RULES AND REGULATIONS IN IMPORT EXPORT BUSINESS
- Legal Metrology Act, 2009:
Legal Metrology Act, 2009 along with Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 provides rules and regulations in import export business relating to standard units to be used for weights and measurement of goods. Every unit of weight or measure shall be in accordance with the metric system based on the international system of units. Using or keeping any weight or measure otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the said Act is an offence. Further the rules require every manufacturer, packer and importer who pre-packs or imports any commodity for sale, distribution or delivery to get him registered under these Rules.
2 Goods and Services Tax (GST):
GST laws were enacted in the year 2017 to subsume various other indirect taxes. GST is levied on supply of goods and services. Supply is further classified as Inter-state supply (Where supply is made in different state) or intra state supply (Where supply is made within the state). Imports or export of goods is also considered as interstate supply, since the movement of goods is from area outside the state. As per section 24 of CGST Act, 2017 which lays down grounds for compulsory registration states that any person involved in inter-state supply shall obtain registration under GST irrespective of his turnover.
3 Customs Act, 1962 and Customs Tariff Act, 1975:
The customs act, 1962 provide for rules and regulations in import export business to control import and export activity in India, whereas the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 provides applicable import duties or export duties on the goods. The customs act also provides regulation related to registration for Custom brokers governed under Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018
4 Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999:
FEMA or Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 along with its rules and regulations in import export business governs foreign investment made in India or foreign investment made from India. Foreign investment are categorized into two forms i.e., approval route and automatic route. Activities falling under approval route require prior approval from RBI whereas on the other hand activities under automatic route do not require any prior approval of RBI. However reporting of foreign investment in mandatory in all the cases. Further FEMA also imposes several restrictions on citizens of country that share land border with India such as Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, etc.
5 Foreign Trade Policy:
FTP or Foreign Trade Policy 2023 has recently been issued by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. FTP is a policy that incentivizes exports from India by providing them various government incentives and benefit. The 2023 policy aims at making India a 2 Trillion USD export market by the year 2030. The FTP further mandates every person involved in import or export activity of goods to get an Import Export Code (IEC) whose validity is lifetime.
6 General laws:
Various general laws such as Companies Act, 2013, Income tax act, Consumer Protection Laws, Information technology act etc., would in general be applicable on all the companies. Such acts might be applicable only on occurrence of specific event.
Also different labor laws and code might also be applicable to the person depending upon requirements as prescribed under different act.
These are the rules and regulations in Import Export Business.
Also Check : How to Export to Dubai From India
