Duty waiver opens up sea of opportunities for fisherfolk

VISAKHAPATNAM: Fish caught by Indian vessels in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) stretching 200 nautical miles from the coastline or on the high seas will become duty-free as the Union Budget seeks to unlock the economic potential of the country’s marine resources beyond coastal waters.The Budget also proposes to treat catch landing at foreign ports as export items. At present, there is no separate concessional duty framework specifically recognising fish caught in the EEZ as domestic produce. Fish caught by Indian vessels beyond territorial waters and brought to India has often been treated as import, attracting customs duties and integrated goods and services tax. The combined tax burden raises costs and compliance requirements, discouraging deep-sea and EEZ fishing.Making fish caught in the EEZ duty-free will reduce operational costs and recognise the catch as Indian produce, while treating foreign port landings as exports will enable direct access to global markets and fetch higher prices. These steps could give a boost to deep-sea fishing, facilitate harvesting of high-value species such as tuna, marlin and sailfish, and formalise offshore operations.The exclusive economic zone spans about 2.3 million sq km of the Indian Ocean.Pawan Kumar G, president of the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India, said Indian fishing vessels were currently not adequately equipped for long-distance operations that require onboard freezing facilities.“The announcement may attract investment in modern vessels. The value limit of duty-free imports of specified goods for use in seafood processing has been increased from 1% to 3% of the free-on-board value of seafood products exported during the previous financial year. This will help bring in more ingredients for high-end value addition such as marinated and breaded products,” he said.Kalyan Kolukuluri, faculty member in economics at IIM Visakhapatnam, said that many countries, including the United States and China, follow similar rules for deep-sea fishing.India is aligning its customs regulations with global maritime standards, he said.