence, application for agrant of licence, fee, conditions for licences,refusal of licence, amendment of licence, suspension of a licence, cancellation of licence,declaration as to the value and quality of imported goods,declaration as to the Importer- Exporter Code number,utilization of imported goods, provisions regarding making, signing of any declaration/statement or documents, power to enter the premises and inspect, search and seizure of goods, documents, things and conveyance, settlement, confiscation and redemption and confiscation of conveyance. Foreign Trade (Exemption from Application of Rules in Certain Cases) Order 1993}Notifications under Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act 1992.

Notifications and Circulars The Import - Export Policy and Procedure books issued by the Government are amended/clarified/ explained by the Ministry of Commerce from time to time. The types of Notifications/Clarifications/Instructions issued by the Ministry for this purpose are: PublicNotices. Notifications Policy Circulars
Select the commodity/Product you wish to import : Be aware of the import potential and the commercial viability of the commodity/product. Check whether the items of your interest fall in the Restricted list of ITC(HS) Classifications of Exports & Imports items. Prohibited items are not permitted to be imported at all. List of Prohibited items of import are detailed below: Tallow, Fat or Oils rendered, untendered or otherwise of any animal origin, animal rennet and wild animals including their parts and products and ivory any part and products, including ivory. For import of items appearing in Restricted list you need secure import licence. Third category of items comes under the Canalised list of items. Imports of items included in Canalised list are permitted to be imported through Canalising Agencies. Thus items not appearing in Prohibited list, Restricted list and or in Canalised list can be imported Freely without any import licence. A large number of Consumer goods are freely importable without licence.

Registration with Regional Licencing Authority and obtaining IEC Code

Registration with Regional Licensing Authority is a pre-requisite for import of goods. The Customs will not allow clearance of goods unless: The importer has obtained IE Code Number from Regional Licensing Authority. However, no such registration is necessary for persons importing goods from/ to Nepal provided Value of a single Consignment does not exceed Rs. 25000/

B. IMPORTS Imports during January, 2012 were valued at US$ 40107.95 million (Rs.205911.00 crore) representing a growth of 20.25 per cent in Dollar terms (36.00 per cent in Rupee terms) over the level of imports valued at US$ 33353.59 million ( Rs. 151403.30 crore) in January, 2011. Cumulative value of imports for the period April-January, 2011-12 was US$ 391459.42 million (Rs.1859168.34 crore) as against US$ 302528.75 million (Rs. 1379477.78 crore) registering a growth of 29.40 per cent in Dollar terms and 34.77 per cent in Rupee terms over the same period last year.
C. CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS:

Oil imports during January, 2012 were valued at US$ 12325.2 million which was 26.78 per cent higher than oil imports valued at US$ 9721.7 million in the corresponding period last year. Oil imports during April-January, 2011-12 were valued at US$ 117914.3 million which was 38.83 per cent higher than the oil imports of US$ 84933.1 million in the Corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during January, 2012 were estimated at US$ 27782.7 million This was 17.56 per cent higher than non-oil imports of US$ 23631.9 million in January, 2011 Non-oil imports during April - January, 2011-12 were valued at US$ 273545

 .1 million which was 25.71per cent higher than the level of such imports valued at US$ 217595.7 million in April - January, 2010-11. D. TRADE BALANCE The trade deficit for April-January, 2011-12 was estimated at US$ 148667.61 million which was higher than the deficit of US$ 105895.99 million during April-January, 2010-11.

IEC Code No Notification

Legibility, Legal Provisions and Conditions for IEC Code Number