The election manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says nothing meaningful on foreign trade or the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It disappoints those looking for serious intent and definite steps to boost exports and reform the GST regime.
The manifesto assures faster customs clearance of international cargo by relaxing clearance procedures, introducing self-declaration, and adopting new scanning technology.
However, these improvements are being pursued by the Customs administration for several years, regardless of the government in power. For example, self assessment was introduced in 2011, direct port delivery in 2009, authorised economic operator scheme in 2012, progressive use of technology
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