a free trade zone

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A free trade zone (FTZ) or export processing zone (EPZ) is an area of a country where some normal trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas are eliminated and bureaucratic requirements are lowered in hopes of attracting new business and foreign investments . It is a region where a group of countries has agreed to reduce or eliminate trade barriers. [1] Free trade zones can be defined as labor intensive manufacturing centers that involve the import of raw materials or components and the export of factory products. Most FTZs are located in developing countries : Brazil , China , the Philippines , Malaysia , Pakistan , Mexico , Costa Rica , Honduras , and Madagascar have EPZ programs. [2] In 1997, 93 countries had set up export processing zones (EPZs) employing 22.5 million people, and five years later, in 2003, EPZs in 116 countries employed 43 million people. [2] Corporations setting up in a zone may be given tax breaks as an incentive. Usually, these zones are set up in underdeveloped parts of the host country; the rationale is that the zones will attract employers and thus reduce poverty and unemployment, and stimulate the area's economy. These zones are often used by multinational corporations to set up factories to produce goods (such as clothing or shoes). Free trade zones in Latin America date back to the early decades of the 20th century. The first free trade regulations in this region were enacted in Argentina and Uruguay in the 1920s. However, the rapid development of free trade zones across the region dates from the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Free Trade Zones are also known as Special Economic Zones in some countries. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been established in many countries as testing grounds for the implementation of liberal market economy principles. SEZs are viewed as instruments to enhance the acceptability and the credibility of the transformation policies and to attract domestic and foreign investment.

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Page 1: A Free Trade Zone

A free trade zone (FTZ) or export processing zone (EPZ) is an area of a country where some normal trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas are eliminated and bureaucratic requirements are lowered in hopes of attracting new business and foreign investments. It is a region where a group of countries has agreed to reduce or eliminate trade barriers.[1] Free trade zones can be defined as labor intensive manufacturing centers that involve the import of raw materials or components and the export of factory products.

Most FTZs are located in developing countries: Brazil, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Madagascar have EPZ programs.[2] In 1997, 93 countries had set up export processing zones (EPZs) employing 22.5 million people, and five years later, in 2003, EPZs in 116 countries employed 43 million people.[2]

Corporations setting up in a zone may be given tax breaks as an incentive. Usually, these zones are set up in underdeveloped parts of the host country; the rationale is that the zones will attract employers and thus reduce poverty and unemployment, and stimulate the area's economy. These zones are often used by multinational corporations to set up factories to produce goods (such as clothing or shoes).

Free trade zones in Latin America date back to the early decades of the 20th century. The first free trade regulations in this region were enacted in Argentina and Uruguay in the 1920s. However, the rapid development of free trade zones across the region dates from the late 1960s and the early 1970s.

Free Trade Zones are also known as Special Economic Zones in some countries. Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been established in many countries as testing grounds for the implementation of liberal market economy principles. SEZs are viewed as instruments to enhance the acceptability and the credibility of the transformation policies and to attract domestic and foreign investment.

In 1999, there were 43 million people working in about 3000 FTZs spanning 116 countries producing clothes, shoes, sneakers, electronics, and toys. The basic objectives of EPZs are to enhance foreign exchange earnings, develop export-oriented industries and to generate employment opportunities.

Contents

[hide] 1 Criticism 2 List of Free Trade Zones

3 See also

4 References

[edit] Criticism

Page 2: A Free Trade Zone

Free trade zones are domestically criticized for encouraging businesses to set up operations under the influence of other governments, and for giving foreign corporations more economic liberty than is given indigenous employers who face large and sometimes insurmountable "regulatory" hurdles in developing nations. However, many countries are increasingly allowing local entrepreneurs to locate inside FTZs in order to access export-based incentives. Because the multinational corporation is able to choose between a wide range of underdeveloped or depressed nations in setting up overseas factories, and most of these countries do not have limited governments, bidding wars (or 'races to the bottom') sometimes erupt between competing governments.

Sometimes the domestic government pays part of the initial cost of factory setup, loosens environmental protections and rules regarding negligence and the treatment of workers, and promises not to ask payment of taxes for the next few years. When the taxation-free years are over, the corporation that set up the factory without fully assuming its costs is often able to set up operations elsewhere for less expense than the taxes to be paid, giving it leverage to take the host government to the bargaining table with more demands, but parent companies in the United States are rarely held accountable.[3]

The widespread use of free trade zones by companies such as Nike has received criticism from numerous writers such as Naomi Klein in her book No Logo.

[edit] List of Free Trade Zones

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Aras Free Zone Bahrain Logistics Zone , Kingdom of Bahrain

Batam Free Trade Zone

Freeport, Grand Bahama

Inspira Pharma and Renewable Energy Park , Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

Maquiladoras , Mexico

Port Klang Free Zone

Pacífico

Sricity Multi product SEZ , part of Sricity which is a developing satellite city in the epicentre of Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu.

Walvis Bay Export Processing Zone , Namibia

CentrePort Canada Winnipeg

Slobodna Zona Pirot - Srbija / Free Zone

Page 3: A Free Trade Zone

Free Trade Zone, popularly known as FTZ, is an area where goods may be traded without any barriers imposed by customs authorities like quotas and tariffs. Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is a special designated area within a country where normal trade barriers like quotas, tariffs are removed and the bureaucratic necessities are narrowed in order to attract new business and foreign investments.

Free trade zones are developed in places that are geographically advantageous for trade. Places near international airports, seaports, and the like are preferred for developing free trade zones.

The Free Trade Zone can be defined as a labor-intensive manufacturing hub, which involves the import of components and raw materials, and the produced goods are exported to different countries.

The Free trade zones are located in the developing countries. Outsourcing the zone to the FTZ operator minimizes the bureaucracy and the businesses established in that zone may be given tax benefits. One of the main purposes of the free trade zones is to develop the economy of that location by providing more job opportunities, business options, manufacturing options, etc.

These zones are mostly used by transnational corporations for establishing factories for the manufacturing of several goods. The goods depend on the availability of the raw material, skilled labor, and well-equipped technical staff. Some of the oldest Free Trade Zones in the world are found in South America. Free trade regulations were endorsed in Uruguay and Argentina, as early as 1920. During the 60s and the 70s there was a rapid surge in the development of FTZs across the world.

There were around 3000 free trade zones across 116 countries in the year 1999, where nearly 43 million people were working. These FTZs produce various goods such as shoes, clothes, sneakers, toys, convenient foods items, electronic goods, etc. The other important purposes of such trade zones are the development of export-oriented units, increase in the foreign exchange earnings, and generation of employment opportunities.

Purpose of International Free Trade Zones

The main idea behind creation of free trade zones is to facilitate cross-border trade by removing obstacles imposed by customs regulations. Free trade zones ensure faster turnaround of planes and ships by lowering custom related formalities. FTZs prove to be beneficial both for the importers and exporters, as these zones are designed to reduce labor cost and tax related expenditures. Free trade zones help the traders to utilize the available business opportunities in the best possible way. FTZs promote export-oriented industries. These zones also help to increase foreign exchange earnings. Employment opportunities created by free trade zones help to reduce unemployment problem in the less developed economies.

International Free Trade Zones International free trade zones are placed mostly in developing countries. It was in the initial decades

of the 20th century that the free trade zones in Latin America came into prominence. International FTZs are spread over 116 countries across the world. Among the major products that are produced in free trade zones electronics goods, cloths, toys, and shoes are worth mentioning.

The setting up of Free trade zones have also been criticized, for encouraging commercial activities sometimes under the influence of corrupt governments, and for providing the multinational corporations with more economic liberty. A number of developing countries have allowed the local industrialist to set up units located within the free trade zones, in order to exploit the export-based incentives.

The governments of these countries provide relaxation of the rules pertaining to environmental protection and negligence to the workers, tax holiday for the first five years, and sometimes the initial cost of setting up of the production unit.

Major FTZs Some of the major free trade zones, which have gained considerable importance over the years, are

as follows: Port Klang Free Zone

Page 4: A Free Trade Zone

Aras Free Zone The Miami Free Zone Calabar Free Trade Zone Mauritius Export Processing Zone Cavite Free Trade Zone, Philippines Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Zona Franca de Manaus, Brazil Colón Free Trade Zone Jamaican Free Zones Jebel Ali Free Zone Shannon Free Zone Kish Island Free Zone Saipan Free Zone Taiwan Free Zone Qeshm Island Free Zone Doraleh free zone, Djibouti

I.   ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Who is eligible to become an EOU?

An EOU can be set up by any entrepreneur for manufacturing of goods and also for rendering

services.  An EOU can be set up for repair, reconditioning, re-making  and re-engineering also.

Trading activity is not allowed in the EOU Scheme.

EOU unit is required to achieve only positive Net Foreign Exchange (NFE) over a period of  5

years.

Policy for EOU is given in Chapter-6 Foreign Trade Policy and Chapter 6 of Handbook of

Procedure (Vol. – I)

EOU can also be set up in the following sectors: -

Agriculture

Animal Husbandry

Aquaculture

Floriculture

Horticulture

Pisciculture

Viticulture

Poultry or

Sericulture

Conversion of existing DTA/EPCG (Export Promotion Capital Goods) units to EOU

Scheme

Existing DTA units or EPCG units are permitted for conversion into EOU Scheme as one time option. In case there is an outstanding export commitment under the EPCG Scheme, it will be sub summed in the export performance (EP) of the unit. If the unit is having outstanding export commitment under the Advance Licensing Scheme, it will discharge the same as well, as per its conditions before conversion into EOU Scheme. However, duties of Customs and Central Excise already suffered shall not be refunded on conversion into EOU.

Page 5: A Free Trade Zone

II.PRIOR TO APPROVAL

1) Planning your venture:

Is it your own or

Is it with foreign participation and, if so, nature of participation (foreign investment allowed

100%)

2) What process do you intend to do i.e. Manufacturing, rendering and export of

services or: -

Agriculture

Animal Husbandry

Aquaculture

Floriculture

Horticulture

Pisciculture

Viticulture

Poultry or

Sericulture

Repair, reconditioning, re-making, re-engineering etc.

3) Technology to be used:

Indigenous/ foreign

Related cost and conditions

4) Feasibility report:

On your own or with help of consultant

5) The finances involved:

Land, structure, buildings etc.(Please note, building construction material is not exempted from

duty).

Capital Goods, machinery etc.

Payment for royalties etc.

Administration and establishment

Others : like interest on loans, related taxes and levies etc.

6) The current competition overseas:

Main competitors

Demand and price levels.

7) The import laws and other requirements in target markets:

Any fiscal/ non-fiscal barriers, like anti-dumping laws.

Quota restrictions.

Preferential treatment to competitor countries.

8) Location of the Unit:

Page 6: A Free Trade Zone

The first thing before setting up an EOU the entrepreneur has to decide the location of  unit: -

i.   close to port or rail/ road.

ii.  availability of raw material and

iii. Environment clearance needed if unit is located  within 25 kms of an urban town

Accordingly the application will be submitted to the concerned Development Commissioner

under whose jurisdiction that state comes.

9) Capital goods, machinery and equipment to be used:

Indigenous or foreign (allowed duty free)

Related cost

10) The raw materials and other inputs, like consumables etc. that would be

required:

Source (allowed duty free)

Cost

Monthly, quarterly and annual requirements.

11) The production process:

Whether production process requires air-conditioning plant, special furnaces or kilns etc.

Details and cost. (Please note, air-conditioning equipment  permitted duty free only if it is

essential for production process).

12) The production capacity and spare capacity:

Do you intend to utilize the same by doing sub-contracting work for other export units in DTA

or Export Oriented Units.

Whether you want to get job work done outside the EOU.

Details of sub-contractors.

Related costs.

13) Any by-products turned out in the production process:

Details of by-products

Whether these would be exported or sold in Domestic Tariff Area (DTA)

14) Effluents or waste-material:

How do you propose to treat these or discharge them.

15) Packaging

Details of packaging (packaging material allowed without payment of duty)

Source

Cost

16) Power:

Page 7: A Free Trade Zone

Whether the normal grid could supply adequate power.

Or there would be a need for a captive power plant.

Cost of power plant

Fuel required for captive power plant (e.g. furnace oil, LPG,  HSD, coal etc.) (allowed duty free)

17) Other information:

Firm/company should be duly registered and details about Proprietor/Partner/ Directors etc.

A current account with the bank authorized to deal in foreign exchange should be opened.

Sale tax registration to be obtained from the Sale Tax Department.

Investment details

18) Mandatory clearances from State Government: -

Pollution clearance certificate.Approvals of building plan in cases where building is proposed to be constructed.Registration as a small scale industrial unit, if applicableRegistration under Factories Act.

III. HOW TO APPLY

All applications are to be filed with the concerned Development Commissioner of Special

Economic Zone (For jurisdiction of Development Commissioner) Appendix 14-I- K

The unit/ promoter has to apply in the application form, to be given in triplicate given in

Handbook of Procedures in Appendix 14-1A ( Please click here )

Project Report including a write up on the background of the promoters establishing their

credentials and standing.

Please see Appendix 14-1B (Please click here) for documents required by the Development

Commissioner for approval.

For sector specific conditions Please see Appendix 14-1C (Please click here)

DD for Rs. 5,000/- drawn in favour of The Pay & Accounts Officer, Ministry of Commerce and

Industry, Department of Commerce, payable at the Central Bank of India, Udyog Bhavan, New

Delhi.

Registration –cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) should be obtained from the office of the

concerned Development Commissioner.

Import Export Code: If the  unit does not have an Import Export code (IEC), it will apply in the prescribed form (Appendix 18-B) to the Zone Administration for the same.

IV. APPROVAL PROCEDURE

Letter of Permission (LOP)

After submitting the application form and if every thing is in order, Letter of Permission (LOP) is

issued by the Zone Administration within 2 weeks after interview of the promoter by the

Approval Committee.  For format of LOP please see Appendix 14-IE (Please click here)

Page 8: A Free Trade Zone

Legal undertaking (LUT)

A legal undertaking in the prescribed form undertaking to abide by the terms and conditions of

the LOP has to be executed  by the unit in format given at Appendix 14-1F ( Please click here ) .

A Green Card will be issued  to the unit by the Zone Administration on request.

Approval from State Government  Agencies:

V. AFTER APPROVAL

After the approval from the Development Commissioner concerned, the manufacturing and

other activities have to be undertaken under customs bond for which formal application is to

be made to the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner/ Deputy Commissioner of the Customs/

Central Excise for issuance of a Private Custom Bonded Warehouse Licence under section 58

and 65 of the Customs Act, 1962. The application shall be accompanied by the following

documents/information: -

Copy of notification whereunder the place (proposed location of unit)  has been declared as

warehousing station under section 9 of the Customs Act. In case the approved place is not a

notified warehousing station, a separate application for issuance of such notification is to be

submitted to the Commissioner of Customs through the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner/

Deputy Commissioner.

Copy of LOI/LOP issued by Development Commissioner concerned and LUT accepted by the

Development Commissioner.

Details of the premises including ground plan, purchase/rent/lease deed, allotment letter from

Industrial Development Corporation/ Authority (if any)

Details about the constitution of the firm/company including its Proprietor/Partners/Directors

etc.

Project Report indicating stage wise manufacturing process.

List of raw material, consumables and capital goods etc. required.

Undertaking that cost recovery and other charges shall be paid.

After verification of the premises and relevant documents, the requisite licence under

section 58 and 65 of the Customs Act will be issued by the Assistant Commissioner/ Deputy

Commissioner Customs/ Central Excise on priority basis.

B-17 Bond:

B-17 bond is a multi – purpose surety bond which the unit has to execute with the Jurisdictional

Assistant/ Deputy Commissioner Customs/ Central Excise on a non-judicial stamp paper of Rs.

300/-. Format of the Bond is prescribed under Notification No. 6/98 CE (N.T) dt. 2-3-98.

B-17 Bond is a surety bond and in case valid surety cannot be arranged security @5% of the

bond amount has to be furnished. The bond amount shall be equal to 25% of the duty foregone

Page 9: A Free Trade Zone

on the capital goods required in the next 5 years plus duty foregone on the value of raw

material for a period of 3 months.

B-17- Bond covers the following activities:-

Duty free import/ procurement of goods as per relevant notification and warehousing/storage

in the unit and their utilization.

Transhipment of import/ export of goods duty free between port of import/ export and units

premises.

Movement of duty free goods for job work and return.

Temporary clearance for repair and display in exhibitions, testing/ approval etc.

However it dose not cover differential duty amount against advance DTA sale for which a

separate bond is to be executed.

The unit has also to take a Central Excise Manufacture Code No. from the Superintendent,

Central Excise to enable them to sell in the domestic market.

The Development Commissioner is empowered to grant approvals on the following

matters: -

Import of additional capital goods

Enhancement of production capacity

Broad-banding/diversification

Change in name/ constitutions

Change of location/expansion

Extension of validity of LOP/LOI/LOA:

Import of Office equipment:

Merger of two or more EOU/SEZ Units 

Import of spares and accessories of DG sets    

Eligibility certificates for grant of employment visa to low level foreign technicians to be

engaged by EOUs as per Ministry of Home Affairs Letter No. 250227/7/99-F-1 dated 20-9-1999

(Annexure-XI).

Sale of goods in DTA.

De-bonding/ Exit from EOU scheme.

Approval from State Government   Agencies:

The unit has to secure approval for its wiring and electrical plan from the Electrical authorities.

It has  also to secure power allocation and wiring approval from the State Electricity Board.

The industrial water supply is undertaken by the

The unit has to take a registration under the State Government Sales Tax Act and Central

Sales Tax Act.

Page 10: A Free Trade Zone

In case the unit already has a registration with the State Sale Tax Department the address of

the additional premises should also be endorsed in the registration certificate.

The unit has also to take Small Scale Industry (SSI) Registration from the District Industries

Center to apply for State Government’s Investment Subsidy.

In case there are effluents or emissions the unit has to secure approval form the Pollution

Control Board.

Every Zone has a statutory Single Window Clearance Board.

Introduction

The Export Oriented Units (EOUs) scheme, introduced in early 1981, is complementary to the SEZ scheme. It adopts the same production regime but offers a wide option in locations with reference to factors like source of raw materials, ports of export, hinterland facilities, availability of technological skills, existence of an industrial base and the need for a larger area of land for the project. As on 31st December 2005, 1924 units are in operation under the EOU scheme.

Objectives of the Export oriented unit:

The main objectives of the EOU scheme is to increase exports, earn foreign exchange to the country, transfer of latest technologies stimulate direct foreign investment and to generate additional employment.

Major Sectors in EOUs:

GRANITE

TEXTILES / GARMENTS

FOOD PROCESSING

CHEMICALS

COMPUTER SOFTWARE

COFFEE

PHARMACEUTICALS

GEM & JEWELLERY

ENGINEERING GOODS

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS

Page 11: A Free Trade Zone

AQUA & PEARL CULTURE

Export from EOU

Exports from EOUs during 2004-2005 were of the order of Rs.36806.17 crores as compared to the export of Rs.28827.58 crores achieved during 2003-2004, registering a growth of 27.68%.

EOU Activities

Initially, EOUs were mainly concentrated in Textiles and Yarn, Food Processing, Electronics, Chemicals, Plastics, Granites and Minerals/Ores. But now a day, EOU has extended it area of work which includes functions like manufacturing, servicing, development of software, trading, repair, remaking, reconditioning, re-engineering including making of gold/silver/platinum jewellery and articles thereof, agriculture including agro-processing, aquaculture, animal husbandry, bio-technology, floriculture, horticulture, pisiculture, viticulture, poultry, sericulture and granites.

Need for Special License

To set up an EOU for the following sectors, an EOU owner needs a special license.

Arms and ammunition,

Explosives and allied items of defense equipment,

Defense aircraft and warships,

Atomic substances,

Narcotics and psychotropic substances and hazardous chemicals,

Distillation and brewing of alcoholic drinks,

Cigarettes/cigars and manufactured tobacco substitutes.

In the above mention cases, EOU owner are required to submit the application form to the Development Commissioner who will then put them up to the Board of Approvals (BOA).

Choosing the Location for EOU

EOUs can be set up anywhere in the country and may be engaged in the manufacture and production of software, floriculture, horticulture, agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, pisciculture, poultry and sericulture or other similar activities.

However, it should be noted that in case of large cities where the population is more than one million, such as Bangalore and Cochin, the proposed location should be at least 25 km away from the Standard Urban Area limits of that city unless, it is to be located in an area designated as an "industrial area"

Page 12: A Free Trade Zone

before the 25th July, 1991. Non-polluting EOUs such as electronics, computer software and printing are exempt from such restriction while choosing the area.

Apart from local zonal office and state government, setting up of an EOU is also strictly guided by the environmental rules and regulations. Therefore, an even if the EOU unit has fulfilled all locational policy but not suitable from environmental point of view then the Ministry of Environment, Government of India has right to cancel the proposal. In such situation industrialist would be required to abide by that decision.

EOU Unit Obligations

The EOUs are required to achieve the minimum NFEP (Net Foreign Exchange Earning as a Percentage of Exports) and the minimum EP (Export Performance) as per the provisions of EXIM Policy which vary from sector to sector. As for instance, the units with investment in plant and machinery of Rs.5 crore and above are required to achieve positive NFEP and export US$ 3.5 million or 3 times the CIF value of imported capital goods, whichever is higher, for 5 years. For electronics hardware sector, minimum NFEP has to be ‘positive’ and minimum EP for 5 years is US$ 1 million or 3 times the CIF value of imported capital goods, whichever is higher. NFEP is calculated cumulatively for a period of 5 years from the commencement of commercial production according to a prescribed formula.

Bonding Period of EOU

The EOUs are licensed to manufacture goods within the bonded time period for the purpose of export. As per the Exim Policy, the period of bonding is initially for five years, which is extendable to another five years by the Development Commissioner. However on a request of EOU Unit, time period can also be extended for another five year by the Commissioner / Chief Commissioner of Customs.

EOU in Exim Policy

Currently EOU scheme is mentioned in the Chapter 9 of the Foreign Trade Policy (1997-2002) and Chapter 9 of the Handbook of Procedures, Volume-I (HOP). The EOUs can export all products except prohibited items of exports in ITC (HS).

Recent Policy Changes in the EOUs Scheme (w.e.f. 7th April, 2006)

The export of goods up to one and half percent of the FOB value.

In order to facilitate the smooth functioning of the EOU units, the Development Commissioners will fix time limits for finalizing the disposal of matters relating to EOUs.

New units engaged in export of Agriculture/Horticulture/Aqua-Culture products have been now allowed to remove capital goods inputs to the DTA on producing bank guarantee equivalent to the duty foregone on the capital goods/input proposed to be taken out.

Page 13: A Free Trade Zone

The EOU units in Textile Sector are allowed to dispose off the left over material/fabrics up to 2 per cent of Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) value of imports, on consignment basis. Recognizing that settling the accounts for every consignment is complex and time consuming it has been decided to allow disposal of left over material on the basis of previous year's imports.

100% EOU SCHEME  1) Units undertaking to export their entire production of goods and

service, except permissible sales in the DTA, as per the Export – Import Policy are referred to as Export Oriented Units (EOU). The Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) Scheme and the Software Technology Park (STP) Schemes are two special variants of the general EOU scheme. These units can undertake manufacture of goods including repair, remaking, reconditioning, re-engineering, rendering of services like development of software data processing & conversion, data management and call center activities. The purpose of EOU scheme is to boost exports by creating additional production capacity. 

2) The EOUs basically function under the administrative control of the concerned Development Commissioner of Export Processing Zones i.e., under the Commerce Ministry, Government of India. Powers of the Development Commissioner are delegated to the Director, STPI under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India in respect of EHTP & STP units. These units can be an individual STP / EHTP units by themselves or in an area designated so by the Ministry of Information Technology. 

3) EOU scheme is governed under the provisions of Chapter VI of EXIM policy and Appendix 14-I under para 6.1 of Hand Book of Procedures, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue have, vide their Customs Notification NO.52/2003 – Cus. dated 31.3.2003 as amended and Central Excise Notification No.22/2003 – CE dated 31.3.2003 as amended, prescribe the eligibility, limitations and guidelines for the EOUs. In addition, the provisions of Chapter IX of the Customs Act, 1962 pertaining to warehousing read with Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations, 1966 are also applicable to all EOUs. The salient features of these notifications / legal provisions are as follows: 

(i) All goods specified in the notifications (including capital goods, raw materials, spares / consumables, office equipment, material handling equipment, computer furniture, security system, pollution and quality control equipment, etc.) are exempt from payment of all the customs / central excise duties when imported or procured indigenously for manufacture or development of software or any other activity as mentioned above.  

(ii) The EOU unit is to be licensed as a bonded warehouse under Section 58 of the CA’1962. The entire EOU premises will be a customs bonded and all the duty free goods brought in the EOU unit are required to be bonded therein. 

Page 14: A Free Trade Zone

(iii) EOU unit is obliged to export their entire production, except as may be permitted by the CSEZ / STPI (Cochin Special Economic Zone & STPI, Bangalore Zone cover the are under Bangalore Customs) for DTA sales. Prior to 1.4.2003, an EOU Unit was obliged (a) to achieve 10% NFEP (net foreign exchange earning as a percentage of export) and (b) to discharge export obligation equal to 3 or 5 times the CIF value of imported capital goods or US $ 0.25 million whichever is higher. However w.e.f. 1.4.2003, they are required to achieve only a positive Net Foreign Exchange Earning (NFE). The period to achieve the above is five years from the commencement of production.  

(iv) The export performance is monitored by the CSEZ / STPI. They are also approving authorities for units issuing of LOP, accepting of legal undertaking, attestation (listing and permission) for procuring capital goods by import or from indigenous sources and for enhancement of value limits of capital goods so permitted. 

(v) The power to accept the Bond, issue of Block Transfer, Procurement Certificate for import, CT-3 certificate for indigenous goods, permissions for re-export, Inter Unit Transfer, common sharing, DTA sale, de-bonding assessment, destruction etc. are with the Customs. 

(vi) The duty free capital goods and raw material should be installed and put to use within a period of one year and three years respectively (or as extended) from the date of import / procurement, failing which, duty foregone along with interest is charged. 

(vii) DTA sale of the produce is permitted to the extent of 50% of FOB value of exports on payment of applicable Central Excise duties under Section 3 of Central Excise Act, 1944 read with Notification No.23/2003 (CE) dated 31.3.2003 as amended.

 (viii) Re-export, Third party export, Inter-unit transfer, Temporary removal for display, Job work etc. are allowed as per the conditions stipulated in the notification and policy. 

(ix) De-bonding of duty free goods is allowed on payment of duties on the depreciated value of the capital goods at the rate of 20% per annum in case of IT items and 10% per annum on other goods. 

(x) Destruction of goods is permitted on satisfaction of conditions of notification.

(xi) The initial warehousing / bonding period of capital goods and raw material is 5 years and 3 years respectively under the provisions of Section 61 of the Customs Act. Thereafter specific permission for extension of the warehousing / bonding period is required from the Commissioner of Customs. 

4) Bangalore Customs have provided detailed guidelines about the conditions, limitations and procedures to be followed by the EOUs in its comprehensive public notices 104/2001 dated 17.10.2001 and 138/2002 dated 19.9.2002. Various other Public

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Notices have also been issued from time to time. These Public Notices and other useful information is available on Bangalore Customs Commissionerate web site at www.kar.nic.in/blrcustoms.

Bangalore has the highest concentration of 100% EOUs and STPI units in the country. The growth in export performance of 100% EOUs including STPI units in Bangalore was the highest in the country during financial year 2003-04. 

The Customs Division, Bangalore of the Commissionerate of Customs, Bangalore has jurisdiction over the Export Oriented Units (EOUs), Software Technology Park (STP) units and the Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) units in Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Tumkur and Kolar districts of Karnataka. This is the only Division of its kind in the country in as much as it is a Customs / Central Excise formation administering exclusively the EOU / STP / EHTP scheme.The Development Commissioner, CSEZ has the administrative control over the Export Oriented Units of Bangalore, Tumkur and Kolar districts (Director, STPI, Bangalore STPs / EHTPs) monitoring their performance while the revenue angle of the EOU scheme (operated through the duty exemption notifications issued by Customs & Central Excise) is handled by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Customs Division.

     YEAR WISE GROWTH OF 100% EOUs IN BANGALORE Year

Number of Units Registered

1982-83 21983-84 31984-85 41985-86 61986-87 31987-88 21988-89 41989-90 101990-91 81991-92 151992-93 351993-94 401994-95 601995-96 551996-97 611997-98 481998-99 631999-00 772000-01 5842001-02 128

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2002-03 1112003-04 1812004-05 2242005-06 2472006-07 1952007-08 161

2008-09 (Upto 30/06/2008)

16

      

  NUMBER OF EOUs UNDER CUSTOMS DIVISION (SCHEME-WISE as on 31.12.2007)

Name of the SchemeNumber of

Units

EOU Scheme incl. Floriculture units Gems. and Jewellery etc 329EHTP Scheme 37STP Scheme 1297

Total 1663        COMMODITY WISE BREAK UP OF EOUs MANUFACTURING GOODS (as on 30/06/2008)

Sl.No. Commodity Number1 Ready made Garments 272 Granites 323 Engineering Goods (including EHTP Units) 254 Silk/Silk yarn/Cotton 165 Gem and Jewellary 036 Agro Products 137 R & D 178 Bio Technology Units 059 Electronic goods 6410 Pickles 1611 General Sector Units 7812 Chemicals 0913 Medical Equipments 0714 Herbal Sector 0815 Iron Ore 116 Pharmaceuticals  08  Total 329

      

  COMPARATIVE FIGURES OF IMPORT DUTY FOREGONE OF EOUs (excluding STP units)

                                                                                      Total duty foregone Total duty foregone Differen Percentage

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duringApril 06 to March 07 in

crores

duringApril 07 to Mar 08 in

croresce increase

1 2 3 42408 2062 346 17

      

  COMPARATIVE FIGURES OF EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF EOUs (EXCLUDING STP UNITS)

Total value of Exports during

April 06 to March.07. in crores

Total value of Exports during

April 04 - Dec.04 in crores

Percentage

14750 12600 17

        EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF STP UNITS **

April 06– Mar 07 in

croresApril 05–Mar 06  in

crores%

Increase48,700 37,600 20

  ** Figures are Provisional   

  Trade facilitation measures offered to EOUs / STPs / EHTPs by Bangalore Customs:

 

Acknowledging the valuable contribution of the 100% EOUs / STPs / EHTPs to the foreign exchange earnings of the country, Bangalore Customs has, at the behest of CBEC, brought about a series of facilitation measures including the following:

1. Having to deal with only one division office is a unique facility available to the EOUs situated in Bangalore only. As a result more than 1396 EOUs / STPs / EHTPs are under the administrative control of one excusive field formation of Department of Revenue, Government of India. 

2. Many procedural simplifications have been undertaken over the last few years to reduce the transaction time for the licencees of the division. Periodic blanket permissions for job work, inter-unit transfer, third party exports and post facto appovals for temporary removals etc. are a few facilities extended in this direction . 

3.The facility of self-sealing export containers has been extended to all Export Oriented Units irrespective of their turnover.

4.Export Oriented Units are placed in a special category for “fast track clearance” at all ports of import including the Air Cargo Complex (ACC) and Inland Container Depot (ICD), Bangalore.

5.The Quarterly Meeting of Representatives of Export Oriented Units in the Customs Head Quarters provides these units a forum to air their problems / suggestions on a regular basis.

  For details on the working of 100% EOU scheme please look up the following Public

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Notices

Public Notice No

Issue Date

Subject

99/200128/09/20

01Simplification of Procedural formalities in respect of 100% EOU's/STPI/EHTP's units - Reg.

104/200117/10/20

01100% EOU's/STPI/EHTP's units – Scheme & Procedures – Reg.

138/200219/09/20

02100% EOU Scheme

81/200318/06/20

03Procedure for import / export through personal carriage

107/200326/08/20

03Self sealing to all EOUs

117/200308/09/20

03Simplification of Job work procedures

30/200423/3/200

4DTA sale procedures for STP units prescribed

52/200417/06/20

04Blanket permission

53/200417/06/20

04Simplification of DTA procedure

54/200417/06/20

04Procedure prescribed for EOU / STP imports by post.

94/200411.10.20

04 Scheme &Procedure

40/200709.05.20

07Re-warehousing of goods imported/procured indigenously by EOUs/EHTPs/STPs/BTPs

   

 

Taking forward the spirit of promptness envisaged in Citizens’ Charter, the following time frame is fixed for various items of work pertaining to the licencees of the Division. These limits are fixed subject to the assumption that applications made are correct and complete in all respects and are filed on a working day. The limit fixed is the maximum time and can be completed even early. In case of ineligibility, the same also would be communicated within these limits. Cases of delay beyond the limits said below may be brought to the notice of theDeputy Commissioner of Customs,Customs Division.

Sl.No Item of work Time frameSl.No. Item of work Time frame 1 Issue of licence (scrutiny of documents,

verification of premises etc.) 4 days

2 Issue of procurement certificate / CT3 / Block Transfer

1 day

3 Bonding of goods 2 days 4 Issue of re-warehousing certificate 2 days 5 Grant of blanket / quarterly permission

for job work 3 days

6 Grant of IUT (blanket permission) 2 days 7 Grant of IUT permission (regular) ½ day 8 Grant of temporary removals ½ day

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9 Grant of permission for third party export

2 days

10 Permission for re-export 1 day 11 Assessment of export shipping bills ¼ day 12 Export examination 1 day 13 Permission for DTA clearance

(quarterly) 2 days

14 DTA clearance assessment 1 day 15 Permission for clearance of waste &

scrap 2 days

16 Permission for clearance of unutilised materials

2 days

17 Debonding of materials 2 days 18 Approval of additional premises 2 days 19 Debonding of unit 7 days

About ISO

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of

International Standards.

ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 159 countries, one member per country, with a

Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system.

ISO is a non-governmental organization that forms a bridge between the public and private sectors. On

the one hand, many of its member institutes are part of the governmental structure of their countries, or are

mandated by their government. On the other hand, other members have their roots uniquely in the private

sector, having been set up by national partnerships of industry associations.

Therefore, ISO enables a consensus to be reached on solutions that meet both the requirements of

business and the broader needs of society.

Discover ISO

ISO's name

Because "International Organization for Standardization" would have different acronyms in different

languages ("IOS" in English, "OIN" in French for Organisation internationale de normalisation), its founders

decided to give it also a short, all-purpose name. They chose "ISO", derived from the Greek isos, meaning

"equal". Whatever the country, whatever the language, the short form of the organization's name is always

ISO.

Why standards matter

Standards make an enormous and positive contribution to most aspects of our lives.

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Standards ensure desirable characteristics of products and services such as quality, environmental

friendliness, safety, reliability, efficiency and interchangeability - and at an economical cost.

When products and services meet our expectations, we tend to take this for granted and be unaware of the

role of standards. However, when standards are absent, we soon notice. We soon care when products turn

out to be of poor quality, do not fit, are incompatible with equipment that we already have, are unreliable or

dangerous.

When products, systems, machinery and devices work well and safely, it is often because they meet

standards. And the organization responsible for many thousands of the standards which benefit the world

is ISO.

What standards do

ISO standards:

make the development, manufacturing and supply of products and services more efficient, safer and

cleaner

facilitate trade between countries and make it fairer

provide governments with a technical base for health, safety and environmental legislation, and

conformity assessment

share technological advances and good management practice

disseminate innovation

safeguard consumers, and users in general, of products and services

make life simpler by providing solutions to common problems

What's different about ISO 9001 and ISO 14001

The vast majority of ISO standards are highly specific to a particular product, material, or process.

However, ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment) are "generic management system

standards". "Generic" means that the same standard can be applied to any organization, large or

small, whatever its product or service, in any sector of activity, and whether it is a business enterprise, a

public administration, or a government department. ISO 9001 contains a generic set of requirements for

implementing a quality management system and ISO 14001 for an environmental management

system.

Generic standards can be applied to any organization.

How ISO standards are developed

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The national delegations of experts of a technical committee meet to discuss, debate and argue until

they reach consensus on a draft agreement. This is circulated as a Draft International Standard (DIS)

to ISO's membership as a whole for comment and balloting.

Many members have public review procedures for making draft standards known and available to

interested parties and to the general public. The ISO members then take account of any feedback they

receive in formulating their position on the draft standard.

If the voting is in favour, the document, with eventual modifications, is circulated to the ISO members

as a Final Draft International Standard (FDIS). If that vote is positive, the document is then published as

an International Standard.

Every working day of the year, an average of eight ISO meetings are taking place somewhere in the

world. In between meetings, the experts continue the standards' development work by correspondence.

Increasingly, their contacts are made by electronic means and some ISO technical bodies have already

gone over entirely to working electronically, which speeds up the development of standards and

cuts travel costs.

What "international standardization" means

When the large majority of products or services in a particular business or industry sector conform to

International Standards, a state of industry-wide standardization exists. The economic stakeholders

concerned agree on specifications and criteria to be applied consistently in the classification of

materials, in the manufacture and supply of products, in testing and analysis, in terminology and in the

provision of services. In this way, International Standards provide a reference framework, or a common

technological language, between suppliers and their customers. This facilitates trade and the transfer

of technology.

Who can join ISO

Membership of ISO is open to national standards institutes most representative of standardization in their

country (one member in each country).

Full members, known as member bodies, each have one vote, whatever the size or strength of the

economy of the country concerned.

Correspondent members pay reduced membership fees. They are entitled to participate in any policy or

technical body as observers, with no voting rights.

Subscriber members also pay reduced membership fees. They are institutes from countries with very

small economies that nevertheless wish to maintain contact with international standardization.

Although individuals or enterprises are not eligible for membership, both have a range of opportunities for

taking part in ISO's work:

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Individuals may be selected by national member institutes to serve as experts on national delegations

participating in ISO technical committees

Individuals and enterprises may provide their input during the process of developing a national

consensus for presentation by the delegation. This may done through national mirror committees to the

corresponding ISO technical committee

International organizations and associations , both non-governmental and representing industry sectors,

can apply for liaison status to a technical committee. They do not vote, but can participate in the debates

and the development of consensus.

There is a range of opportunities for taking part in ISO's work.

INDIAN STANDARDS INSTITUTION (ISI)

 

According to ISI there are following systems for product certification

CERTIFICATION SYSTEM

The BIS product certification scheme is essentially voluntary in nature, and is largely based on ISO Guide 28, which provides general rules for third party certification system of determining conformity with product standards through initial testing and assessment of a factory quality management system and its acceptance followed by surveillance that takes into account the factory Quality management system and the testing of samples from the factory and the open market. All BIS certifications are carried out in accordance with Indian Standards, which are amenable to certification. A large number of operational elements of the BIS product certification scheme correspond with the requirements of ISO Guide 65.

OPERATIONAL AREAS

The BIS Product Certification Scheme is open to manufacturers in all countries without discrimination.  While a licence can be granted for any Indian Standard specifying product characteristics, which is amenable to certification, the broad areas of technologies now under certification are:

•    Textiles •    Chemicals and Pesticides •    Rubber and Plastic products •    Cement and concrete products •    Building materials•    Pumping, irrigation, drainage and sewage equipment•    Pipes and fittings for water supply•    Basic metals and fabricated metal products •    Machinery and equipment •    Electrical, electronics and optical equipment •    Automotive components •    Agriculture, food and tobaccos •    Black tea and beverages•    Packaged drinking water and Natural mineral water•    Leather products •    Wood products

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•    Paper and pulp products •    Testing instruments

D.P. GARG & COMPANY aims to manufacture its products viz. Hinges, as per customer requirements.

The Company operates in a very competitive market, where customer satisfaction is crucial for their success and continued growth of the business. The Company shall, therefore, strive to manufacture and deliver products on time, meeting customer's requirement.

It is the established policy of the company and all its employees to ensure customer satisfaction at all times.

Mr. S.M. Garg, partner is responsible for ensuring that the quality system as per ISO - 9001 is fully implemented, monitored and maintained by its total workforce, awareness of which is established during relevant phases of company's training programmes.

Adherence to company's Quality Policy is a mandatory requirement for all personnel.

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) formerly known as Indian Standards Institution (ISI) is a statutory organisation established under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act. 1986 to promote harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification

of goods.

British Standards Institution, England Incorporated by Royal Charter in 1929, works with manufacturing & service industries to put in place the Standards, products testing and certification, Quality Management System and training in an organization established by British Governments.

In the year 2004, D. P. GARG & CO. introduced first time in India CE 13 Stainless Steel Ball Bearing Hinges as per BSEN 1935 Standard for 4" x 3" x 3.0mm, 4" x 3.5" x 3.0mm, 4" x 4" x 3.0mm, 5" x 3" x 3.0mm & 6" x 3" x 3.0mm sizes.

Our products are durable, high quality and competitively priced. These qualities have won us favourable response from clients both in domestic as well as international market. More than 15 kinds of finishing technologies have been developed and all are well monitored to excel its class on each and every product that is rolled out of the factory. The total quality management is strictly being maintained by the in house quality control cell of the company by experienced professionals. Director, Mr. S.M. Garg's personal supervision in maintaining quality standards ensures continuous upgradation, addition of new techniques and finishes to meet every demand of customers.

ISO 9000 is a family of standards for quality management systems. ISO 9000 is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies. The rules are updated, as the requirements motivate changes over time.

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Some of the requirements in ISO 9001:2008 (which is one of the standards in the ISO 9000 family) include

a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business; monitoring processes to ensure they are effective;

keeping adequate records;

checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary;

regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness; and

facilitating continual improvement

A company or organization that has been independently audited and certified to be in conformance with ISO 9001 may publicly state that it is "ISO 9001 certified" or "ISO 9001 registered". Certification to an ISO 9001 standard does not guarantee any quality of end products and services; rather, it certifies that formalized business processes are being applied.

Marketing departments take advantage of public confusion and ignorance about ISO 9000. Goods and services outstanding proclaim their ISO 9000 STATUS. Most consumers suppose that ISO 9000 is the same as ISO 9001.

Although the standards originated in manufacturing, they are now employed across several types of organizations. A "product", in ISO vocabulary, can mean a physical object, services, or software.

Quality is a "culture" - ISO 9001 "Quality" is an important accreditation to achieve, it is also essential for maximum benefit that information is shared so that the culture of the business ensures that the Quality culture is embedded

What is the difference between ISO 9000 and ISO 14000?

ISO 9000 is an international standard for the development of quality management systems that can potentially be adopted by any business. Its purpose: to enable companies to demonstrate that they are in a position to provide products or services that meet customer expectations and are focused on total customer satisfaction.

ISO 14000 is an international standard for environmental management systems that can also be potentially adopted by any organization. It serves as a tool for defining and implementing activities that meet environmental business concerns.

The Relationship between ISO 9000 and ISO 14000

ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 are known as generic management system standards because they are not specific to a particular product, resource, or process. They refer to families of standards consisting of management systems and related supporting tools that can be applied equally to private industry and public sector organizations of any size, that offer any product, activity, or service. The standards provide an organization with a model for setting up and operating a

Page 25: A Free Trade Zone

management system.

Similarities Between ISO 9000 and ISO 14000

ISO 9000 is concerned with quality management and meeting customer quality requirements, achieving control of processes, and encouraging continuous improvement while ISO 14000 is concerned with environmental management. Both standards outline a solid, traditional management approach. The ISO 14001 standard uses the same fundamental systems as ISO 9000 such as document control, management system auditing, operational controls, recordkeeping controls, management policies, audits, training, and corrective and preventive actions. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 require senior management support and commitment for success, and require organizations to have a system for establishing and reviewing objectives and targets, whether they be quality or environmentally related. Both require organizations to provide on-going management review of the management system and its objectives.

Some ISO 9000 quality management processes can be referenced for an ISO 14001 EMS to avoid duplication of efforts. In fact, the ISO technical committee (TC 207) purposely developed the newer ISO 14000 standards to be in conformance with the basic philosophy and structure of the previously issued ISO 9000 standards. For those implementing an ISO 14001 EMS, previous experience with ISO 9000 will be of great value. The many similarities between ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 philosophies suggest that one fully integrated management system for all business and operational activities is most effective. An ISO 14001 EMS can be developed separately and integrated with ISO 9000 in the future, or can be overlaid within the existing ISO 9001 quality management system. Integrating ISO 14001 with ISO 9000 will increase the efficiency and reduce the time and costs necessary for full implementation.

Differences Between ISO 9000 and ISO 14000

While there are some overlaps and similarities in the requirements for the two standards, there are also differences. The ISO 9000 standards have been developed specifically to address customer requirements and expectations regarding product quality. ISO 9001 sets out the requirements for organizations whose business processes range from design and development, to production, installation and servicing. ISO 9002 is applicable for organizations that are not involved with design and development. ISO 9003 is the appropriate standard for organizations whose business processes do not include design control, process control, purchasing or servicing, but rather use inspection and testing to ensure that final products and services meet specified requirements. With ISO 14000, organizations respond to much more than just customer requirements. Multiple external stakeholders who influence the environmental aspects of an organization often must be satisfied. Examples of external stakeholders under ISO 14000 include: Federal, State and local regulators; the surrounding community; and special interest groups.

ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 Compatibility

Because of the close relationship between ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, ISO commissioned a

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year-long study to investigate the compatibility between the two standards. Technical advisory group 12 (TAG 12) was established to investigate how a better interface can be achieved for users who wish to implement both standards TAG 12 recommended the following actions to enhance standards compatibility:

Relevant terms and definitions should be identical, and there should be consistent use of terminology in both families of standards;

Management system standards in the two families should be compatible and, as far as possible, aligned; and

Auditing standards in the two families should be integrated to consist of a common core document with separate modules on quality and the environment.

The TAG 12 recommendations highlight the importance ISO places on coordinated development among the standards. Results of ISO implementation of the recommendations should be visible when the next revisions to the standards are published; a deadline has been set for 2000/2001. TAG 12 also suggested that ISO work closely with accreditors and certifiers to ensure transition to the revised documents is as smooth as possible.

1) ISI MARK: - Indian Standards Institution 2) Function:-1. Formulation of Indian Standards for products and services by bringing together and coordinating various interest groups like manufacturers, consumers, technical experts, testing personnel and others interested. The standards so prepared are known as Indian Standards (IS) and are considered as legal documents. The first Indian Standard formulated was for the National Flag (IS 1). So far BIS has published about 18000 Indian Standards covering various products, codes of practices, terminology, etc for various industrial and economic sectors. The Indian Standards are used not only by the industry but also by the Government, students, consumers and regulatory authorities. The standards are priced publications and are available from all the offices of the Bureau.

2. Certification Schemes

Product Certification Scheme is a scheme whereby manufacturers of products interested in producing their

products as per relevant Indian Standards are permitted to use the Standard Mark of the Bureau (the popular

ISI mark) on their products after obtaining a licence from the Bureau. The pre-requisites for obtaining a

licence are that the manufacturer has the necessary manufacturing and testing facility for the product and

agrees to follow the quality assurance scheme of the Bureau in addition to payment of necessary fees as

stipulated. The licence is initially granted for a period of one year which is renewable for subsequent periods

based on satisfactory operation of the scheme. The scheme is voluntary in nature for most products.

However, the government has insisted on ISI marking of about 136 products which affect the health and

safety of consumers or are products of mass consumption like LPG Cylinders, Food Colours and Additives,

Cement, Packaged Drinking Water, etc.

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Certification for Indian Importers is a similar scheme operated for importers who are desirous of using the

standard mark (ISI Mark) on imported products. The Government of India has also stipulated that some of

the products be imported into the country only after approval of BIS is obtained.

Certification for Foreign Manufacturers is another scheme again operated on the same lines whereby

manufacturers located in foreign countries are permitted to use the Standard (ISI) mark on their products.

ECO MARK BIS grants licences to environment friendly products under this special scheme. For obtaining the

ECO Mark Certificate the products should conform to additional requirements specified in the Indian

Standards.

IECEE & IECQ Certification BIS is a National Certifying Body (issuing and recognizing) under the International

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) System for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment

(IECEE). The product categories for which BIS has IECEE acceptance are Cables and Chords, Capacitors as

components, Low voltage high power switching equipment, Installation of protective equipment and

Electronics entertainment. BIS is also the National Authorised Institution and the National Standards

Organization under the IEC System of Quality Assessment of Electronic Components (IECQ).

3. Management System Certifications : Under the Management System Certifications, the Bureau operates

the following four Certification Schemes:

Quality Management System Certification (ISO 9001 Certification) : The Bureau operates the Quality

Management System Certification for organizations based on the ISO 9001:2000 Standard published by the

International Organization of Standardization (ISO). Being a member of ISO the standards of ISO can be

adopted in-toto by the Bureau and can be published as IS/ISO standards. Accordingly, the ISO 9000 series of

standards have been adopted and are published as the IS/ISO 9000 series of standards. The certification is for

the systems implemented by an organization and not for the product or service provided by them. The

Standard requires implementation of systems a ...less

1) Answered by GOPI KUMAR, 07 Jun '07 01:49 pm

BBB Copyright and Reporting Policy As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business.BBB Reliability Reports are

provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information in this BBB Reliability Report is believed reliable, but not guaranteed as to accuracy.BBB Reliability Reports generally cover a

three-year reporting period. BBB Reliability Reports are subject to change at any time.If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for

a BBB Reliability Report

Posted by BPO Services at 3:07 PM 5 comments

Page 28: A Free Trade Zone

Products and Services ISI Commercial Refrigeration provides sales, installation, and service of commercial, ice makers and

dispensers, refrigeration equipment, walk-in coolers and freezers, bar equipment, beverage equipment, cooking equipment, food preparation equipment, kitchen equipment, storage units, tables and sinks,

concession equipment, ice cream equipment, water filtration and air filtration systems.

Posted by BPO Services at 3:04 PM 0 comments

Friday, October 31, 2008

Consumer Complaint Why and How? Consumer who complain allow themselves to be brainwashed into believing that they are trouble-makers. Manufactures and retailers Fob off dissatisfied consumers with a bland:"We have had no complaints." Consumer must not hestite to complain about adulteration, sub-standard drugs and cosmetics, shoddy product quality, unsatisfactory after-sales service, etc. Indian consumers are fortunate to be covered by the Consumer Protection Act 1986, Special Consumer Courts and a

Directorate to implement the Act. There is also the Package Commodities Act which insists that weights, price, date of manufacture and ingredients are marked on all packages. This Act, as well as "Agmark"

and the "ISI" mark, can be of substantial assistance in the fight for consumer's rights. Vigilant consumerism can put teeth into their Function.

Posted by BPO Services at 4:04 PM 0 comments

Certification Schemes for Imported Goods BIS also operates two Certification Schemes for imported goods; one for the foreign manufacturers and the other for Indian importers. The Schemes are essentially similar to BIS Product Certification Schemes

for domestic industry barring slight modifications necessary for operation of such schemes. The schemes for foreign manufacturer at present are being centrally operated through Central Marks Department at

Headquarters and schemes for Indian importers are operated by respective ROs/BOs under whose jurisdiction Indian importer falls. It may, however, be noted that in case of 133 products covered under

mandatory certification, only foreign manufacturers can seek BIS license and for products other than 133 products both foreign manufacturer and Indian importers can seek BIS licence.

Posted by BPO Services at 1:28 PM 0 comments

BIS quality standards important for processed food There are two organisations, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), currently dealing with the voluntary standardisation and certification systems in the food sector in India. The activities of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) are two fold - formulation of

Indian Standards in the processed food sector and their implementation by promotion and through voluntary and third party certification system. The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI)

enforces the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act 1937. Under this Act, Grade Standards are

Page 29: A Free Trade Zone

prescribed for agricultural and allied commodities which are known as 'Agmark' Standards.According to industry sources, for the processed food sector BIS certification is more important than

DMI certification.BIS has on record, standards for most of the processed foods. These standards in general cover raw

materials permitted and their quality parameters, hygienic conditions under which the product is manufactured and packaging and labelling requirements. Manufacturers complying with the standards

laid down by BIS can obtain an ISI mark which can be exhibited on their product packages. BIS has identified certain items like food colours/additives, vanaspati and containers for their packing, milk

powder and condensed milk for compulsory certification. According to sources, BIS empowered through a legislative Act of the Indian Parliament known as the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, operates a

product certification scheme. The product certification scheme is basically voluntary and aims at providing quality, safety and dependability to the ultimate customer. Presence of certification mark

known as Standard Mark on a product is an assurance of conformity to the specifications. The conformity is ensured by regular surveillance of the licensee's performance by surprise inspections and

testing of samples, drawn both from the factory and the market. BIS has granted more than 30,000 licences to manufacturers covering practically every industrial discipline. The certification allows the licensees to use the popular ISI Mark, which has become synonymous with quality products for the

Indian and neighbouring markets over the past more than 40 years.

Posted by BPO Services at 1:17 PM 0 comments

ISI MARKING.... During the pre independence period, standardization activity was sporadic and confined mainly to a few

Government purchasing organization. However, immediately after independence, economic development through coordinated utilization of resources was called for and the government

recognized the …… role for standardization in gearing industry to competitive efficiency and quality production. The Indian Standards Institution (ISI) was, therefore, set up in 1947 as a registered society, under a Government of India resolution. The Indian Standards Institution gave the nation the standards

it needed for nationalization, orderly industrial and commercial growth, quality production and competitive efficiency. However, in 1986 the government recognized the need for strengthening this National Standards Body due to fast changing socio-economic scenario and according it a statutory

status. Thus came the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986 and on 1 April 1987, newly formed BIS took over staff assets, liabilities and functions of erstwhile ISI. Through this change over, the Government envisaged building of the climate of quality culture and consciousness and greater participation of

consumers in formulation and implementation of National Standards.

Posted by BPO Services at 12:53 PM 1 comments

What is the procedure for Grant of Recognition to Hallmarking Centers? The recognition of the Hallmarking Centre is done by BIS after ensuring that the Hallmarking Centre

follows BIS guidelines which are in line with international norms for sampling and testing and also have adequate Test Facilities as per IS 1418, trained and competent manpower.

Page 30: A Free Trade Zone

Posted by BPO Services at 12:01 PM 0 comments

Who operates the Hallmarking Scheme? It is a voluntary scheme being operated by BIS under the BIS Act 1986. As per this scheme the licence is

granted to a jeweller for certification of purity of gold jewellery in accordance with IS 1417.BIS is operating the scheme through its network of Regional/ Branch Offices all over the country. Alicensee

jeweller has to go to get the jewellery hallmarked through any of the recognized Assaying andhallmarking centres.

Posted by BPO Services at 11:52 AM 0 comments

What does "international standardization" mean? When the large majority of products or services in a particular business or industry sector conform to International Standards, a state of industry-wide standardization can be said to exist. This is achieved

through consensus agreements between national delegations representing all the economic stakeholders concerned - suppliers, users and, often, governments. They agree on specifications and

criteria to be applied consistently in the classification of materials, the manufacture of products and the provision of services. In this way, International Standards provide a reference framework, or a common technological language, between suppliers and their customers - which facilitates trade and the transfer

of technology.

Posted by BPO Services at 11:27 AM 0 comments

What is the difference between ISO 9001 & ISI mark? ISO 9001 is a quality management system standard which standardizes and documents the various

activities of the organization like purchase, stores, sales, processing, it focuses on customer needs and fulfilling the same hence enhancing the satisfaction levels and laying and implementing the systems for continual improvement. However ISI mark means the product conforms to respective national product

standard the customer has to accept the same.

Posted by BPO Services at 11:24 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

What is ISI Standard Mark? With the objective of satisfying the consumer in terms of product quality, the BIS has undertaken

various quality certification activities. The domestic consumer is familiar with the ISI mark on a product which is an assurance that the product conforms to the requirements as laid down in the specification.

Conformity to the standard is ensured through regular surveillance of the manufacturing process, surprise inspections and testing of samples drawn from the factory as well as from the market.

Fraudulent and unauthorized use of the ISI mark is a violation of the law punishable under the BIS Act.

Page 31: A Free Trade Zone

Posted by BPO Services at 4:31 PM 0 comments

Monday, January 7, 2008

Purpose of ISI? During the pre independence period, standardization activity was sporadic and confined mainly to a few

Government purchasing organizations. But after independence, economic development through coordinated utilization of resources was called for and the government recognized the role for

standardization in gearing industry to competitive efficiency and quality production.The Indian Standards Institution (ISI) was, therefore, set up in 1947 as a registered society, under a

Government of India resolution.

Posted by BPO Services at 1:59 PM 0 comments

Objective of ISI Mark Harmonious development of standardization, marking and quality certification

To provide new thrust to standardization and quality controlTo evolve a national strategy for according recognition to standards and integrating them with growth

and development of production and exports

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What are the Functions of Bureau of Indian Standards? 1. Formulation of Indian Standards for products and services by bringing together and coordinating

various interest groups like manufacturers, consumers, technical experts, testing personnel and others interested.

2. Certification Schemes3. Management System Certifications

4. Hall Marking of Gold Jewellery

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Hall Marking of Gold Jewellery The Hall Marking of Gold Jewellery indented to ensure that the consumer gets gold jewellery of the

purity declared was launched on 11 April 2000 at the behest of the Government of India. The certification of purity of Gold Jewellery is done in accordance with the Indian Standard IS:1417

(Specification for Gold and Gold Alloys, Jewellery/Artefacts - Fineness and Marking). The Standard is equivalent to the International Standard ISO 9202:1991-Jewellery – Fineness of Precious Metal Alloys.

Product adaptation in new markets

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Modifications of the product itself are often required to make the product appeal more to the market this is the so called product adaptation. It can also be necessary to make the product safer, more up to date or more useful for a different target audience, especially on domestic markets. Product adaptation on international markets it is important to adapt the product to the culture.

Things that can differ in different cultures are the taste of the product, the style, the colour, or symbols, language, but also more specific like differences in technology, environmental differences, religion etc. The taste of a product is very important for the food, drinks and cigarette industry. Style is more important in car and fashion industry, which also includes the colour and symbols. The meaning of a colour or a symbol can differ from culture to culture.

The package of the product can also need adaptations. Special symbols and the language need to adapt to the country/culture. Some symbols can be offensive in one culture and be normal symbols in another culture. There is also a possibility that a symbol is not commonly used in a culture and will be misinterpreted. Language differs of course, many things can go wrong concerning languages or translations. The packaging also has to be adapted to the conditions of a country; storage conditions (size of the product), climate, moisture, etc.

Technology can also make a difference if the product is going to be successful on a new market or not. Measurement systems vary between countries and often components need to be modified to adhere to local standards, which can also include the size of the product. Environmental differences are probably more logic; selling ski jackets in warm countries is not likely to be profitable. Some products may malfunction, when they are exposed to extreme heat or cold. Religion or special norms and values can also make a product fail.

Fast Food Chains

Most fast food chains are known for their ability to modify easily, when entering new markets. McDonalds, for example, adjusts its menu for each foreign market; beer in Germany, wine in France, mutton pot pies in Australia, and McSpaghetti in the Philippines. Burger King, Wendys, Kentucky Fried Chicken, they all adapt to the market they are in 'Product adaptation'.

An exception of this successful trend in fast food chains has been Pop-Tarts, toaster pastries that have been quite a success in the U.S.. When entering the British market, they could not set ground there, because the taste was considered to sweet and most people did not have toasters 'Lack of product adaptation' .

Coca Cola's two liter bottle

When Coca Cola tried to introduce their two liter bottle in Spain, they found out that market entry was difficult. This was due to local storage conditions; few Spaniards have refrigerator doors with compartments large enough to accommodate the large-size bottle.

29-inch tables in JapanOne American company tried to sell 29-inch tables in Japan when the average table height is

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21 inches due to fact that the Japanese sit on the floor at the table and do not use chairs.

More blunders in relation to product adaptation can be found @ blundersAuthor: Amanda

private?

From: remco 2008-03-23 02:15:58

An other interesting blunder General Motors introduced the Nova in Latin America. Nova means, "it doesn't go" in Spanish. The car had terrible sales. G.M. finally figured out the problem, renamed the car Caribe, and the sales increased to the company's expectations.

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