The Trade Department under the Ministry of Commerce notified on 3 March that exporters and importers do not require to seek licences for 37 HS code lines for exports and 72 lines for imports between 8 March and 9 April 2021 to facilitate the trade.
Export items with licence exemption include onion, garlic, rice, broken rice, raw sugar, refined sugar, natural rubber and cotton, while the exemption covers the following import goods; sliced fish (salmon and tuna), flour, soybean seed, palm oil, food commodity, cement, gasoline, diesel, pharmaceuticals, fertilizer and lubricant.
Additionally, a two per cent withholding tax on exports and imports will be exempted until March-end 2021, owing to the difficulties to pay for tax amid the closure of private banks.
Moreover, international trade transactions also cannot be done in the meantime.
However, tax cut and licence exemption will not tackle the trade slowdown amid the current political conditions, an exporter shared his opinion.
Regardless of maritime trade disruption, border trade with China and Thailand remained strong. Withholding tax exemption will help smooth border trade businesses, a trader from Muse said. — HH/GNLM
