The Canadian Food Inspection Agency sent an AIRS update announcing that it changed the release recommendation for the Pacific cupped oyster originating in the U.S from “Refer to CFIA -- NISC” to “Refuse entry" when destined to the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. The change affects goods of Canadian tariff subheading 03.07.11.1888.75.
A recent court ruling in India makes the country’s “Advance Authorization Scheme” for duty exemptions on imported inputs more useful for exporters, KPMG India said in a recent client alert. Indian revenue authorities had made several changes to the program in 2017, making Goods and Services Tax potentially exempt but also creating a “pre-import condition” where the same goods had to be imported, used as inputs and exported for those goods to qualify as duty-free under the AA program. An exporter had sued, saying that the new interpretation made it impossible to use the scheme where goods are manufactured and exported in anticipation of an authorization, and then inputs are imported duty-free against the authorization for further manufacturing and export. The high court of Gujarat sided with the exporter, KPMG said. As a result, all enforcement proceedings against Indian companies for improper use of AA due to the “pre-import condition” rule “would no longer survive,” KPMG said. “This judgment comes as a big relief to these exporters as there would have been a cash flow and interest impact on account of the payment of the disputed IGST [the Integrated Goods and Services Tax]. However, it needs to be seen whether the government issues any clarification or challenges the judgment,” KPMG said.
The Department of State updated its Cuba restricted list, adding five “subentities” and making two clarifications, the department said in a notice. This is the second update to the list since it was published in November 2017, the notice said, and the department will continue to update the list “periodically.”
The Office of Foreign Assets Control added an entity to its Specially Designated Nationals List, with a Venezuela-related designation, OFAC said in a March 11 notice. The entity, Evrofinance Mosnarbank, is associated with a Moscow address in Russia, according to the notice, and is linked to Petroleos de Venezuela, the Venezuelan state-owned and U.S.-sanctioned oil company.
The Bureau of Industry and Security will hold its annual “Update” Conference on Export Controls and Policy in Washington on July 9-11, it said in an emailed update. “This major outreach activity draws business and government representatives from around the world to learn and exchange ideas about export control issues,” it said. “The 2019 BIS Annual Conference will be at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. Conference room rates, detailed registration and program information will be provided as it becomes available.”
During a March 11 program billed as an information session on upcoming export controls on emerging technologies, Department of Commerce officials were unable to give in-depth details, pointing to delays caused by the recent partial federal government shutdown and an overwhelming number of public comments.
CBP would like even more public feedback on how to modernize the agency's processes and regulations, CBP said in a notice. CBP said it is reopening the comment period until April 11 to allow for new input after it held a March 1 meeting to discuss a wide range of ideas for updates. The March 1 meeting included few mentions of exports, but the docket of the original request for comments includes multiple suggestions and criticisms on the export side.
Acting Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Michael Khouri was designated chairman of the agency by President Donald Trump on March 7, the FMC said in a news release.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
In the March 8 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted: