Nepal asks India to scrap 6pc countervailing duty

KATHMANDU, MAY 04 -

Nepal has requested India to scrap the 6 percent countervailing duty (CVD) that the southern neighbour imposes on Nepal-made garment products.

Finance Minister Shanker Koirala made the request to his Indian counterpart P Chidambaram in New Delhi on Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing 46th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank.

Until some two-three months ago, India levied some 12 percent CVD over the maximum retail price, according to Garment Association of Nepal President Udaya Raj Pandey. “Now, it has come down to 6 percent,” he said. The Nepali Embassy in New Delhi said in a statement: “He (Koirala) also requested India’s Finance Minister for removing countervailing duty on Nepalese garments and make Vishakhapatnam Port available for use by Nepal.”

In response to Nepal’s request, Chidambaram agreed to take the issue ‘seriously’, but he did not make any assurance, according to Nepal’s Acting Ambassador to India Khaganath Adhikari. During his meeting with Chidambaram, Koirala also raised the matter of delay in operationalisation of Vishakapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh.

Although India promised to allow Nepal to import goods from countries other than India via Vishakapatnam Port during the then Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s India visit in 2009, no concrete development has been seen on this front. Operationalization of this port is very crucial as it will give an option to Nepali entrepreneurs to the monopoly of Kolkata port. The Vizag port also has more automated process, which will reduce costs.

Source: The Kathmandu Post