Lok Sabha Question No. 4663 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-23
Subject: Impact of Coronavirus on Trade
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Imtiaz Jaleel Syed, Shrirang Appa Barne, Sudheer Gupta, Asaduddin Owaisi

## Government of India Ministry of Finance

## Department of Revenue

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4663

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2020 CHAITRA 3, 1942 (SAKA)

## IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON TRADE

4663. SHRI SANJAY SADASHIV RAO MANDLIK:

SHRI SYED IMTIAZ JALEEL:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI:

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI KARTI P. CHIDAMBARAM:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Indian economy has started showing decline in the import duty received by the Government from Chinese goods due to impact of Coronavirus and if so, the details thereof along  with  the  assessment  made  by  the  Government  in  this  regard  and  the  corrective measures taken/being taken for the same;
- (b) whether it is true that India is heavily dependent on China for the raw material used in the manufacturing in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is searching for some other alternatives for the raw materials being imported from China and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken in this regard;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  is  going  to  announce  a  set  of  measures  to  tackle  possible disruption of supply of drugs and other manufactured goods due to Coronavirus outbreak in China and if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  whether  any  meeting  has  been  held  with  the  Industry  players/businessmen  and  other stakeholders in this regard and if so, the detailed discussion held and the plan chalked out to address the concern raised by them; and
- (f)  whether  the  Government  is  also  contemplating  to  cut  excise  duty  along  with  other measures and if so, the details thereof along with the time by which a final decision is taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER MINSTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR)

- (a):    The  import  data  from  China  for  the  period  November  2018-February  2019  vis-a-vis imports during corresponding period in 2019-20 are as under:

(Rs. Crore)

| Apr-18 to Oct-18                      | Apr-19 to Oct-19                      | Nov- 18                               | Nov- 19                               | Dec- 18                               | Dec- 19                               | Jan- 19                               | Jan- 20                               | Feb- 19                               | Feb- 20                               |
|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2,96,000                              | 2,93,000                              | 41,454                                | 36,633                                | 39,092                                | 35,675                                | 44,043                                | 42,955                                | 36,478                                | 35,494                                |
| Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores | Nov-18 to Feb-19- Rs. 1,61,067 crores |
| Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores | Nov-19 to Feb-20- Rs. 1,50,757 crores |

There is a general trend of imports declining from China in the entire Financial Year.

(b) and (c):  As reported by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, presently out of  total  electronics  goods  imports  in  the  country,  approximately  40%  are  from  China  and 17% from Hong Kong. These imports are largely in the nature of components that go into manufacturing of sub-assemblies and final products. Due to recent outbreak of Coronavirus in China, there is an impact on supply of such components due to disruption in supply chain. However, the Government has taken various measures to contain the disruption in supply chain which includes:

-  Facilitating the industry to lift consignments from China to India after taking adequate health and safety precautions.
-  For  exploring  the  sources  of  import  of  such  components  from  other  countries,  the industry associations have been advised to organize buyer-seller meets to explore such avenues. However, in view of spread of Corona virus to other geographies, this has not materialized substantially.
-  Clarification has been issued to consider Corona virus outbreak in China or any other country as a case of natural calamity and Force Majeure clause may been invoked wherever considered appropriate.

(d):   To mitigate difficulties faced by trade and industry in the contextual situation, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs has directed all custom stations as well as testing labs to function on 24x7 basis till the end of May, 2020. The field formations have been advised to show greater sensitivity in dealing with cargo from affected areas and waive late fee arising due to delayed receipt of documents in genuine cases.

(e):    The Hon'ble Finance Minister has interacted with various stakeholders to discuss the problems being faced by trade and industry in the wake of spread of coronavirus in China. Several  issues  were  raised  during  the  interaction  requiring  suitable  action  from  different Ministry/Department/Agencies of the Government. Subsequently, these issues were discussed  with  concerned  Ministries/Departments/  Agencies  in  a  meeting  convened  by Hon'ble  Finance  Minister  on  20.02.2020.  Directions  given  in  the  meeting  are  as  per Annexure.

- (f):    However, as regards excise duty, at present there is no such proposal.

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