Harmonised System of Nomenclature(HSN) code

News:Union Minister of Commerce & Industry has said that no imports will be allowed into the country without HSN code.

Facts:

Why stricter regulations?

• The minister said that the free trade agreements(FTA) of India with other countries has not led to the growth of India’s trade because of the poor quality of the products and services that get restricted with non-tariff barriers.
• He further elaborated on this point with the number of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) in countries like US (8000), Brazil (3879), China (2872) and India with only 439 TBTs.
• Hence,he said that the manner in which India and rest of the world are looking at the concept of quality in products and services are completely different.

About HSN Code:

• The Harmonized System is a six-digit identification code.It was introduced in 1988 by World Customs Organization(WCO).
• The code is used by various countries as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics.
• The code is also called as the universal economic language for goods.It is a multipurpose international product nomenclature.

Significance of the code:

• Around 200 countries use the system as a basis for their customs tariffs, gathering international trade statistics, making trade policies and for monitoring goods.
• The system helps in harmonising of customs and trade procedures thus reducing costs in international trade.
• It also helps in the better reach of the product and increases its global popularity.