NPES Opens Office in India

With the help of a $180,000 MDCP award, NPES, The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing, and Converting Technologies, opened an office in Delhi.

NPES is the first major U.S.-headquartered trade association to open its own office in India. From this new base, NPES has launched a new website: NPES.in, recruited trade show participants, set up technical seminars, and hosted trade missions. NPES can now better address obstacles such as tariffs and duties.

Although India reduced the customs and excise duties on capital equipment in 2005 and 2006, the country’s printers are still required to pay 7.5% customs duty together with 14% CVD (countervailing duty), 4% special CVD and 3% education tax. The total for printing equipment imported into India works out to a very substantial 28.64%. NPES and ITA have been able to help some U.S. exporters get exemptions or reduced rates for high-end products not otherwise available in India, but this combined effective duty is a substantial barrier to most U.S. firms. NPES has learned that this effective duty rate should go down substantially in 2010.