DHL Express India has temporarily stopped pick up of import shipments from China, Hong Kong and Macau due to recent delays in their customs clearance.The company confirmed it in a statement, calling it a temporary suspension. China is going for retaliation by stopping the imports from India.
Amid the Indo-China war there has been a palpable tension developed between the two nations. These tensions are also being reflected in the shipment and consignments of imports and exports. DHL Express India has temporarily stopped the Chinese import statement. In a statement said by the Indian custom officials they said that they are physically examining consignments across the ports and airports. The Indian Custom officials also said that they are in contact with the customers to keep them updated on their shipments and consignments. Physical examination is done by matching description to bill of entry, whether the goods are correctly valued as these could be undervalued and whether they are eligible for exemption of duty.Currently, 70% of total imports pass through the green channel once the bill of entry is filed. This happens online with little or no difficulty; only 30% is examined
India’s decision to hold the imports from China had not gone too well as the China and Hong Kong customs are holding back exports consignment from India. This looks like a tit for tat situation by China.
The Federation of Indian Export Organization (FIEO) has said that chances of retaliation are soaring high and also the Chinese officials have not given any word on statement regarding the same which is making things worse.
Even though DHL express India has made a statement that it is a temporary suspension there is no official statement or word from the Chinese officials regarding the same.
Sharad Kumar Saraf who is the President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the association has requested Commerce Ministry to come out with an official clarification to make it clear that India has not resorted to any such blanket move to targets goods from China and that it was a pure order of delay.
As the Indian custom officials are physically examining the shipment there has been a delay as the consignments are being piled up in the storage. Various
Containers from China are stuck at ports of Mumbai and Chennai. These containers have been parked at isolated docks for physical examination by customs officials, leading to a huge delay in delivery.
The officials from the Finance Ministry have told that some containers are being held up on the basis of risk assessment and intelligence input which is also a routine and on-going exercise which happens most of the times. The Indian custom Officials and the Finance Ministry both have confirmed that this is just a mere delay of clearance and has nothing to do with the clash or war going on between Indian and China after the Galwan valley face-off in Ladakh.
China exports from India are 2.8% and Chinese imports to India are 5.2%.
By Deepika Agarwal
