G/LIC/Q/IND/24  
 
10 March 2015  
(15-1360)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Import Licensing  Original: English  
 
  IMPORT LICENSING SYSTEM OF INDIA 
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION TO INDIA  
REGARDING ITS ANNUAL NOTIFICATI ON (G/LIC/N/3/IND/13/REV.1) 
The following communication, dated 6 March 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union. 
 
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The European Union submitted questions in writin g (G/LIC/Q/IND/23 of 10 December 2013) and in 
subsequent meetings of the ILC regarding import licensing of marble and marble products. India, 
at the last meeting of the ILC of 20 October 2014, stated its intention to submit written replies to 
all these questions. India, so far has not provided any written replies, or sufficient explanations as 
to how its licensing policy is justified on safety, security and environmental grounds as claimed by 
India. 
In addition to the pending questions the EU has th e following further request of clarifications and 
information from India: 
1.  India stated that domestic marble mining was also subject to licensing and production control 
due to concerns on environmental safety and that the domestic industry was also subject to comparable environmental norms
1.  
 
a. Could India provide the references to the exact regulation(s), or policy 
announcement(s), or notification(s) and production quota allocation(s) regarding its 
licensing and production control for environmental reasons in force for its domestic 
marble mining industry? 
b. Could India provide clarification how its import licensing and quota system applied to 
imports  could be justified from the point of view of conservation of its domestic 
exhaustible natural resources, bearing in mind that limitations to imports can trigger additional domestic production?  
 
2.  India claimed that the Minimum Import Price is  justified for quality reasons. In this respect, 
could India indicate what measures, if any, India has put in place with regards ensuring commensurate quality for India's domestic indust ry? Could India provide more information on 
what quality benchmarks it uses for its domestic  production of marble and travertine blocks?  
 3.  India issued the "Policy for issue of import li censes of Rough Marble and Travertine Blocks for 
the Financial year of 2014/2015" on 20 November 2014 (Notification No99 (RE-2013)/2009-2014). 
The EU recognises that this Notification raised the annual overall ceiling from 6 to 8 lakh tonnes, and some other changes, but the main elements of the licensing scheme remained unchanged (such as MIP at 325 USD/tonne). Following Notification No 99, India issued Trade Notice 
No. 12/2014, dated 8th January 2015 announcing the allo cation of import licenses for the financial 
year 2014-2015. The notification for marble import policy for financial year 2013-2014 (Notification No37 (RE-2013)/2009-2014 dated 26 August 2013) point VI Validity of Import 
Licenses states that the licenses issued under the policy for the financial year 2013-2014 "have a 
validly up to 30th September 2014". (N.B. the validity of the licenses for financial year 2014-2015 is up to 31 December 2015 according to Notification 99.)  
                                               
1 G/LIC/M/40 points 4.9 and 4.10. G/LIC/Q/IND/24 
 
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  a. Could India provide information if imports of marble and travertine blocks took place 
between 30 September 2014 and 8 January 2015? If no imports took place, could 
India provide clarification as for the reasons? 
b. If imports took place in the said period, could India provide clarification how import 
licensing was administered? In particular: 
i. Has the validity of the original import licenses for financial year 2013-2014 been 
extended? If so, could India provide the reference of the notification(s) or trade 
notice(s)? 
ii. Could India clarify if additional import licenses were issued for the interim 
period? If so, could India provide the reference of notification(s) or trade notice(s)? 
 
 
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