Latest News | Comm Min's COVID-19 Helpdesk Receives 163 Requests Regarding Policy Clarity, Relaxations in 15 Days
Get latest articles and stories on Latest News at LatestLY. The COVID-19 helpdesk, started by the commerce ministry last month to help resolve issues of exporters and importers, has received 163 requests regarding policy clarity and relaxations, and out of that 78 have been resolved, an official statement said on Monday.
New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) The COVID-19 helpdesk, started by the commerce ministry last month to help resolve issues of exporters and importers, has received 163 requests regarding policy clarity and relaxations, and out of that 78 have been resolved, an official statement said on Monday.
In view of the surge in COVID-19 cases, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) started a 'COVID-19 Helpdesk' from April 26. Since then, it was collecting information on the difficulties being faced by the exporting community so as to examine and resolve the irritants faced by the trade and industry expeditiously.
"Within a period of 15 days, 163 requests have been received seeking support, policy clarity and relaxations etc, out of which 78 have been fully resolved. Major issues which got coordinated/resolved during the period," the ministry said in a statement.
The resolved matters include issuance of mandatory BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) and SIMS (steel import monitoring system) requirements for import of oxygen cylinders to India as this would reduce the compliance burden and will waive the fee to be paid for SIMS registration; shipping bills issue with the RBI; and impact of lockdown in Karnataka on garment manufacturing industry.
"DGFT took up the issue with DPIIT regarding the request of some industries for allocation of Oxygen Supply for Industrial activities and the support requested for subsidies for establishing the oxygen manufacturing plant," it said.
It added that various issues relating to department of commerce, import and export licensing, customs clearance delays, documentation issues, banking matters, transport/port handling/shipping/air movement issues and availability of manpower for running export units are the key areas being examined by the Helpdesk.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)