Portal of filing online appearance slips in SC to be activated from January 2
New Delhi (PTI): In a bid to facilitate the procedure of marking appearances of advocates, the Supreme Court has developed an online module which will be activated from January 2.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, had on December 16, announced that from New Year, lawyers would not be required to file appearance slips manually, but would log into 'Advocate Appearance Portal' to mark their presence.
Presently, advocates write their names along with details like the case and its serial number on a prescribed paper form, to mark their presence in a hearing to ensure that their names get reflected in the court orders or judgements.
A notice, uploaded on the apex court's website, regarding activation of portal of filing online appearance slips said that the Advocates-on-Record (AoR) may mark the appearances of lawyers appearing in the court through the link provided on the top court website and on its official mobile application.
"The said facility shall be available for the duration spanning from the publication of the cause list on the website till 11.30 am on the date of hearing of the matter. The user manual for the same is available on the website," said the December 30 notice.
"Take notice that an online module has been developed to facilitate procedure of marking appearances of the advocates in the record of proceedings, which is going to be activated from January 2, 2023," it said.
The notice also said that the existing practice of submitting appearance slips on court-wise email IDs shall stand dispensed with from January 2.
It said in case of any query, the AoR may contact the concerned court masters, whose contact details are available on the website on daily basis.
The apex court had earlier issued a statement stating that "manual filing of advocate appearance slips will be a history. On the first working day of the Year 2023; AOR may submit an appearance slip through the new portal".
The portal has been designed and developed for bringing speed, accuracy and efficacy for recording the appearance of the advocates in the record of proceedings, the statement had said.
"The Advocates on Record (AoR) may certify the appearance of advocates in a matter and send the appearance slip through this portal," it had said.
The appearance slip is received through advocates directly in the court or through email on the day the case is listed and verification of the AOR is done manually in the existing process, it said.
The appearance slip will be received online through the Advocate Appearance Portal and at the time of login, verification of the AoR is to be done by software through One Time Password (OTP), it had said.
"This online facility is also an environment-friendly step through which approximately 2,00,000 papers per annum will be saved," it had added.
Recently, the apex court operationalised a separate portal to deal with queries sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
