Government's Move To Remove Key Bottleneck In Imports Of Covid Supplies

The Finance Ministry's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) urged importers to fill up a form to expedite customs clearance.

Amid an outpouring of international help for India as the country battles the savage second wave of Covid, the government today put out an online form to address the bottlenecks at airports and ports for imported Covid-related medicines and equipment. The move could help hospitals that are reeling under shortages of beds, drugs and oxygen. The Finance Ministry's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) urged importers to fill up a form to expedite customs clearance. In the form, called "Pre-Intimation for Prompt Clearance of COVID related items", importers have to give a brief description of goods and the end-use in COVID-19 treatment and/or relief operations. The issuing of the online form comes at a time when questions have emerged over whether foreign Covid aid, that are arriving from various countries, is reaching its destination. Government officials have admitted to "teething problems" in distributing foreign aid.