Article 6.19
Subcommittee on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
1. The Parties agree to establish a Subcommittee on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (CPTF Subcommittee) under the CTG, consisting of representatives of each Party's competent authorities from Customs Administrations.
2. The functions of the CPTF Subcommittee shall include:
(a) cooperating in the administration and uniform interpretation of this Chapter;
(b) monitoring the effective operation and implementation of this Chapter, including the transparent and consistent application of customs procedures of the Parties;
(c) cooperating to further simplify and implement the customs procedures under this Chapter;
(d) exchanging information on matters related to this Chapter;
(e) communicating the necessary contact details of the CPTF Subcommittee members for the purposes of this Chapter;
(f) considering any matters referred to it by the Joint Committee or the CTG; and·
(g) any other matter as the CPTF Subcommittee mutually agrees.
3. The CPTF Subcommittee, shall meet within 6 months of the date of entryinto force of this Agreement and thereafter annually.
Chapter 7. TRADE REMEDIES
Article 7.1 Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
"Anti-Dumping Agreement" means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
"Safeguards Agreement" means the Agreement on Safeguards, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement; and
"SCM Agreement" means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
Article 7.2
Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures
Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Anti-Dumping Agreement, and the SCM Agreement.
Article 7.3 Global Safeguard Measures
1. Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
2. Neither Party shall apply with respect to the same good at the same time:
(a) a bilateral safeguard measure as provided in Article 7.4 (Bilateral Safeguard Measures); and
(b) a measure under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
Article 7.4
Bilateral Safeguard Measures
Definitions:
For the purposes of this Article:
"bilateral safeguard measure" means a measure described in paragraph 1 of Article 7.4;
"domestic industry" means with respect to an imported good, the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive good operating within the territory of a Party, or those producers whose collective production of the like or directly competitive good constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of that good;
"serious injury" means a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry; and
"threat of serious injury" means serious injury that, on the basis of facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility, is clearly imminent.
General:
1. If, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, an originating good of the other Party is being imported into the territory of a Party in such increased quantities, either in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions that the imports of such originating good from the other Party causes serious injury, or threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive good, the Party may:
(a) suspend the further reduction of any rate of customs duty on the imports of the originating good provided for under this Agreement;
(b) increase the rate of customs duty on the imports of the originating good to a level not to exceed the lesser of:
(i) the most favoured nation applied rate of duty on the good in effect at the time the measure is applied; and
(ii) the most favoured nation applied rate of duty on the good in effect on the day immediately preceding the date this Agreement enters into force.
2. The Parties agree that neither tariff rate quotas nor quantitative restrictions are permissible forms of bilateral safeguard measures.
3. The Parties agree that the right to apply bilateral safeguard measures shall be permanent for the duration of this Agreement. Nonetheless, upon a request by a Party, the Joint Committee may, not less than 5 years after the date on which the elimination or reduction of the customs duty on all the goods is completed, discuss and review the implementation and operation of this Article.
Notification and Consultation:
4. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing or by electronic communication:
(a) within 7 days from the initiation of a bilateral safeguard investigation;
(b) immediately upon making a finding of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports; and
(c) immediately upon application of provisional or a definitive bilateral safeguard measure or extending the measure.
5. In making the notification referred to in subparagraphs 4(b) and 4(c), the Party proposing to apply a bilateral safeguard measure shall provide the other Party with all pertinent information, which shall include evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by the increased imports, precise description of the good involved and the proposed measure and expected duration.
6. A Party proposing to apply a definitive bilateral safeguard measure or proposing the extension of a definitive bilateral safeguard measure shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with the other Party as far in advance, of making a definitive finding for applying or extending any such measure, with a view to reviewing the information arising from the investigation, and exchanging views on the measure. The Parties shall in such consultations, review, inter alia, the information provided by the competent investigating authority, to determine:
(a) compliance with this Article;
(b) whether the proposed measure should be applied; and
(c) the appropriateness of the proposed measure, including consideration of alternative measures.
Conditions and Limitations:
7. A Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure only following an investigation by the Party's competent authorities in accordance with Article 3 and Article 4.2(c) of the Safeguards Agreement, and to this end, Article 3 and Article 4.2(c) of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and form a part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
8. While conducting a bilateral safeguard investigation, a Party shall comply whh the requirements of Article 4.2(a) of the Safeguards Agreement, and to this end, Article 4.2(a) of the Safeguards Agreement is incorporated into and forms a part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
9. Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities complete any such investigation within 8 months from the date of initiation which may be extended up to 1 year by the competent authority.
10. Neither Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure:
(a) except to the extent, and for such time, as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment; or
(b) for a period exceeding 2 years, except that the period may be extended by up to 2 years if the competent authorities of the importing Party determine, in conformity with the procedures specified in this Article, that the measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting, provided that the total period of application of a bilateral safeguard measure, including the period of initial application and any extension thereof, shall not exceed 4 years.
11. No bilateral safeguard measure shall be applied to the import of an originating good for a period of 1 year from the date of commencement of tariff reduction or tariff elimination for that originating good provided for under this Agreement.
12. When a Party terminates a bilateral safeguard measure, the rate of customs duty for the originating good subject to that bilateral safeguard measure shall be the rate that, according to that Party's Schedule of Tariff Commitments in Annex 2A (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of India) or Annex 2B (Schedule of Specific Tariff Commitments of Oman), would have been in effect but for that bilateral safeguard measure.
13. No bilateral safeguard measure shall be applied again to the import of an originating good that has been previously subject to such measure for a period of time equal to the period during which the previous measure was applied or 1 year since the expiry of such measure, whichever is longer.
14. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 13, a bilateral safeguard measure with a duration of 180.days or less may be applied again to the import of an originating good if:
(a) at least 1 year has elapsed since the date of introduction of a bilateral safeguard measure on the import of that originating good; and
(b) such a bilateral safeguard measure has not been applied on the same originating good more than twice in the 4 year period immediately preceding the date of introduction of the measure.
15. Where the expected duration of a bilateral safeguard measure is over 1 year, the Party applying the bilateral safeguard measure shall progressively liberalise it at regular intervals during the period of application.
Provisional Safeguard Measures:
16. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, a Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis pursuant to a preliminary determination by its competent authorities that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good from the other Party have increased as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, and such imports have caused serious injury, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry.
17. If a Party's competent authorities make a preliminary determination, the Party shall make such determination available to interested parties and shall provide interested parties at least 15 days to comment and submit their arguments with respect to such determinations.
18. The duration of any provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which time the Party shall comply with the requirements of paragraphs 5, 7, and 8.
19. The Party shall promptly refund any tariff increases if the investigation described in paragraphs 7 and 8 results in a finding that the requirements of paragraph 1 are not met. The duration of any provisional measure shall be counted as part of the period described in subparagraph 10(b).
Compensation:
20. No later than 30 days after a Party applies a definitive bilateral safeguard measure, the Party shall afford an opportunity to the other Party to consult regarding the appropriate trade liberalising compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects. The applying Party shall provide such compensation as the Parties mutually agree.
21. If the Parties are unable to agree on compensation within 30 days in the consultations, the Party against whose originating good the bilateral safeguard measure is applied may suspend the application of concessions with respect to the originating goods of the other Party that has trade effects substantially equivalent to that of the bilateral safeguard measure. The Party exercising the right of suspension may suspend the application of concessions only for the minimum period necessary to achieve substantially equivalent trade effects.
22. A Party against whose originating good the bilateral safeguard measure is applied shall notify the Party applying the bilateral safeguard measure in writing at least 30 days before it suspends concessions in accordance with paragraph 21.
23. The right to suspend the application of concessions referred to in paragraph 21 shall not be exercised for:
(a) the first 2 years that the measure is in effect; and
(b) the first 3 years during which the bilateral safeguard measure is in effect, where it has been extended beyond 2 years.
24. The applying Party's obligation to provide compensation under paragraph 20 and the other Party's right to suspend concessions under paragraph 21 shall cease on the termination of the bilateral safeguard measure.
Article 7.5 Subcommittee on Trade Remedies
1. The Parties agree to establish a Subcommittee on Trade Remedies under the CTG, consisting of representatives of each Party's competent authorities.
2. The Subcommittee on Trade Remedies shall meet annually or when requested by either Party.
Article 7.6
Non-Application of Dispute Settlement
Neither Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 13 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under Article 7.2 and Article 7.3.
Chapter 8. TRADE IN SERVICES
Article 8.1 Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
"a service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority" means any service which is supplied neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with one or more service suppliers;
"aircraft repair and maintenance services" means such activities when undertaken on an aircraft or a part thereof while it is withdrawn from service and do not include so-called line maintenance;
"commercial presence" means any type of business or professional establishment, including through:
(a) the constitution, acquisition or maintenance of a juridical person; or
(b) the creation or maintenance of a branch or a representative office, within the territory of a Party for the purpose of supplying a service;
"computer reservation system services" means services provided by computerised systems that contain information about air carriers' schedules, availability, fares and fare rules, through which reservations can be made or tickets may be issued;
"juridical person" means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise organised under the law of that Party, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether privately- or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or association;
A "juridical person". is:
(a) owned by persons of a Party if more than 50 per cent of the equity interest in it is beneficially owned by persons of that Party;
(b) controlled by persons of a Party if such persons have the power to name a majority of its directors or otherwise to legally direct its actions;
(c) affiliated with another person when it controls, or is controlled by,that other person; or when it and the other person are both controlled by the same person;
"juridical person of the other Party" means a juridical person which is either:
(a) constituted or otherwise organised under the law of the other Party, and is engaged in substantive business operations in the territory of that Party; or
(b) in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence, owned or controlled by:
(i) natural persons of that other Party; or
(ii) juridical persons of that other Party as identified under subparagraph (a);
"measure" means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form;
"measures by a Party" means measures taken by:
(a) central, regional, or local governments and authorities; and
(b) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;
In fulfilling its obligations and commitments under this Chapter, each Party shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure their observance by regional and local governments and authorities and non-governmental bodies within its territory;
"measures by a Party affecting trade in services" include measures in respect of:
(a) the purchase, payment or use of a service;
(b) the access to and use of, in connection with the supply of a service, services which are required by the Party to be offered to the public generally;
(c) the presence, including commercial presence, of persons of the Party for the supply of a service in the territory of the other Party;
"monopoly supplier of a service"means any person, public or private, which in the relevant market of the territory of a Party is authorised or established formally or in effect by that Party as the sole supplier of that service;
"natural person of the other Party" means a natural person who resides in the territory of that Party or elsewhere, and who under the law of that Party:
(a) is a national of that Party; or
(b) has the right of permanent residence in that Party provided that such Party accords substantially the same treatment to its permanent residents as it does to its nationals in respect of measures affecting trade in services, provided that the Party is not obligated to accord to such permanent residents treatment more favourable than would be accorded by that Party to such permanent residents;
"sector of a service" means:
(a) with reference to a specific commitment, one or more, or all, subsectors of that service, as specified in a Party's Schedule; and
(b) otherwise, the whole of that service sector, including all of its subsectors;
"selling and marketing of air transport services" means opportunities for the air carrier concerned to sell and market freely its air transport services including all aspects of marketing such as market research, advertising and distribution. These activities do not include the pricing of air transport services nor the applicable conditions;
"services" includes any service in any sector except services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority;
"service consumer" means any person that receives or uses a service;
"service of the other Party" means a service which is supplied:
(a) from or in the territory of the other Party, or in the case of maritime transport, by a vessel registered under the laws of the other Party, or by a person of the other Party which supplies the service through the operation of a vessel or its use in whole or in part; or
(b) in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence or through the presence of natural persons, by a service supplier of the other Party;
"service supplier" means any person that supplies a service1;
"supply of a service" includes the production, distribution, marketing, sale and delivery of a service;
"trade in services" is defined as the supply of a service:
(a) from the territory of a Party into the territory of the other Party ("cross-border");
(b) in the territory of a Party to the service consumer of the other Party ("consumption abroad");
(c) by a service supplier of a Party, through commercial presence in the territory of the other Party ("commercial presence");
(d) by a service supplier of a Party, through presence of natural persons of a Party in the territory of the other Party ("presence of natural persons"); and
"traffic rights" means the right for scheduled and non-scheduled services to operate and/or to carry passengers, cargo and mail for remuneration or hire from, to, within, or over the territory of a Party, including points to be served, routes to be operated, types of traffic to be carried, capacity to be provided, tariffs to be charged and their conditions, and criteria for designation of airlines, including such criteria as number, ownership, and control.
Article 8.2 Scope
1. This Chapter applies to measures by a Party affecting trade in services.
2. This Chapter does not apply to:
(a) laws, regulations, or requirements governing the procurement by government agencies of services purchased for governmental purposes and not with a view to commercial resale or with a view to use in the supply of services for commercial sale;
1 Where the service is not supplied directly by a juridical person but through other forms of commercial presence such as a branch or a representative office, the service supplier (i.e., the juridical person) shall, nonetheless, through such presence be accorded the treatment provided for service suppliers under this Chapter. Such treatment shall be extended to the presence through which the service is supplied and need not be extended to any other parts of the supplier located outside the territory where the service is supplied.
(b) subsidies or grants except to the extent provided in Article 8.15 (Subsidies) on subsidies;
(c) services provided in the exercise of governmental authority;
(d) cabotage in maritime transport services;
(e) measures affecting air traffic rights or measures affecting services directly related to the exercise of air traffic rights, other than measures affecting:2
(i) aircraft repair and maintenance services;
(ii) the selling and marketing of air transport services;
(iii) computer reservation system services;
(iv) rental services of aircraft with crew; or
(v) air transport management services.
3. This Chapter shall not apply to measures affecting natural persons seeking access to the employment market of a Party, nor shall it apply to measures pertaining to citizenship, permanent residence or employment on a permanent basis.
4. The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of Financial Services shall be governed by the Annex on Financial Services of the GATS, which are hereby incorporated into and made part of this Chapter.3 However, the licensing, regulation and supervision of the financial activities and services falling under the jurisdiction of the Central Bank shall be subject to the relevant laws and regulations and instructions.