Reply: "Amendment to the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act (FTDR Act) was made through an Amendment Act of 2010 in August 2010. This inter alia, included insertion of Section 9A giving powers to the Central Government to impose Quantitative restrictions as safeguard measures. Framing of Rules to implement these provisions is under consideration of the Central Government. As the Rules to implement these provisions were not framed, the above amendment to the FTDR Act could not be notified to the WTO Safeguard Committee earlier. However, India is taking steps to notify the above amendments to the FTDR Act to the Safeguard Committee. As and when the implementing Rules will be notified, the same will also be informed by India to the Safeguard Committee".
US 24:
Report by the Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/249): III TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE: (1) Introduction: Page 36, Paragraph 6:
The United States understands that the Government of India's Department of Information Technology draft procurement guidelines for preferential market access imposes purchasing requirements not only on government agencies, but also on central government licensees. If the guidelines are adopted, they would establish a 30 per cent preference for the procurement of domestically produced electronics. The April 2011 TRAI recommendations on domestic telecom equipment manufacturing impose similar obligations on licensees and characterize their purchases as government procurement. Could India please clarify how these preference regimes for domestic purchases carried out by private sector enterprises that are licensed by the government qualify as "products purchased for governmental purposes" so as to constitute government procurement under the terms of GATT Article III:8(a)?
Reply: The draft guidelines of Department of Information Technology are under the consideration of the Central Government and policy decision is yet to be taken. Similarly the TRAI recommendations on telecom equipment manufacturing policy are under consideration by the Central Government and the policy has not yet been formulated. It may be premature to comment on the compatibility with GATT Article III.8 (a) of a recommendation.
US 25:
Report by the Secretariat (WT/TPR/S/249): III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE: (2) Measures Directly Affecting Imports: (i) Customs procedures: Page 36, paragraph 8:
The report indicates that importers, with a few exceptions, must register with the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to obtain an importer exporter code (IEC) number to be able to import commercially. Who is excepted from registering and what are the criteria for exception?
