The action is intended to reduce the price and duration of customs clearance and accelerate bilateral trade. The bilateral comprehensive free trade agreement between India and the UAE, which was concluded last year and immediately abolished taxes for 90% of India’s exports in value terms encompassing industries like gems and jewellery, textiles, leather, and engineering items, would be complemented by it. The virtual commerce corridor proposal calls on the two countries’ customs authorities to investigate the feasibility of accessing pre-arrival information for cargo movement, which would speed up cross-validation of information and enable pre-clearance of goods. The two nations predict that non-oil commerce will reach $100 billion over the five years following the free trade agreement’s implementation on May 1, 2022. The purpose of the virtual corridor is to expedite shipments. It will investigate whether clearances may be completed online. notably for major nodes that link India to the rest of the world, such Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It will be quick for the shipments to travel through to the UAE if paperwork and approvals can be completed in India. Hence, both sides are taking it into consideration, according to Sunjay Sudhir, India’s ambassador to the UAE, who spoke to Mint.
In order to establish a virtual commerce corridor, Kuwait and the UAE inked a contract last year.
In the current fiscal’s April through December, bilateral non-oil trade between India and the UAE increased by 4.8% to $35.66 billion.Throughout the months of April through December, New Delhi’s exports to Abu Dhabi totaled $23.3 billion, representing a 16.4% increase. At this time, imports from the UAE totaled $40.7 billion, an increase of 24.6% year over year.
According to a representative for the ministry of business and industry, “the concerned authorities in both countries are now examining this area of collaboration in order to agree to a mutually beneficial implementation plan.” The two sides decided to investigate the construction of effective and integrated single window solutions and virtual trade corridors to decrease time and cost in trade during the India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments meeting in October of last year. To increase exports, Ajay Sahai, DG and CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FEO), suggested that similar measures be taken for India’s other important markets. It is a very nice initiative that will help. ensure smooth cargo flow on both sides, assisting trade to expand without obstacles. To ensure that exports are cleared quickly on both sides, this novel solution needs to be made available to other nations, especially our top export destinations, according to Sahai.
