Over a fortnight after the reopening of the Nathu La pass for trade between India and China, Indian traders crossed the border to the Tibet Autonomous Region on Monday. "Since the re-opening of the pass, traders from either side were engaging in barter; now actual business has begun," Sikkim Chamber of Commerce president S. K. Sarda told The Hindu from Gangtok on Tuesday.
Refuting claims by the Sikkim's Commerce and Industries department that trade had taken off with the re-opening of the pass till it was brought to a standstill following the intervention of the Customs department on July 20, a senior Customs official said "there had been no trade [for four days a week] through the pass till Monday."
This came in the wake of a notification from the Directorate of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce, stating that the Import-Export Code [IEC] for traders, normally issued against their Permanent Account Number [PAN], would not be required for Indian traders either importing or exporting up to Rs. 25,000 worth of items, the official said. The notification was issued on July 21.
Also see India-China go hand-in-hand
Sikkim traders do not have PAN cards as direct income tax rules are yet to be implemented in the State. The IEC is mandatory and traders who have been going to Nathu La ever since it re-opened were disallowed by the Customs from crossing over till the notification was issued, the official said. The notification of exemption was issued after the Sikkim Government took up the matter with the Commerce Ministry.
Chinese traders carrying raw wool crossed into India on Monday while their Indian counterparts carried rice and vegetables, a Sikkim Commerce and Industries department official said.
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