TARIFF COMMISSION

Introduction

An independent Tariff commission came into existence on September 2, 1997. The Commission was constituted with the prime object of recommending appropriate levels of tariffs for different products and different industries, keeping in view the larger economic interests of the country. The committee is expected to function as an independent expert body with appropriate administrative powers. The Commission has the necessary flexibility to sub-contract research work to specialized agencies both within and outside the government.

Composition of the Commission

As per the charter," the commission is to be headed by a full-time chairman of the rank of Secretary to the Govt. of India land is to be assisted by al full-time member designated as Member-Secretary in the rank of Additional Secretary. The other members of the commission will be part-time members whose number may vary between 3 to 5 with the option to convert some of the part-time members into full-time members depending upon exigencies of work.

Strengthening of the Commission

Consequent upon the merger of BICP with the commission w.e.f. 1.4.1999, infrastructure and manpower available with the BICP was placed at the disposal of the commission. Keeping in view its terms of reference, the organizational structure and manpower requirements of the commission were reviewed by the Human Resource Development group formed for the purpose and its report was submitted to the govt. on Februrary 22, 2000. The report has since been approved by the committee headed by AS&FA, Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The staff structure as broadly approved by the committee is being put in place.

Tasks Accomplished

During the year 2002-03 (up to 31/12/2002), the commission has finalized the report on ammonium Nitrate.

Further, the following studies are in the process of finalization.

1.      DAP/MOP
        Cost evaluation in respect of Di Ammonium Phosphate(DAP)both indigenous and imported and Muritrate of Potash(MOP) for recommending delivered prices of the products.

2.     Musical Instruments
        Study on High import duties on import of musical instruments

3.    Tea Industry
        Comparative analysis of techno-economic parameters of tea estates, tariff structure, international competitiveness and recommending improvements in yield, quality and overall competitiveness.

4.     Opium
        Recommending guidelines for fixing the price of raw opium and also export price of opium.

5.     B-Twill Jute Bags
        Computation of fair price of B-Twill jute bags keeping in view the changes in productivity norms, raw jute purchase policy, salary and wages, cost structure, changes in power policies and other parameters.

6.     Hindustan Photo films
        Imposition of tariff/non tariff barriers for protection of indigenous photo goods industry.

7.     Bicycle Industry
        Study on competitiveness of bicycle industry and the domestic excise duty structure

8.     LPG/Kerosene
        Fixation of Dealers Margin.

9.     Costing Norms of Namrup DPS & Lakwa DPS.

10.     Rationalization of duty structure in Textile Sector

Other Initiatives

In addition to completing the studies listed above other initiatives taken by the commission in the previous year and continued during the current fiscal year are listed below:

  1. Efforts to evolve an analytical tool/model for determining appropriate levels of tariffs: some models have been tested and the process of finalizing the most appropriate model is underway.
  2. Creation of data base; collection of basic data on specified commodities selected on the basis of their sensitivity to consumption/production, financial implications, criticalness to the economy, Political economy, topicality, Export potentials and Surge/likely surge in imports, etc.
  3. Analysis and Review of data collected commodity wise and preparation of tariff notes.
  4. Finalization of format for the impact analysis studies of Agriculture, Textiles, Automobiles, Information Technology, chemical & Fertilizers, Steel and Engineering Goods.
  5. Collection and scanning of International trade, WTO literature.
  6. Reorganising library and documentation facilities.
  7. Strengthening of computer network infrastructure.
  8. Analysing case laws of WTO in consultation with legal experts/trainers.

Re-orientation of Plan Schemes

The plan schemes have been re-oriented to align them with the charter of Tariff Commission and the following Plan Schemes are in operation:

The above schemes are so designed as to enable the Commission to address its terms of reference in a better way with increased expertise from widest possible perspectives, to help the organization in having a better appreciation of development issues and also in consolidating gains achieved in the past studies.

Dissemination of Expertise

The expertise/specialized skills of the commission are being shared with different Government Departments by way of its representation on specialized and expert committees. The commission is represented on the following Committees:

    1. Tariff Advisory Committee(General Insurance)
    2. Technical Group(Marine hull)
    3. Engineering sub-committee
    4. Technical Group (Petro-chemicals)
    5. Committee of SSI De-reservation
    6. Committee on Fertilizer Inputs Indexation for FICC
    7. Subject committees of Bureau of Indian Standards
    8. Solid Mineral fuels Sectional committee
    9. Expert Committee on Reassessment of the Capacity of Ammonia/Urea units operating at High Level of Capacity Utilization
    10. Committee to evolve a concept of standard unit/standard plant for ammonia/Urea fertilizer units from different feed stocks
    11. Committee set up by FICC on start up expenses of fertilizer units
    12. Committee set up by FICC on time over-run of fertilizer units.

Human Resource Development

After the restructured Tariff Commission came into existence in April, 1999, it laid emphasis on the development of human resource and focused attention on training. To enable employees to respond effectively to the changing organizational needs and objectives, it was considered necessary to establish affirm training base and make arrangements for participation of the officers of the Commission in seminars, workshops etc. In pursuance of this objective Tariff Commission had also requested the Research and Information system for Non-aligned and other Developing Countries (RIS) to design tailor-made training modules for its officers which would cover specific areas. Second phase of the programme was held in the month of October, 2002.

Individual officers were also nominated to short duration training programmes at other organisations for skill up-gradation.

In-house discussions were also organized on various topics including some relating to WTO framework sharing of knowledge and expertise.

In the Commission, the process of human resource development is an on-going exercise and, therefore, more programmes, which would be useful for the up-gradation of professional expertise of the officers and staff, are proposed to be organized.

Promotion of Official Language

The commission continued the programme for implementation of various provisions of the Official Language Act and Rules to promote and progressively propagate the use of official language in its working. 71.9% correspondence was made in Hindi in Region A. Similarly, 71.1% and 42.3% correspondence was made in Hindi in regions B and C respectively. Hindi Fortnight was organized from 14.9.2002 to 30.9.2002. Various Hindi competitions were organized during this period eg. Hindi noting and drafting, Hindi dictation, Hindi essay writing, Hindi poem and Hindi debate/elocution. Prizes were distributed to winners by the chairman. A Hindi workshop was organized and employees were given training in Hindi noting and drafting. Meetings of Official Language Implementation Committee were also organized. Books in Hindi were also purchased for the library.