Aggarwal suggests the simplification of Advance Authorization scheme
Rates under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme will be announced in 15 days, Amit Yadav, Director General, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), has disclosed during a webinar.
Addressing a Virtual Interactive Session on the Recent Policy Initiatives by the DGFT organized by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 14 May 2021, Yadav stated that as compared to the year 2019, there has been a 16% growth in exports for the month of April 2021 primarily due to the contribution from sectors like engineering, gems & Jewelry, petroleum products, drugs and pharma, Ready garments and spices.
Yadav mentioned that the situation was completely different last year when there was a complete halt even in the movement of goods and services.
This year, the Government has restricted the lockdown to curfew in few places to ensure stability in the economy, he pointed out.
Yadav explained that the government is working on the ways to reduce the number of compliance issues faced by the industries.
The Director General informed that the government has set up a dedicated COVID-19 helpline to resolve the issues faced by the exporters pertaining to the international trade such as custom clearance delays and banking issues.
PHDCCI President Sanjay Aggarwal, welcomed recent measures announced by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), such as, extension of Foreign Trade Policy for 6 months till September 2021, amendments in Covid-19 related export and import, exemptions of custom duties on Remdesivir injections, Covid-19 vaccines & oxygen related equipment and other export promotion schemes. These are very well timed.
Giving his suggestions, Aggarwal mentioned that the Government has replaced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) with a more nuanced RoDTEP scheme with effect from 1 January 2021.
However, the MEIS application process for March 2020-December 2020 is still on suspension.
This is directly hindering the exports and exporters are struggling to keep their businesses afloat. As several exporters have major portion of their profits in the MEIS, but that being blocked, they are facing liquidity issues. This needs to be addressed as immediately as possible.
He explained that Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) has still not been extended for the year 2019-20, despite having been announced for. This is blocking funds of many service export organizations and has requested that it should be opened for the year 2020-21.
In regard to Duty Exemption Scheme, Aggarwal suggested the simplification of Advance Authorization scheme to help exporters who struggle to get the issuance and redemption.
There is also a need to safeguard MSMEs and Iron and Steel Industry from Skyrocketed Steel Prices. At the same time, there is also a need to levy uniform duty on all forms of iron ore exports including pellets. #exports #manufacturing #banking #subsidies #investment /fiinews.com
