As mentioned earlier, there are some equipment or products which are just not made in our country. This makes the imports inevitable. However, there are certain products which can be made in India but are not manufactured due to various reasons. These products can be obtained by import substitution. The need of import substitution is felt because of the following factors :
- Limited foreign exchange resources,
- Long lead times for imports,
- Cumbersome and expensive procedures for service,
- Service and spares are expensive,
- Need to maintain costly spares to prevent long downtime,
- Inadequate port and cargo handling facilities, and
- Lack of experience and technical skill locally.
International buying has nowadays become very easy with most items under OGL (Open General License). The Procurement Cycle follows approximately the same path as local procurement with minor differences. A flowchart of complete import process is given in Figure.
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| Import Procedure |
The invoice along with the Bill of Lading are important documents to get the material custom cleared. The Bill of Lading is a document similar to the local LR (Lorry Receipt) wherein the transporting agency declares that the said material has been received by them in a good condition. The insurance should be appropriately done to ensure that it is covered till it reaches the storage site.
Nowadays, there are inland ports, for example, the Ashkhabad Inland Container Terminal and one can ask the vendor to ship it till that place for customs clearance. The customs duty applicable should be reckoned properly to ensure that costs are not exceeded. It is advisable for first timers to consult importing agencies before actually importing the goods.
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