As nations come to terms with the abrupt change of regime in Afghanistan, they will seek answers to many questions about the nature of the new Taliban government that controls most of the territories. Almost as an emergency measure that reflects the sense of alarm in Afghanistan’s prospects of a stable future, U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson have agreed to hold a virtual G7 leaders’ meeting to discuss a common strategy and approach. Yet, it will be a complex and likely frustrating task for the G7 to reconcile its position on minimum governance norms for Afghanistan with the ground realities of rule by the Taliban. In its May 2021 Foreign Ministers’ communiqué, the G7 noted that “a sustainable, inclusive political settlement would be the only way” to achieve a just and durable peace that benefits all Afghans. To that end, the G7 promised its support to the negotiations in Doha and efforts to convene a high-level conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul. But
After much delay, the Government has notified the rules and rates based on which exporters can claim rebates on taxes paid on their outbound cargo. That it took nearly eight months to come up with these critical details after the scheme promising such rebates kicked in has meant that exporters have had to conjure up additional working capital to the extent of taxes paid but not refunded during this period. A new scheme was necessitated to replace the erstwhile merchandise exports incentive scheme after the WTO dispute settlement body held it was not compliant with the multilateral trade watchdog’s norms. The Government is confident that the new scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), and effective from January 1, is WTO-compliant. Covering 8,555 tariff lines, or roughly 65% of India’s exports, the remission rates now notified, range from 0.5% to 4.3% of the Freight On Board value of outbound consignments. For some goods, there is a cap on the value of the
