Jaitley releases National Trade Facilitation Action Plan

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) on Thursday.

The Action Plan aims to transform cross-border clearance ecosystem through efficient, transparent, risk-based, co-ordinated, digital, seamless and technology driven procedures which are supported by advanced sea ports, airports, and land borders.

The NTFAP aims to achieve improvement in ease of doing business by reducing cargo release time and cost, promote paperless regulatory environment, transparent and predictable legal regime and improved investment climate through better infrastructure.

"With the release of this Action Plan today, we look forward to ensuring compliance with the TFA and also, impetus to trade facilitation," Jaitley said while releasing the Action Plan.

FM @arunjaitley :With release of this Action Plan today,we look forward to ensuring compliance with TFA &also impetus to trade facilitation.

- Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 20, 2017

NTFAP also awards specific responsibilities to all regulatory agencies like Customs, FSSAI, Drug Controller, Plant Quarantine, DGFT, etc to be completed in a time-bound manner.

"This Action Plan gives a time bound map, not only for implementing TFA, but also for India's initiatives for trade facilitation and Ease of Doing Business which goes beyond TFA," Jaitley further added.

FM @arunjaitley:Action Plan gives a time bound map for implementing TFA & India's initiatives for trade facilitation &Ease of doing Business

- Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 20, 2017

Apart from activities under the ambit of TFA, the Action Plan also goes beyond to what has been defined as TFA Plus category. It covers many activities in the areas of infrastructure augmentation, particularly the roadways and railways leading to ports and the infrastructure within ports, airports, ICDs, land customs stations that cuts across all stakeholders for which various ministries like shipping, civil aviation, railways, road transport and highways, Home Affairs, Finance, Commerce etc have been assigned specified targets.

All actions covered under the plan have been categorized by prioritizing the activities into short term, midterm and long term. The National Plan would be monitored by the Steering Committee (the operational arm of the NCTF) chaired by the Revenue Secretary and the Commerce Secretary. The plan would be reviewed by the Cabinet Secretary.

Earlier, a National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) headed by the Cabinet Secretary was constituted comprising of stakeholders from the Government and the private sectors including trade community. The NCTF has adopted 76 point National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) which is a reflection of the Government's commitment to implement the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).