Title
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SULTANATE OF OMAN
Preamble
PREAMBLE
The Government of the Republic of India ("India") and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman ("Oman");
hereinafter referred to individually as a "Party" and collectively as "the Parties";
RECOGNISING the Parties' strong, historic, and developing relationship, the friendly ties that exists between their people, and wishing to strengthen these links through the creation of a free trade area, thus establishing close and lasting relations;
CONSCIOUS of their respective rights and obligations under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, in a manner conducive to the development of regional and international cooperation, thereby contributing to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade;
ESTABLISH an agreement to address economic and strategic challenges and opportunities, and contribute to advancing their respective legislative priorities over time;
AIMING to establish a clear, transparent, and predictable legal framework that supports further expansion of trade;
DETERMINED to strengthen their economic and trade relations for their mutual benefit through trade liberalisation in goods and services;
AIMING to encourage the transfer of technology, strengthen their bilateral relationship, encourage the creation of new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of their people;
CONVINCED that the establishment of a free trade area will provide a more favourable climate for the promotion and development of economic and trade relations between the Parties;
INTENDING to facilitate trade by promoting efficient and transparent customs procedures that reduce costs and ensure predictability for their importers and exporters;
DETERMINED to support the growth and development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises by enhancing their ability to participate in and benefit from the opportunities created by this Agreement;
RECOGNISING their right to regulate and to preserve the flexibility of the Parties to set legislative and regulatory priorities;
RECOGNISING FURTHER the need to protect legitimate public welfare objectives, such as health, safety, environmental protection, conservation of living or non-living exhaustible natural resources, integrity and stability of the financial system, and public morals, in accordance with the rights and obligations provided in this Agreement;
CONSCIOUS that a bilateral relationship between the Parties will contribute to trade expansion and promote greater regional economic integration, not only between the Parties but also in the region; and
CONVINCED that this Agreement will open a new era for the relationship between the Parties;
HAVE AGREED, as follows:
Body
Chapter 1. INITIAL PROVISIONS AND GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Article 1.1. Establishment of a Free Trade Area
The Parties, in conformity with the Decision of 28 November 1979 on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (Enabling Clause), and Article V of GATS, hereby establish a free trade area in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 1.2. Objectives
1. The objectives of this Agreement are:
(a) to strengthen and enhance trade and economic cooperation in the fields agreed between the Parties;
(b) to liberalise and facilitate trade between the Parties in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement;
(c) to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the Parties' manufacturing and services sectors and to expand trade between the Parties, including joint exploitation of commercial and economic opportunities in non-Parties;
(d) to facilitate and enhance regional economic cooperation and integration; and
(e) to build upon the Parties' commitments at the WTO.
Article 1.3. General Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
"Agreement" means the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman;
"Customs Valuation Agreement" means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
"CTG" means the Committee on Trade in Goods established pursuant to Article 2.20 (Committee on Trade in Goods -Trade in Goods);
"days" means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;
"direct taxes" comprise all taxes on total income, on total capital or on elements of income or of capital, including taxes on gains from the alienation of property, taxes on estates, inheritances and gifts, and taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises, as well as taxes on capital appreciation; and also include the taxes covered under the Agreement between the Republic of India and the Sultanate of Oman for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, as amended by the Protocols thereto;
"DSU" means the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, set out in Annex 2 to the WTO Agreement;
"GATS" means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, set out in Annex 1 B to the wro Agreement;
"GATT 1994" means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the wro Agreement, and includes its notes and supplementary provisions;
"Harmonised System (HS)" means the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, defined in the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, and legal notes which includes Section Notes and Chapter Notes, as adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective laws;
"Import Licensing Agreement" means the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, set out in Annex 1A to the wro Agreement;
"Joint Committee" means the Joint Committee established pursuant to Article 15.1 (Joint Committee -Administration of the Agreement) of this Agreement; "measure" means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form;
"perishable goods" means goods that rapidly decay due to their natural characteristics, in particular in the absence of appropriate storage conditions;
"person" means either a natural person or a juridical person;
"Trade Facilitation Agreement" means the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
"SME" means small and medium-sized enterprises, including micro enterprises, and may be further defined, where applicable, according to the respective laws, regulations, or national policies of each Party;
"territory" means
(a) with respect to India, the territory of the Republic of India, in accordance with the Constitution of India, including its land territory, its territorial sea, and the airspace above it, and other maritime zones including the Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf over which the Republic of India has sovereignty, sovereign rights, or exclusive jurisdiction, in accordance with its laws and regulations in force and international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982.
(b) with respect to Oman, the territory of the Sultanate of Oman, the land, internal waters, territorial sea, air space under its sovereignty, and maritime areas, namely, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, where the Sultanate of Oman exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction in accordance with its domestic laws and the provisions of international law.
"WTO" means the World Trade Organization; and "WTO Agreement" means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh, on 15 April 1994.
Article 1.4. Geographical Scope
Unless otherwise provided, this Agreement shall apply to the territory of the Parties.
Article 1.5. Relation to other Agreements
1. The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which the Parties are party.
2. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and other agreements to which both Parties are party, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution.
Article 1.6. Transparency
1. Without prejudice to Article 1.7 (Confidential Information), each Party shall publish or otherwise make publicly available their laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application, as well as their respective international agreements which may affect the operation of this Agreement.
2. Each Party shall, within a reasonable period of time, respond to specific questions and provide, upon request, information to each other on matters referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Each Party shall make available to the public the names and addresses of the competent authorities responsible for laws, regulations, administrative procedures, and administrative rulings.
4. The Parties shall endeavour to facilitate the provision of all information, published or otherwise, under paragraphs 1 through 3 in the English language, if a request is made by a person before the competent authority, within a reasonable period of time.
Article 1.7. Confidential Information
1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, maintain the confidentiality of information designated as confidential by the other Party.
2. Information provided in confidence pursuant to this Agreement shall be used only for the purposes specified by the Party providing the information and shall not be disclosed without the prior written permission of the Party providing the information, except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings. In such situations, the Party that has received the information shall notify in writing the other Party of the disclosure.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, confidential information provided pursuant to this Agreement may be transmitted to a third party subject to the prior written consent of the Party providing the information.
4. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to disclose, furnish, or allow access to confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement of the Party, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of any economic operator.
Chapter 2. TRADE IN GOODS
Article 2.1
Scope
Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies to trade in goods between the Parties.
Article 2.2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
"Customs Administration" means the authority that, according to the laws and regulations of each Party, is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the customs laws and regulations of that Party. For Oman, it shall be the Royal Oman Police, Directorate General of Customs and for India, it shall be the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs; and
"customs duty" refers to any duty or charge of any kind imposed in connection with the importation of a product, but does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed in conformity with Article Ill of the GATT 1994;
(b) anti-dumping or countervailing duty that is applied consistently with the provisions of Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994, and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement respectively, and; safeguard measures under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement; or
(c) fee or other charge in connection with importation commensurate with the cost of services rendered in conformity with Article VI11 of the GATT 1994.
Article 2.3
National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation
1. The Parties shall accord national treatment in accordance with Article 111 of the GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes. To this end, Article 111 of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. The treatment to be accorded by a Party under paragraph 1 means, with respect to a sub-central level of government, treatment no less favourable than the most favourable treatment that sub-central level of government accords to any like, directly competitive, or substitutable goods, as the case may be, of the Party of which it forms a part.
Article 2.4 Customs Duties
1. The Parties shall not nullify or impair any of the tariff concessions made by them under this Agreement, except as provided in this Agreement.
2. Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, India shall eliminate or reduce its customs duties applied on goods originating from Oman in accordance with Annex 2A (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of India) and Oman shall eliminate or reduce its customs duties on goods from India in accordance with Annex 2B (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of Oman).
3. Where and for so long as a Party's applied most favoured nation customs duty is lower than the rate calculated in accordance with Annex 2A (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of India) or Annex 2B (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of Oman), an importer may claim the lower most favoured nations customs duty and the Party shall apply the lower rate to the originating good of the other Party.
Article 2.5
Classification of Goods and Transposition of Schedules
1. The classification of goods traded between the Parties shall be in conformity with the HS code and its amendments. Each Party shall ensure consistency in applying its laws and regulations on tariff classification of originating goods of the other Party.
2. Pursuant to paragraph 1, each Party shall ensure that the transposition of its tariff commitments, undertaken in order to implement Annex 2A (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of India) or Annex 2B (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of Oman) in the nomenclature of the revised HS Code following periodic amendments to the HS Code, is carried out without impairing or diminishing the tariff commitments set out in its Schedule of Tariff Commitments in Annex 2A (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of India) or Annex 2B (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of Oman).
3. The Parties shall publish such revisions in a timely manner.
4. Each Party shall, on the request of the other Party and within a reasonable period of time after receiving the request, provide the other Party with a brief explanation in response to any concerns raised regarding the transposition of its tariff commitments.
Article 2.6 Temporary Admission
1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, grant temporary admission free of customs duties for the following goods imported from the other Party regardless of their origin:
(a) professional and scientific equipment and materials, including their spare parts, and goods for sports purposes, that are necessary for carrying out the business activity, trade, or profession of a person who qualifies for temporary entry pursuant to the laws of the importing Party;
(b) goods intended for display or use at playgrounds, theatres, exhibitions, fairs or other similar events, including commercial samples, advertising materials including printed materials, films and recordings;
(c) containers and pallets in use or to be used for refilling;
(d) machinery and equipment for completion of projects or for conducting the experiments and tests relating to such projects, or for repair; and
(e) goods entered for completion of processing.
2. A Party shall not impose any condition on the temporary admission of a good referred to in paragraph 1, other than to require that such good:
(a) be accompanied by a security deposit in an amount no greater than the customs duty or charges that would otherwise be owed on importation, releasable on exportation of the good;
(b) be exported on the departure of the person referred to in subparagraph 1(a) or within such period of time as is reasonably related to the purpose of temporary admission in accordance with the laws of a Party;
(c) be capable of identification when exported;
(d) not be sold or leased while in its territory;
(e) not be imported in a quantity greater than is reasonable for its intended use; and
(f) be otherwise admissible into the importing Party's territory under its laws.
3. If any condition that a Party imposes under paragraph 2 has not been fulfilled, that Party may apply the customs duty and any other charge that would normally be owed on importation of the good.
4. Each Party shall, at the request of the importer and for reasons deemed valid by its Customs Administration, extend the time limit for temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed.
5. Each Party shall relieve the importer of liability for failure to export a temporarily admitted good upon presentation of satisfactory proof to the Party's Customs Administration that the good has been destroyed within the original time limit for temporary admission or any lawful extension. A Party may condition relief of liability under this paragraph by requiring the importer to receive prior approval from the Customs Administration of the importing Party before the good can be so destroyed.
6. Each Party shall endeavour, through its Customs Administration and in accordance with its laws and regulations, to adopt and maintain procedures providing for the expeditious release of goods admitted under this Article.
Article 2.7
Duty-Free Entry of Commercial Samples of Negligible Value and Printed Advertising Materials
1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, grant duty-free entry to commercial samples of negligible value, and to printed advertising materials, imported from the territory of the other Party, regardless of their origin, but may require that:
(a) such samples be imported solely for the solicitation of orders for goods, or the solicitation of orders for services provided from the territory, of the other Party or a non-Party; or
(b) such advertising materials be imported in packets that each contain no more than one copy of each such material and that neither such materials nor. packets form part of a larger consignment.
Article 2.8
Goods Returned or Re-Entered After Repair or Alteration
1. Neither Party may apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, that re-enters its territory within 1 year after that good has been exported from its territory to the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration, regardless of whether such repair or alteration could be performed in its territory, except that a customs duty may be applied to the addition resulting from the repair or alteration that was performed in the territory of the other Party.
2. Neither Party may apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, admitted temporarily from the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration, provided such good is exported from the territory of the importing Party within 1 year of its entry.
3. For the purposes of this Article, "repair" or "alteration" means any operation or process undertaken on a good to remedy operational defects or material damage and entailing the re-establishment of the good to its original function, or to ensure its compliance with technical requirements for its use. Repair or alteration of a good includes restoring, renovating, cleaning, resterilising, maintenance, or other operation or process, regardless of a possible increase in the value of the good, that does not:
(a) destroy a good's essential characteristics or create a new or commercially different good;
(b) transform an unfinished good into a finished good; or
(c) change the function of a good.
4. The Parties shall commence a review of this Article within 2 years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and, thereafter, every 3 years, or as the Parties agree otherwise.
Article 2.9
Import and Export Restrictions
Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, neither Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except in accordance with Article XI of GATT 1994. To this end Article XI of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.10 Import Licensing
1. Each Party shall ensure that all automatic and non-automatic import licensing procedures are implemented in a transparent and predictable manner and applied in accordance with the Import Licensing Agreement.
2. Each Party shall adopt, maintain, or administer its import licensing procedures in a manner consistent with Articles 1 through 3 of the Import Licensing Agreement.
3. A Party that institutes licensing procedures or makes changes to existing licensing procedures, shall notify the other Party of such procedures within 60 days of publication. The notification shall include the information specified in Article 5.2 of the Import Licensing Agreement. A Party shall be deemed to be in compliance with this provision if it has notified the relevant import licensing procedure, or any modifications thereof, to the Committee on Import Licensing provided for in Article 4 of the Import Licensing Agreement.
4. Upon request of a Party, the other Party shall promptly provide any relevant information specified in Article 5.2 of the Import Licensing Agreement, regarding any import licensing procedure that it has adopted or maintains, and wherever feasible the procedures that it intends to adopt, or changes to existing licensing procedures.
5. Nothing in this Article shall be construed in a manner that would require a Party to grant an import license.
6. If a Party denies an import license application with respect to a good of the other Party, it shall, on request of the applicant and within a reasonable period after receiving the request, provide the applicant with a response unless that information is not publicly available and accessible.
Article 2.11 Customs Valuation
Each Party reaffirms its commitment to the provisions of Part I and Annex I of the Customs Valuation Agreement for determining the customs value of the goods traded between the Parties.
Article 2.12 Subsidies
The rights and obligations of the Parties relating to subsidies and countervailing measures shall be governed by Articles VI and XVI of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
Article 2.13 Transparency
Article X of the GATT 1994 is incorporated into and forms part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.14
Restrictions to Safeguard the Balance-of-Payments
1. The Parties shall endeavour to avoid the imposition of restrictive measures for balance-of-payments purposes.
2. Any such measures taken for trade in goods shall be in accordance with Article XII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on the Tariffs and Trade 1994, the provisions of which are incorporated into and form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.15 Administrative Fees and Formalities
1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article Vlll:1 of the GATT 1994 and its interpretive notes and Article 6 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, that all fees and charges of whatever character (other than import and export duties, charges equivalent to an internal tax or other internal charges applied consistently with Article 111:2 of the GATT 1994, and anti-dumping and countervailing duties applied pursuant to its laws and regulations) imposed by that Party on, or in connection with, importation or exportation, are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered to imports or exports and do not represent a direct or indirect protection for domestic goods or a taxation of imports for fiscal purposes.
2. Each Party shall promptly publish details and shall make such information available on the internet regarding the fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation and shall make such information available to the other Party, upon written request, in the English language.
Article 2.16 Non-Tariff Measures
1. Neither party shall adopt or maintain any non-tariff measures on the importation of any goods of the other Party or on the exportation of any goods destined for the territory of the other Party except in accordance with its rights and obligations under Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement or in accordance with other provisions of this Agreement.