Duty Free Quota Free Package to be tabled this week in Cabinet

New Delhi, Sept 10 (UNI) The government today said the duty-free quota-free package (DFQFP) to the least developed countries might be tabled in the Cabinet this week.

Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, while speaking at the Indo-Mexixcan business meet here, told reporters that the proposal was likely to be placed before the Cabinet last week but that did not happen.

''The package will be sent this week for the Cabinet's approval,'' said the Minister.

The package in its original form entailed zero duty import of a host of industrial products and lower duty import of farm goods from countries in Africa, Asia and parts of Latin America, but the government is trying to defer finalisation of the package till the Doha talks for trade liberlisation were finalised.

The package is in the works for many months and has been periodically been reviewed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The package in its original form entails zero duty import of a host of industrial products and lower duty import of farm goods.

''In absence of a non-agricultural market access (NAMA) text, the old text stands and we will follow that,'' Mr Nath said.

There was speculation that India will gain little by announcing the package since officials have just started discussing the details of a liberlisation package for the farm sector in Geneva, which is to be followed by parleys on cutting import tariffs on industrial goods.

This was followed by talks on services and anti-dumping and subsidy rules, which are expected to affect the United States the most.

Talking about the new FDI proposal, he said, it was in its final stages of finalisation.

UNI