THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY)
(a) to (c) Licences for the import of fresh garlic are issued within the ceiling indicated by Ministry of Agriculture every year. Ministry of Agriculture had recommended import of 15,000 MTs of fresh garlic in July, 2002 through the following four organizations:
Sl. No. Name Quantity (MTs)
1. The Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing Federation 5,000
2. NCCF 5,000
3. NAFED 2,500
4. Karnataka State Cooperative Federation of India Ltd., Banglore 2,500
Licences were accordingly issued to these organizations for stock and sale purpose. Government does not directly import fresh garlic.
(d) to (f) These import licences are non-transferable. Action can only be taken against a licensee as per the provisions of Foreign Trade (Development & Regulations) Act, 1992 for violation of conditions of a licence. No enquiry has been ordered by the Government in this matter.
It may be mentioned that to allow the market forces to operate freely, the item fresh garlic has been brought into free category from the restricted category w.e.f. 17.1.2003. Further, to protect the interest of domestic farmers, the import duty on this item has been raised to 100% from 30% w.e.f. 15.1.2003 i.e. prior to bringing the item in the free category for import. These actions have been taken in consultation with Ministries of Agriculture and Finance.
