Reply: Marking fee of US$2000 is charged annually.
Could India justify on which grounds in addition to the application fee, the processing fee and the marking fee a unit fee (per product marked) is still applied?. How does India see the unit fee in light of GATT and TBT Agreement?
Reply: Various fees being charged are based on the cost of operations. The fee is equitable in line with TBT Agreement.
The Secretariat's report states that "According to India's latest notification to the WTO, submitted in January 2011, which covers the period up to 2007/08, tariff quotas continue to be allocated on a pro rata basis by the Directorate General Foreign Trade (DGFT), on request by designated agencies. The authorities noted that the fill ratio of these quotas is low, apparently because of a lack of demand due to high international prices of these commodities (Table III.6). "
Could India provide information on the mechanisms in place to ensure timely allotment of TRQ to the agencies by the DGFT, to ensure maximum benefit of the quota to the interested exporters?
Reply: List of eligible entities for allocation of quota has been stated in paragraph 2.59.1 of the Handbook of Procedure, Volume I and is available in the website: http://dgft.gov.in. All eligible entities are eligible to avail quotas as per request of applicants received and they may make application to DGFT in the prescribed format. Completed application forms along with prescribed documents must reach on or before 1 March of each financial year preceding the year of quota. Imports have to be completed before 31 March of financial year i.e. consignments must be cleared by customs authorities before this date.
