Singapore State courts sentenced Muhammad Rifa'ie Bin Mazlan Oct. 11 to 26 months in prison for conspiring to sell cigarettes for which duties had not been paid, Singapore Customs announced. A Singaporean national, Rifa'ie will also serve one month and 18 days in prison for possessing and using property "reasonably suspected" to be obtained from criminal conduct. He pleaded guilty to one charge under the Customs Act and two counts of violating Section 47AA of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act.
Most ministries in Vietnam have agreed in principle to reduce the excise tax on gasoline and value-added tax on gasoline and oil given the surge in global gas prices, the state-run CustomsNews reported Oct. 11. The Ministry of Finance consulted with ministries and local governments on the National Assembly's draft resolution to lower the excise taxes and VAT and reported that all respondents agreed with the resolution's "purpose and views." The ministry said it was necessary to make the tax reduction if the price of petrol and oil continued to fluctuate. Ten ministries and ministerial level-agencies, 18 localities and four associations and individuals reported their support for the resolution, CustomsNews said.
China recently updated the list of products whose foreign production facilities are required to register under Decree 248, the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report this month. The list's 148 new products include meat, seeds, spices and vegetables. China also removed 100 products from the list, including certain "reptile meat," bamboo shoots and molasses. Under Decree 248, certain U.S. production facilities may be subject to revised customs and registration procedures before their products can enter China (see 2111040018 and 2110130022).
China this week criticized the U.S. decision to increase export controls on technology destined to the country (see 2210070049) and add more Chinese entities to the Unverified List (see 2210070006), calling the moves “a typical practice of technological bullying.” China’s Ministry of Commerce said “it not only violates the spirit of cooperation between the two sides and ignores the facts of cooperation between the two sides, but also seriously hinders the normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and American enterprises,” according to an unofficial translation of a statement.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade extended until Oct. 10 the date for applications for tariff-rate quotas already issued under tariff head 7108 for the third quarter of fiscal year 2022-23, the DGFT said in an Oct. 6 notice. Also, the TRQ issued under tariff head 7108 for imports in the first and second quarter of FY 2022-23 will be revalidated until Nov. 30.
India's Finance Ministry raised the import tax on platinum from 10.75% to a total of 15.4%, IIFL Securities reported. The publication said it assumed the rate hike was intended to close a loophole that permitted huge profits for metals importers since some importers brought in refined gold masked as a platinum alloy. The import tax on gold stands at 15%, while tax on platinum alloy is 10% -- and the publication said it appeared there was "defect" in the official notice in that it "did not explicitly describe precious metal alloys," creating the possibility of "misdeclaration and duty evasion."
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade in an Oct. 4 notice clarified that a Sept. 28 notice banning the export of broken rice under Harmonized System code 10064000 does not apply to "Rice (5% and 25%)." The DGFT said that the normal rice had already been exempted and is not broken rice since it has permissible limits of broken rice. However, the exempted rice -- Rice (5% and 25%) -- will be subject to a 20% duty, per the original notice (see 2209090017), the DGFT said.
Sri Lanka recently lifted import bans on 159 goods, including “agricultural implements, industrial machinery, building materials, furniture and kitchenware,” machine parts, apparel and more, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Oct. 3. The restrictions were put in place in August, requiring the imports to be accompanied with licenses or “special” approvals. HKTDC said Sri Lanka will review its list of import-restricted items every two weeks, “taking into consideration private sector recommendations.”
China voiced its opposition to the U.S.'s recent sanctions move on Iran, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said during a regular press conference Sept. 30 in Beijing, according to a transcript provided in English. The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 29 sanctioned a group of companies that have sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum goods to end users in Asia (see 2209290045). The companies included Hong Kong-based Sierra Vista Trading and China-based Zhonggu Storage and Transportation and WS Shipping. The spokesperson said China always stands opposed to unilateral sanctions, and said the country has "conducted normal cooperation with Iran within the framework for international law." The spokesperson said the U.S. must ditch its practice of using sanctions "at every turn" and do more to reimpose the Iran nuclear deal.
India extended the period of enforcement of its existing Hand Book of Procedures for another six months, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a Sept. 29 notice. The procedures handbook was set to expire Sept. 30 but has now been extended to remain in force until March 31, 2023. The DGFT also amended the procedures to extend the time to file returns for the year 2022-23 related to the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31.