Details are available at the following web address: http://agricoop.nic.in/Compedium7410.pdf.
Colombia 16:
According to paragraph 12, page 128, of the Secretariat Report: "India's agricultural policies are consistent with the Government's long standing policies of protecting domestic producers from foreign competition and consumers from domestic and global price fluctuations for food staples such as wheat, rice, and vegetable oils. The Government uses tariffs and non tariff measures (NTMs) in its domestic policies to meet these objectives. The tension between the desire to raise food prices for the benefit of farmers and to lower them for the benefit of consumers leads India to intervene heavily in the farm sector with multiple policy instruments."
The Report further notes that "[c]ertain agricultural products that were previously subject to quantitative restrictions are now considered sensitive products and bear above average tariffs".
16. Would India please indicate what kinds of instrument are put in place in order to protect consumers against undue increases in the prices of food staples such as wheat, rice and vegetable oils? Could it specify the tariff subheadings and the respective tariff levels applied to the group of sensitive products?
Reply: Measures like reduction and elimination of import tariffs temporarily during period of shortage in production on account of drought and other calamities are taken to increase supplies and bring down prices. India has no categorisation of tariff lines as sensitive for the present.
In order to moderate prices, tariffs have been exempted on all crude edible oils [1508, 1509, 1510, 1511, 1512, 1513, 1514 or 1515]. Refined edible oils [1508, 1509, 1510, 1511, 1512, 1513, 1514 or 1515] attract a lower duty of 7.5%. Wheat [1001 10 90 or 1001 90 20] and rice [1006 30] attract nil basic customs duty.
