- The free import policy, without quantitative restrictions, on tur (pigeon pea) and urad dal (black matpe) till March 2025.
- The import duty exemption on masur dal (lentils) by another year till March 31, 2025. In the normal course, imports attract 30 per cent Customs duty.
India imports over 3 million tonnes (mt) of pulses annually even as production has jumped substantially.
Opportunities for Agricultural Products IMPORT in India
India is the world’s most populous country. Not withstanding fake western Indices, is one of the richest in terms of PPP & boasts one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
As Indian households continue to reach higher levels of consumer spending, imported agricultural products are becoming more accessible to a larger number of people.
Indian importers wanting to bring agricultural goods have an opportunity to help meet the growing demand for imported food and agricultural products like pulses.
Leading global importers of agricultural products in 2020, by country (in billion U.S.dollars)
In FY 2023, India imported $37 billion of agricultural and related products from the world. In the past 5 years, India’s imports have grown substantially, up by $12.5 billion (51 percent) from FY 2019.
India is ranked as the eighth largest global importer of agricultural and related products. Proportional to its population, India imports a relatively small value of products.
Comparatively, China, a country with a similar population size, imported $262.7 billion during the same period. Currently, India ranks behind much lower population countries like Canada and South Korea in total agricultural and related imports. This relatively low level of imports suggests good opportunities for future growth.
INDIA's Top Agricultural and Related Product Imports from the World
MILLION USD, FISCAL YEAR (OCT-SEP)
India inching towards ‘Aatmnirbharta’
India is the leading producer, consumer, and importer of Pulses in the world. In recent years, the Government has initiated a number of measures for boosting pulses production in the country with the aim of reducing the dependence on imports. As a result, the pulses production is steadily growing.
The production which was in the range of around 16-19 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) during 2010 to 2016 has increased remarkably to 25-27 MMT during the last two years. The pulses production which was 18.24 MMT during 2010-11 rose to the record level of 26.96 MMT during 2021-22, an increase of about 48 percent.
India's import of pulses is showing downward trend and is down from 19% in 2013-14 to around 9% in 2021-22; projected to drop down further to around 3% by 2030-31 only.
The increase in production of pulses is supplemented by declining imports during the last few years. During 2010 to 2015, the pulse import was in the range of 2-5 MMT valuing Rs. 7500- 17,000 crore per annum.
The imports reached a peak at 6.66 MMT valuing Rs. 28,750 crores in 2016-17. During the last five years, an overall declining trend in the import of pulses has been witnessed.
The volume of imports fell to the lowest level of around 2.46 MMT in 2020- 21, which is the lowest in the last ten years. During 2021-22 (April-March) also, import is well within 2.7 MMT.
How to import pulses in India: Documents Required
Customs
- Invoice
- Packing List
- Freight related documents, in case of C&F terms
- Insurance related documents, in case of CIF terms
- Bills of lading
- Country of Origin Certificate, in case the Country-of-Origin benefit is claimed by the importer.
FSSAI
- Country of Origin Certificate
- Specimen copy of label
- End Use declaration
- Non-GMO Certificate for Pulses - Bean, Soybeans and Cow Peas.
PQ
- Import Permit, whereever applicable
- Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the exporting country.
India's import-volume of pulses by country of origin
The highest quantity of import of pulses India did is from Myanmar in the financial year 2023, with an import quantity of 757 thousand metric tons followed by Canada with 485 thousand metric tons.
PULSES-IMPORT
COMPULSORY COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS (CCRS)
- IMPORT OF PEAS IS RESTRICTED AND SUBJECT TO MINIMUM IMPORT PRICE (MIP) OF RS 200/- PER KG AND ALSO SUBJECT TO FISCAL YEAR QUOTA OF 1.5 LAKH MT AS PER THE PROCEDURE NOTIFIED BY DGFT.
- IMPORT IS ALLOWED THROUGH KOLKATA SEA PORT ONLY. THIS RESTRICTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO GOVTS IMPORT COMMITMENTS UNDER ANY BILATERAL OR REGIONAL AGREEMENT OR MOU. REFER DGFT NTFN 37/2015-20 DT 18.12.2019.
- IMPORTERS SHOULD DECLARE STOCKS OF PULSES ON THE PORTAL - FCAINFOWEB.NIC.IN. REFER S.O. 2871(E) DATED 19-07-2021, DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS.
- IN CASE OF PGA FACILITATED BILLS I.E. WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN ROUTED THROUGH PGA FOR NOC, PROPER OFFICER SHOULD VERIFY AND ENSURE THAT THE MANDATORY DOCUMENTS-SPECIMEN COPY OF LABEL[0110FS], FSSAI IMPORT LICENSE[911001]HAVE BEEN UPLOADED IN (E-SANCHIT) BEFORE GIVING OUT-OF-CHARGE(OOC).
- PORT OF ENTRIES FOR IMPORT OF FOOD ITEMS ARE ALLOWED TO BE IMPORTED ONLY IN AIRPORTS/ICD/SEZ/SEAPORTS/LCS AS LISTED IN APPENDIX-V LIST-A TO SCHEDULE-I OF IMPORT POLICY, ITC (HS) 2017.
- ON THE RECTIFIABLE LABELING INFORMATION FOR IMPORTED FOOD CONSIGNMENTS
(A) IN ADDTITION TO THE LABELING DEFICIENCIES FOR WHICH A SPECIAL DISPENSATION FOR RECTIFICATION HAS BEEN PROVIDED UNDER REG6 OF FSS (IMPORT) REGULATIONS, 2017 AND UNDER ORDER DATED 22-05-2018 AND 14-01-2019, THE LABELING INFORMATION AS PER THE REQUIREMENT OF FSS (LABELING AND DISPLAY) REGULATIONS, 2020 AS MENTIONED BELOW MAY ALSO BE ALOWED TO BE RECTIFIED AT THE PORT :-
PER SERVE PERCENTAGE (%) CONTRIBUTION TO RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCE CALCULATED ON THE BASIS OF 2000 KCAL ENERGY, 67 G TOTAL FAT, 22G SATURATED FAT,2G TRANS FAT, 50G, ADDED SUGAR, AND 2000 MG OF SODIUM (5G SALT) REQUIREMENT FOR AVERAGE ADULT PER DAY; DATE OF EXPIRY ALONG WITH BEST BEFORE DATE, SUBJECT TO THE CONDITION THAT THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY THE MANUFACTURER ITSELF AND THE SAME SHALL BE VERIFIED BY THE AUTHORISED OFFICER.
(B) THIS RECTIFICATION SHALL BE CARRIED OUT AT CUSTOMS BOUND WAREHOUSES BEFORE VISUAL INSPECTION OR RE-INSPECTION BY THE AUTHORISED OFFICER OR HIS REPRESENTATIVE BY AFFIXING A SINGLE NON-DETACHABLE STICKER OR BY ANY OTHER NON-DETACHABLE METHOD NEXT TO THE PRINCIPAL DISPLAY PANEL WITHOUT ALTERING THE ORIGINAL LABEL INFORMATION IN ANY MANNER. - REF CBIC INSTRUCTION NO 09/23-CUS DT 07-03-23 IN MODIFICATION TO INSTRUCTIONS NO 10/22-CUS DT 28-06-22 ALONGWITH FSSAI ORDER DT 18-11-22 ISSUED UNDER F.NO.IMPORT/TFM/APEX/2022-FSSAI AND FSSAI CLARIFICATION ORDER DTD 18-11-22 ON RECTIFIABLE LABELLING FOR IMPORTED FOOD CONSIGNMENT.
Important References:
The Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Regulations 2011
FSSAI regulations govern inter alia packaging and labeling, laboratory and sampling analysis, food additives, product standards, licensing and registration of food businesses, and maximum residue levels of contaminants.
The FSS Regulations 2011 stipulate, “…all food business operators (FBOs), food processors, manufacturers, exporters, or importers shall ensure that the food s/he handles meets all the standards under the FSS Regulations 2011.”
All domestic food operators, including importers, are required to have an FSSAI license to conduct business in India. FSSAI does not require licensing of foreign companies to export food products to India.
The Legal Metrology Act 2009 and the Legal Metrology Packaged Commodities Rules 2011
The Legal Metrology Act 2009 establishes uniform standards of weights and measures regulating trade in weights and other goods which are sold and/or distributed by weight, measure or number.
As per the Legal Metrology Packaged Commodities Rules 2011, which came into force on April 1, 2011, manufacturing, packing, selling or importing any pre-packaged commodity is prohibited unless it is in a
standardized quantity and carries all prescribed declarations (please refer to Section 18(1) of the Legal Metrology Packaged Commodities Rules 2011).
The Department of Consumer Affairs under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution (commonly called the Ministry of Food) is the regulatory authority for the 2009 Legal Metrology Act 2009 and the Legal Metrology Packaged Commodities Rules 2011.
Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order 2003
Plant import regulations are governed by the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order 2003 under the Destructive Insects and Pests Act 1914.
On November 18, 2003, the Plant Quarantine Order (Regulation of Import into India) was published with “the purpose of prohibiting and regulating the imports into India of agricultural articles” and became effective on January 1, 2004. The implementing agency is the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine, and Storage (DPPQS), under MAFW’s DAC.
Labeling Requirements:
Three GOI authorities regulate labeling of food and agricultural products. They are the FSSAI under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; the Office of Legal Metrology under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MOCI).