2.3.1 Myanmar Border Crossing of Tamu (India)
Overview
Tamu is a town in North West Myanmar in Sagaing region on the border facing the town of Moreh on the Eastern Indian State of Manipur. The Tamu-Moreh crossing is the main channel for Myanmar goods sent to India. Although Tamu is on the International Asean Road AH1 and planned to be a transport hub for cross border traffic, cross border traffic remains limited to local trade in agricultural products and some economic goods mainly produced in India and China. There is no significant potential increase of cross-border trade at Tamu without making significant improvements to the AH1 road section from Monywa or Shewbo to Tamu and improving the border transshipment procedures on both sides. No trucks can cross the border on both sides and all cargo is transshipment by manual labour; hand carried or by using pushcarts. The initiation of a regional bus service between Imphal (India side) to Mandalay which was scheduled to start on 7 April 2020 was delayed. Residents from both sides are normally allowed to travel up to 16 km inside each other’s territory against a day pass (valid up to 1630hrs on the same day) issued on the submission of an identity proof.
Manipur is not a well-developed hinterland. Security has been a concern in Manipur and the area of Moreh (bordering Tamu, on the Indian side) due to insurgency of separatist movements in the area.
BORDER CROSSING LOCATION & CONTACT |
|
Name of Border Crossing: |
Tamu (Myanmar) / Moreh (India) |
Province or District: |
Sagaing |
Nearest Town or City: (Nearest location with distance from port) |
Tamu 1 (km) |
Latitude: |
24.237892 |
Longitude: |
94.300594 |
Managing Authority/Agency: |
Border Trade Customs Office |
Contact Person |
Mr.Min Aung, Staff Officer |
Travel Times |
|
Nearest International Airport |
Kale (126 km) Truck: 4 hr Car: 2 hr 35min |
Nearest Port |
Kalewa (147 km) Truck: 4:45 hr Car: 3hr 10min |
Nearest Major Market |
On Indian side: Imphal 113 km, Truck: 4.5 hrs, Car: 3 hrs
|
Other Information
|
Road: AH-1 ASEAN road. |
Hours of Operation |
|
Sundays to Saturdays |
6:00 am – 6 pm |
National Holidays |
Open even on national holidays. |
Seasonal constraints |
None |
Customs Clearance
An average of 40 vehicles per day are processed by customs. The main goods exported are beetle nuts, coconut, cigarettes, seasonal fruits (mango, fruit, legumes) and main imported goods from India are pulses, wheat, cotton yarn, motorcycles. Private cars cannot freely move between the borders. Indian vehicles are not allowed inside Myanmar and vice versa. The vehicles are offloaded in a customs compound each respective country, and then the cargo is moved by manual labour, hand carried or by using pushcarts and motorcycles for a distance of about 1km.
For more information on customs in Myanmar, please see the following link: 1.3 Myanmar Customs Information
Main imports and exports in the month of February 2020 in Tamu:
Category |
Product |
Weight (MT) |
---|---|---|
Import |
Fertilizer |
157.300 |
Mask |
75.616 |
|
Plastics film sheet |
1.350 |
|
Cotton yarn |
1.280 |
|
Iron pipe |
3.170 |
|
Metal Grinding, 3 units |
0.015 |
|
Dry Jim |
0.500 |
|
Nuts |
0.130 |
|
Motorcycle spare parts, 15 units |
0.020 |
|
Motorcycles, 1 unit |
0.130 |
|
Total (1 month) |
239.511 |
|
Export |
Pulses |
3554.000 |
Betel nuts |
1319.000 |
|
Cement |
1051.050 |
|
Sugar |
424.000 |
|
Garlic |
190.000 |
|
Rice |
175.000 |
|
Corn seeds |
150.000 |
|
Plum fruit |
150.000 |
|
Cigarettes |
107.200 |
|
Fish |
90.448 |
|
Roofing sheet (Iron) |
89.000 |
|
Dry chille |
74.000 |
|
Ply wood |
315.000 |
|
Parkia speciose (or) Cha-aw kao |
83.334 |
|
General cargo (products from China, plastic furniture, electric products) |
0.202 |
|
|
Total (1 month) |
7,772.234 |
Customs Clearance Process
Customs clearance time takes about 30 minutes, provided the documents are completed and in order. There are no customs clearance fees except the cost of forms: Import declaration form 50 Kyat, export declaration form 40 Kyat. Gross weight of the cargo will be checked. There is no weight bridge, but a scale is used to weigh cargo units.
All imports and exports can be completed in Tamu, it offers a one-stop service for food, medicines and agricultural products. Commercial invoices and letter of credits are not yet required for most local agricultural products because there used to be a barter trade system and invoices were not available for local products. A detailed packing list is not required
As a minimum, the following are required:
- Import License or export license (from dept. of Trade). See Note 1 below.
- Import declaration form (Cusdec 1) or export declaration form (Cusdec 2)
- Commercial invoice or bill of sale.
- For agricultural products: A sanitary certificate (from dept. of Agriculture) for agricultural goods. A fumigation certificate or third party inspection certificate for agricultural products (as is required in Yangon) is not required in Tamu.
Note 1: Depending on the type goods as classified according to the harmonised customs HS-code: licensed / un-licensed goods. Un-licensed goods do not require an import & export license, instead they require only the import and export declaration form and commercial invoice or bill of sale.
Note 2: There is no process possible for goods in transit (form: Cusdec 3) this can only be arranged in Yangon.
Restricted items are precursors (raw materials) for medicines, unregistered medicines, arms & ammunitions, vehicles, radio equipment, illegal drugs, fragrant woods.
Other Relevant Information
In the wet season (June-Oct) volume of cargo is low due to landslides on the Indian side.
For some imported products, like motorcycles and jewellery, these products cross the border somehow.
International banking is restricted in Tamu: it is not possible to make international bank transfers between Tamu and Calcutta (the Main local bank is Kanbawza). This is only possible from approved banks in Yangon.
For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Myanmar Government Contact List