THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking up the cause of lakhs of blue-collar workers employed in various countries, the Kerala government has asked the central government to review its ban on duty-free import of gifts valued up to Rs 5,000 through courier or cargo services for their immediate family members or relatives in the country.
An order issued by the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) towards the end of 2019 prohibited the import of goods, including those bought through e-commerce portals, by post or courier as gifts without customs clearance, except lifesaving medicines and rakhi, which are exempted under Section 25 (6) of the Customs Act, 1962. As per the order, the import of goods as gifts is allowed only with the payment of full applicable duty.
The overseas diaspora, especially the poor workers, had been enjoying the privilege of sending gifts worth up to Rs 5,000 to their family members without paying customs duty till then. Earlier, they were allowed to send gifts worth up to Rs 20,000 home without the duty which was later reduced to Rs 10,000 and later to Rs 5,000. Just before the Covid outbreak in India, the Centre stopped the privilege entirely. The workers have to pay a total customs duty of 68% (30% basic customs duty, 10% social service cess and 28% GST) to send each consignment.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, K Elangovan, Principal Secretary, Industries, Commerce and NORKA, said, "As per the revised foreign trade policy, even genuine poor workers are not eligible to send home gifts to their dear ones. The Centre revised the policy to stop some illegal activities misusing the exemption. However, it has affected the genuine poor workers. Taking note of their sorry state of affairs, which were aggravated following the Covid outbreak, the state has requested the Centre to restore the duty exemption, which would be a big relief for them during the pandemic days. The state is awaiting a positive reply from the Centre."
"The Calicut Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been receiving a lot of complaints from Malayali expats and it has urged the state government to take up the matter with DGFT, Union Finance Ministry, Board of Customs & Taxes and Union Commerce Ministry as this causes much hardship to overseas Indian citizens," said Munshid Ali, head of the export grievance cell of the chamber.
There were allegations that Chinese goods were coming into the country through the e-commerce route as duty-free gifts. Some persons had been misusing the facility for importing liquor, tobacco and gold. "Since we have a lot of enforcement agencies, these issues can be addressed effectively by enforcing rules and laws. Banning the entire duty-free import is certainly a blow to the poor overseas workers employed especially in GCC countries," he added.