Govt allows import/export of COVID-19 vaccine without any value limitation
New Delhi: The government has allowed import and export of COVID-19 vaccines without any value limitation, in order to ensure speedy clearance and distribution.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has amended the regulations to facilitate the import/export of COVID-19 vaccines through courier, at locations where the Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS) is operational.
"Imports of and exports of vaccines in relation to COVID-19 has been allowed without any value limitation," said the amended Courier Imports and Exports (Electronic Declaration and Processing) Amendment Regulations, 2020.
The CBIC said that COVID-19 has posed unprecedented challenges to Customs and other administrations the world over and efficient clearance and distribution of vaccines would be a critical requirement in the collective fight against the pandemic.
"The challenges in doing so is heightened by the fact that the vaccines need to be stored and transported under controlled temperatures and there are multiple stakeholders involved in this process. This necessitates putting in place efficient cross-border procedures for speedy evacuation of the vaccines," the CBIC said.
The regulation further states that since the vaccines will be imported in durable containers equipped with the requisite temperature monitoring and tracking devices, the export of the durable container including accessories thereof, imported in relation to COVID-19 vaccines has also been permitted.
"Importers may be advised to indicate the unique identifier of the container and the accessories during import in the Courier Bill of Entry (CBE-V) and also at the time of re-export in the Courier Shipping Bill (CSB IV) for facilitating clearance," it added.
The CBIC, in a letter to field offices, said since multiple stakeholders will be involved in the process of clearance of the vaccines, effective coordination among the stakeholders would be necessary.
It also asked for setting up of a task force, headed by a Joint/ Additional Commissioner of Customs rank officer and comprising relevant stakeholders, for a coordinated approach for efficient clearance of vaccines relating to COVID-19.
AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said global pharmaceutical companies are in advanced stages of bulk deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.
"Eyeing global logistics and custom clearance challenges, the government has made some changes in Courier Imports and Exports Regulations, which includes permission to import and export of COVID-19 vaccines without any value limitation," Mohan added.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
