The Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) has applauded the decision of the Government for extending the imposition of Minimum Import Price (MIP) of US $ 3.50 per Kg on 13 specific HSN codes of synthetic knitted fabrics.
Sidharth Khanna , President of NITMA, extends his deep admiration and sincerest gratitude to the Minister for Textiles, Giriraj Singh and the Minister for Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal along with the officials from both the respective Ministries for this decision.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) set a minimum import price (MIP) of US $ 3.50 per kilogramme for 13 HS codes of synthetic knitted fabrics, with effect from 1st January 2025 to 31st March 2025. SEZs, EOUs, and holders of advance authorisation are exempt from this requirement, provided that imported inputs are not sold into DTAs.
Khanna also disclosed that, in spite of the Governments’ admirable and unrelenting efforts to stop these underpriced imports, the most recent data (up to 24th October) shows that import quantities have skyrocketed, revealing that under-invoicing and other illegal activities are still common to get around these restrictions.
The introduction of the Minimum Import Price (MIP) has resulted in a significant rise in the overall number of imports under Chapter 60, rather than a decrease, according to an analysis of the most recent import data up to October 2024.
In addition, the most recent import data indicates an increase in three additional HS codes in addition to the 13 HS codes covered by MIP. The average monthly imports for these three HS codes increased significantly from 1.31 million kilogrammes (during April–June 23) to 7.52 million kilogrammes (during 24th October), a 600 per cent increase.
This suggests that importers are evading HS codes, which makes the existing strategy of applying Minimum Import Prices (MIP) to certain HS codes ineffectual. Which new HS codes importers are using will be shown in the November and December data.
NITMA has also requested the Government to widen the scope of MIP of US $ 3.50/ Kg on all HS codes falling under Chapter 60 and to include this provision in the budget to avoid the need for multiple notifications at frequent intervals.
