Myanmar has exempted custom duties on goods meeting origin criteria that are exported to member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
If the goods, included in the product specific rule list, meet the origin criteria of receptive items while exporting to ASEAN member countries, the goods will be given exemption from custom duties as the products of origin countries, according to state-run media the New Light of Myanmar.
The origin criteria of a list of 2,652 items are available at the Ministry of Commerce website. The move aims to enable Myanmar import-export entrepreneurs to boost trading with regional countries, the ministry said.
According to the Harmonized System (HS) of tariff nomenclature, an internationally standardised system of names and numbers for classifying traded products which came into effect in 1988, HS2007 will be replaced with HS2012 worldwide.
The HS, also known as the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, is developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO).
ASEAN member countries had already approved to replace the Product Specific Rules (PSR) list that follows HS2007 with HS2012.
In the first eight months (April-November) of the fiscal year 2013-14, Myanmar’s foreign trade totalled $15.54 billion, of which the export amounted to $7.14 billion, while the import stood at $8.4 billion, according to the Central Statistical Organization.
Major export items include rice, maize, peas and beans, sesame, rubber, marine products, teak, hard wood, natural gas, jade and garment, while import items include dairy products, palm oil, pharmaceutical products, cement, machinery, electronic equipment and plastics.
The government has set a target of total trade of over $25 billion in the current 2013-14 fiscal year.
