. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/Q/IND/15 
20 October 2009 
 (09-5202) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
IMPORT LICENSING SYSTEM OF INDIA 
 
 
Replies by INDIA to the questions from the Republic of Korea on Indian 
 
Import Licensing Scheme for Steel Product and Other items  
 
  The following communication, dated 19 October 2009 is being circulated at the request of the delegation of India.  
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  India thanks Republic of Korea for the questi ons on its Import Licensing System  for steel 
product and other item dated 17 April 2009  and circulated in document G/LIC/Q/IND/13  dated 
20 April 2009.  
 
Questions for India on the Import Licensing Questionnaire
 
 
Question 1:   According to Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures 
(“Agreement”), “Members which institute licensi ng procedures or changes in these procedures shall 
notify the Import Licensing Committee(“Committee”) of such within 60 days of publication.” Has 
India notified the above mentioned measure to the Committee? If not, when does India plan to do so? 
 
Reply: India has notified its Foreign Trad e Policy 2009-14 to this Committee. The ITC(HS) 
Schedule for Imports which incorporates the import restrictions on some steel products is part 
of this Foreign Trade Policy. 
 Question 2 (i) Whether the licensing procedure is auto matic or non-automatic according to the 
definitions contained in Articles 2 and 3 of the Agreement?  
Reply: The licensing procedure is automatic. 
 (ii) Expected duration of the procedure; 
 
Reply: The government is consta ntly monitoring the situation and appropriate measures would 
be taken as and when necessary. 
 
(iii)    Reasons for the imposition of the licensing requirement; 
 
Reply: The licensing requirement has been intr oduced to monitor imports in the country so 
that necessary safeguard measures may be taken if a further surge in imports is observed. 
 G/LIC/Q/IND/15 
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  (iv)   Criteria to select products subject to the requirement; 
 
Reply: The government constantly monitors the situation and takes appropriate action on 
specific products as and when necessary. 
 
(v)       Market share of the domestically produced subject products;  
 
Reply: Data for this is presently being collected.  
(vi)     The number of licenses that have b een issued since the sch eme went into effect; 
 Reply: Since introduction of the import licen sing scheme on HR coils, 25 licenses have been 
issued until 22.4.2009. 
 
(vii)   Criteria for issuing the license; 
 Reply: The licenses are issued if the conditions mentioned in the Foreign Trade Policy are met. 
 
(viii)   The definition of “actual users”; and 
 
Reply: Actual user is defined under Para 9.5 of Foreign Trade Policy, which reads as – “Actual 
user (industrial) means a person who utilises imported goods for manufacturing in his own 
industrial unit or manufacturing for his own use in their unit including a jobbing unit”.   
 
(ix)       Trade statistics during recent years. 
 
Reply: The import data for HR coils (HS 7208) is as under: 
  
Year Quantity in Kgs. Value in Indian Rupee 
2005-06 2648973977 66,419,413,707 
2006-07 3020665125 84,186,021,882 
2007-08 3947995331 122,680,534,244 
April,08-Nov,08 1950974697 94,971,781,005 
 
Question 3 : How is India’s new import licensing scheme consistent with its obligation under the 
GATT 1994 and WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures inter alia  the substantive 
provision of Article 2 and 3 of the Agreement? What measures are being taken by the Indian 
government to ensure that the licensing scheme does not  have import restrictive effects irrespective of 
whether the licensing scheme concerned is automatic  or non-automatic as required in the Agreement? 
 
Reply: India’s import licensing measures are consistent with its obligation under the GATT 1994 and WTO Agreement on Import Li censing Procedures. Based on stakeholder 
consultations and internal deliberations, the Go vernment takes all precautions to ensure that 
licensing measures minimise the import restrictive effects.  
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