Saving people from disease better than shielding industry

Towards the end of last month, the commerce ministry banned the import of mosquito killer rackets priced less than ~121 per racket (cost, insurance, and freight value). It is a debatable decision that raises important policy issues.

Under the Indian Trade Classification (Harmonised System) of import and export items, the classification 85167920 covers ‘electrical and electronic devices for repelling insects (for example, mosquitoes or other similar kind of insects)’. The residual entry at 85167990 covers items not specified elsewhere under the heading 8516 that includes ‘other electro-thermic appliances of a kind used for domestic purposes’.

The basic customs duty on all items in these tariff lines was raised from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in February 2021. They attract an aggregate duty of 43.960 per cent (including 18 per cent IGST), which means the landed cost of mosquito killer rackets will be at least ~175. This can be lower for imports under some Free Trade Agreements.

The total import of all items falling under 85167920 fell from $13.85 million in 2019-20 to $11.14 million during 2020-21 in the months of April-february, which accounts for only 0.0029 per cent and 0.0032 per cent of our total imports of all items. The imports of all items falling under 85167990 fell from $33.71 million in 2019-20 to $33.36 million in 2020-21 in the months of April-february, accounting for 0.0071 per cent and 0.0097 per cent of our total imports. The share of mosquito killer rackets must be a fraction of these figures as these entries cover other items also.

The government has banned only one item out of all the items falling under these tariff lines, apparently in response to representations from domestic manufacturers of mosquito killer rackets. The minimum import price suggests the idea is to protect them from cheaper imports.

In India, mosquitoes carry and transmit infectious pathogens that cause many diseases such as malaria, chikungunya, dengue fever etc. Also, mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, lakes, temporary water puddles, marshes etc. There is no dearth of such breeding grounds for mosquitoes in India, especially during monsoons or floods and more so in places where poorer people live, such as slums or other areas where the infrastructure to drain away rain water is not very efficient.

Thus, a section of our population is vulnerable to diseases caused by the transmission of pathogens through mosquitoes. The public health authorities do take many measures to contain the spread of such diseases but it is ultimately left to each person to safeguard his own health and the last resort for him to do that is using mosquito killer racket. Thus, it is a device that helps him cope with the menace of mosquitoes that in some way contributes to his better health by reducing the chances of getting mosquito-borne diseases. In fact, mosquito killer rackets can be used to kill many kinds of insects that can also cause nuisance or diseases.

Should the government policy benefit a few manufacturers through protection from imports or a large number of people through easier access to cheaper devices that help reduce chances of contracting diseases? Manufacturers are better organised to present their case for protection whereas ordinary people are not so well organised. So, the government has an obligation to weigh the options carefully. On merits, it is difficult to say it has taken the right call.