Recent developments have seen import consignments from China being subjected to 100% manual inspection, resulting in inordinate delays in clearance.
Explaining the complexity of the automotive value chain and the need for permitting clearance of imports, Deepak Jain, ACMA President, has remarked: “The auto component industry in India is committed to the ‘Atma-nirbhar vision’ of our Prime Minister. The entire automotive value chain in the country is around USD 118 billion of which import of auto components is USD 4.75 billion, 4% of the total auto industry turnover. Some of the items imported from China are critical components such as parts of engines and electronics items for which we are yet to develop domestic competence. The automotive value chain is a highly complex, integrated and interdependent one; non availability of even a single component can, in fact, lead to stoppage of the vehicle manufacturing lines. Post the lockdown, production in the component industry is gradually picking up in tandem with growth in vehicle sales; it is therefore in the best interest of the industry and the economy that any further disruptions are best avoided.”