Transport and Marketing Assistance
The ‘Transport and Marketing Assistance’ (‘TMA’ for short) 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 transshipment; and
- to promote brand recognition for Indian agricultural products in the specified overseas markets.
Scheme
In March, the Central Government announced a scheme for providing financial assistance for transport and marketing of agriculture products. The Central Government has laid out a detailed procedure for claiming benefits under the Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme, vide Notification No. F.No.17/3/2018-EP (Agri-IV), dated 27.2.2019.
Applicability of the scheme
This scheme would be applicable for a period as specified from time to time. Currently this scheme would be available for exports effected from 01.03.2019 to 31.03.2020.
Coverage
- All exports, duly registered with relevant Export Promotion Council as per Foreign Trade Policy, of eligible agricultural products shall be covered under this scheme.
- The assistance, at notified rates, will be available for export of eligible agricultural products to the permissible countries, as specified from time to time.
Eligible products
The assistance will be provided on export of all agriculture export products covered in HSN Chapters 1 to 24 including marine and plantation products except the following products-
- Chapters 1, 2 & 5 – All HS Code-
- 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 flavored 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; diary spreads;
- 0406 – Cheese and Curd.
- Chapter 7 – 0703 – Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled;
- Chapter 10 –
- 1001 – Wheat and Meslin;
- 1006 – 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 – Cane or Beet Sugar and Chemically Purse Sucrose, in solid form – raw sugar not containing added flavoring or coloring matter;
- 1703 – 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.
Assistance
The following are the patterns of assistance under this scheme-
- In cash through direct bank transfer as part reimbursement of freight paid.FOB supplies are not covered under this scheme.
- The level of assistance would be different for different regions as notified from time to time for export of eligible products.
- The assistance shall be admissible only if payments for the exports are received in free foreign exchange through normal banking channels.
- The scheme shall be admissible for the exports made through EDI ports only.
- The scheme shall be admissible for the exports for export by air and sea.
- For export of products by sea, the assistance will be based on the freight paid for a full 20 feet equivalent container for-
- Less than Container Load; and
- A container having both eligible and ineligible category of cargo.
No assistance will be available where the cargo is shipped in bulk/break bulk mode. A 40 feet container will be treated as two TEUs.
- The assistance for products exported by air would be based on per ton freight charges on net weight of the export cargo, calculated on full ton basis, ignoring any fraction thereof.
Assistance rate
The following table will show the differential rate of assistance under this scheme-
(in Indian Rupees)
|
Region
|
About Per TEU (Normal)
|
Amount per TEU (Reefer)
|
By air - amount per tonne
|
|
West Africa
|
11200
|
19600
|
840
|
|
European Union
|
9800
|
21000
|
1120
|
|
Gulf
|
8400
|
14000
|
700
|
|
North America
|
21000
|
28700
|
2800
|
|
ASEAS
|
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
|
Eligible countries
The list of regions and export countries in each region eligible for this assistance is shown in the following table-
|
Region
|
Country name
|
|
West Africa
|
Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Niger, Cape Verde, Nigeria.
|
|
European Union
|
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, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, an 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, 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 and Tobago, United States of America.
|
|
AS,EAS
|
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 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.
|
Ineligible exports
The following exports and categories/sectors are ineligible under this scheme-
- Products exported from SEZs/EOUs/EHTPs/STPs/BTPs/FTWZs;
- SEZ/EOU/EHTPs/STSs/BTPs/FTWZs products exported through DTA units;
- Export of imported goods covered under para 2.46 of FTP;
- Export through transshipment, i.e., exports that are originating in third country but transshipped through India;
- Items, which are restricted or prohibited for export under Schedule 2 of Export Policy in ITC (HS) unless specifically notified;
- Export products which are subject to Minimum Export Price or export duty, unless specifically notified;
- Export of goods through counter or foreign post offices using e-commerce.
Procedure
Assistance included in FTP policy
Vide Notification No. 58/2015-2020, dated 29.03.2019, the Central Government added Chapter 7A in Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020) and incorporate the TMA. The procedure under Chapter 7A of Handbook of Procedures (2015-2020) is yet to be incorporated.
By: Mr. M. GOVINDARAJAN -
April 8, 2019
|
