Govt lifts port restrictions on leather export, levies import checks on cabinet hinges

The government Monday removed port restrictions on exports of certain kinds of leather, including finished, wet blue and El tanned, a move hailed by sector exporters.

The requirement for testing and certification by the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) for finished Leather, wet blue Leather, crust leather and El (East India) tanned leather is also revoked, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

“The notification removes, with immediate effect, port restrictions on the export of. these leather products,” the DGFT
said.

Cabinet hinge imports

In a separate notification, the DGFT announced import restrictions on cabinet hinges priced below Rs 280 per kilogram to discourage cheap inbound shipments of these goods from countries like China.
These hinges are hardware components which connect cabinet doors to their frames.

“Import of Cabinet Hinges having a CIF (cost, insurance, freight) value of less than Rs 280 per kilogram, is restricted,” the DGFT said.

They are mainly imported from countries like China, Italy and Germany.

Now, importers would have to seek permission or a license from the DGFT if the price of these hinges is below Rs 280 per kilogram.

Earlier, there were no restrictions on these imports.