Trade Department approves Customs warehousing for 14 items, preceding import licensing

Before applying for an import licence, Customs warehousing will be allowed for 14 import items, including pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical aids, according to the bulletin 16/2023 of the Trade Department released by on 21 December.
As per the bulletin 16/2023 of the Trade Department, seeking import licence for all types of goods, including ones stored under customs warehousing procedures before the goods arrive at the port, is obligatory.
Yet, to expedite the import and storage of goods required for domestic production, the Trade Department notified that the following commodities could be stored in a customs warehouse before applying for an import licence, as per customs procedures starting from the issuing date of this bulletin. They are pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical aids, agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer, pesticides), veterinary medicine, lubricants and other industrial oils, packaging materials, electric vehicles, accessories and spare parts of electric vehicle batteries as per Notification 31/2023 clause 1 (I) of the Ministry of Planning and Finance, raw materials for livestock, raw materials of pharmaceutical and raw materials of traditional medicine, industrial raw materials, raw materials chemicals, raw food materials (raw materials imported from external market as domestic production of raw materials is not sufficient for food production businesses), raw materials used in the enterprises on a Cutting-Making and Packaging basis, machine and machinery needed for domestic industrial production.
Additionally, those commodities allowed to be stored in the customs warehouse before applying for imports will be modified if necessary, the bulletin 16/2023 stated. — NN/KK