Central Government approved Scheme 'Transport and Marketing Assistance' (TMA) for Specified Agriculture Products - F. No. 17/3/2018-EP (Agri.IV) - Foreign Trade Policy

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (Department of Commerce) NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 27th February, 2019 F. No. 17/3/2018-EP (Agri.IV). -The Central Government has approved a Scheme titled Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) for Specified Agriculture Products. 2. Introduction and Objective: (i) The Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) for specified agriculture products scheme aims to provide assistance for the international component of freight and marketing of agricultural produce which is likely to mitigate disadvantage of higher cost of transportation of export of specified agriculture products due to trans-shipment and to promote brand recognition for Indian agricultural products in the specified overseas markets. (ii) The Scheme would be suitably included in the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20). 3. Coverage: (a) All exporters, duly registered with relevant Export Promotion Council as per Foreign Trade Policy, of eligible agriculture products shall be covered under this Scheme. (b) The assistance, at notified rates, will be available for export of eligible agriculture products to the permissible countries, as specified from time to time. 4. Applicability: The Scheme would be applicable for a period as specified from time to time. Presently the Scheme would be available for exports effected from 1.3.2019 to 31.03.2020. [3] 5. Eligibility of Products: The assistance will be provided on export of all agriculture products covered in HSN chapters 1 to 24 including marine and plantation products except those mentioned in Annexure (1). 6. Pattern of Assistance: (a) Assistance under TMA would be provided in cash through direct bank transfer as part reimbursement of freight paid. FOB supplies where no freight is paid by Indian exporters are not covered under this Scheme. (b) The level of assistance would be different for different regions as notified from time to time for export of eligible products. List of export destinations/countries in each region eligible for assistance under TMA are mentioned in Annexure (2). (c) The assistance shall be admissible only if payments for the exports are received in Free Foreign Exchange through normal banking channels. (d) The Scheme shall be admissible for the exports made through EDI ports only. (e) The Scheme covers freight and marketing assistance for export by air as well as by sea (both normal and reefer cargo). (f) For export of products by sea, TMA will be based on the freight paid for a full Twenty-feet Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers. The assistance will not be available for (i) Less than Container Load (LCL) and (ii) a container having both eligible and ineligible category of cargo. Further, no TMA is available where the cargo is shipped in bulk/break bulk mode. A forty feet container will be treated as two TEUs. 4 [ (g) Assistance for products exported by air would be based on per kilogram freight charges on net weight of the export cargo, calculated on full kilogram basis, ignoring any fraction thereof. ] (h) The assistance will be provided at the rates as notified in Annexure 3 . 7. Categories of export ineligible for TMA: The following exports categories/sectors shall be ineligible under this Scheme: (i) Products exported from SEZs/ EOUs/ EHTPs/ STPs/ BTPs/ FTWZs; (ii) SEZ/EOU/EHTPs/STPs/BTPs/FTWZs products exported through DTA units; (iii) Export of imported goods covered under paragraph 2.46 of the FTP ; (iv) Exports through trans-shipment, i.e. exports that are originating in third country but transhipped through India; (v) Items, which are restricted or prohibited for export under Schedule-2 of Export Policy in ITC (HS), unless specifically notified; (vi) Export products which are subject to Minimum Export Price or export duty, unless specifically notified; (vii) Export of goods through courier or foreign post offices using e-Commerce. 8. Procedure for Availing Assistance under the Scheme TMA would be reimbursed through the Regional Authorities of DGFT as per the procedure laid down in Chapter 7(A) of Handbook of Procedures (2015-2020). 9. Mechanism for Scrutiny of the claims, audit, recovery and penal action. DGFT will lay down procedure for scrutiny of the claims, audit of the payments made, recovery of the ineligible/excess paid assistance, interest on such recoveries. The defaulters shall be liable for penal action under the provisions of Foreign Trade (Development Regulation) Act, 1992, Rules and orders made thereunder. ANNEXURE (1) List of agriculture products not eligible under TMA The assistance will be provided for all agriculture products covered under HSN chapters 1 to 24, with the following exceptions: Chapter HS Codes Description Chapters 1, 2 5 All HS Codes - Live animals - Meat and Edible Meat Offal - Products of Animal Origin, not elsewhere specified or included Chapter 3 030617 - Other shrimps and prawns : Chapter 4 0401 -Milk and cream, not concentrated nor containing added sugar or other sweetening Matter 0402 - Milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening Matter 0403 - Buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, kephir and other fermented or acidified milk and cream, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured or containing added fruit, nuts or cocoa 0404 - Whey, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter; products consisting of natural milk constituents, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, not elsewhere specified or included 0405 - Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk; dairy spreads 0406 - Cheese and curd Chapter 7 0703 - Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled Chapter 10 1001, 1006 -Wheat And Meslin -Rice Chapters 13 14 All HS Codes - Lac; Gums, Resins and other Vegetable Saps and Extracts - Vegetable Plaiting Materials; Vegetable Products not elsewhere specified or Included Chapter 17 1701, 1703 -Cane Or Beet Sugar And Chemically Pure Sucrose, In Solid Form - Raw Sugar Not Containing Added Flavouring Or Colouring Matter ; -Molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar Chapters 22 and 24 All HS Codes - Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar - Tobacco and Manufactured Tobacco Substitutes Annexure (2) List of Export destinations/countries in each region under TMA List of Regions and Export destinations/countries in each region eligible for assistance under TMA are as under: 1 [ Region Country Name West Africa Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia. Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia. Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal and Sierra Leone. East Africa Burundi, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zambia. EU Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City. Gulf Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait. Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. North America Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America. ASEAN Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Russia CIS Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Far East Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia. Oceania Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. China PRC China, Hong Kong, Taiwan. South America Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela. ] 5 [ANNEXURE (3) Differential rate of assistance under TMA (Amount in Indian Rupees) Region Amount Per TEU Amount Per TEU By Air (Normal) (Reefer) Amount per kilogram West Africa 11200 19600 0.84 East Africa 11200 21000 0.84 EU 9800 21000 1.12 Gulf 8400 14000 0.70 North America 21000 28700 2.80 ASEAN 5600 12600 0.70 Russia CIS 12600 22400 0.70 Far East 8400 12250 0.84 Oceana 16800 24500 2.80 China 0 12600 0.84 South America 23800 31500 3.50 ] SANTOSH KUMAR SARANGI, Jt. Secy. ******** Notes 1. Substituted vide Notification No. F. No. 17/3/2018-EP (Agri. IV) 06-06-2019 before it was read as Region Country Name West Africa Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Niger, Cape Verde, Nigeria EU Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City Gulf Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates North America Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America ASEAN Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam Russia CIS Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Far East Japan, North Korea, South Korea Oceana Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu China PRC China, Hong Kong, Taiwan South America Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela 2. Inserted vide Notification No. F. No. 17/3/2018-EP (Agri. IV) 06-06-2019 3. The benefit shall now be available upto 31.3.2021 vide Notification dated 17-3-2020 4. Substituted vide Notification No. 17/3/2018-EP (Agri.IV) dated 27-04-2020 before it was read as (g) Assistance for products exported by air would be based on per ton freight charges on net weight of the export cargo, calculated on the full ton basis, ignoring any fraction thereof. 5. Substituted vide Notification No. 17/3/2018-EP (Agri.IV) dated 27-04-2020 before it was read as ANNEXURE (3) Differential rate of assistance under TMA (Amount in Indian Rupees) Region Amount Per TEU (Normal) Amount Per TEU (Reefer) By Air Amount per tonne West Africa 11200 19600 840 EU 9800 21000 1120 Gulf 8400 14000 700 North America 21000 28700 2800 ASEAN 5600 12600 700 Russia CIS 12600 22400 700 Far East 8400 12250 840 Oceana 16800 24500 2800 China 0 12600 840 South America 23800 31500 3500 2 [ East Africa 11200 21000 840 ]