Nirmala Sitharaman's export incentives will boost shipments, say exporters

Incentives announced by the government will help in boosting the country's exports at a time when there are signs of worsening global economic conditions and it will help in boosting outbound shipments, according to exporters.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said the new measures announced for the sector in form of incentives and refund of taxes will not only go a long way in enhancing the growth prospects in the short-term but will also give it a much needed boost in the medium-term and long-term.

FIEO President Sharad Kumar Saraf said the new scheme of Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) with revenue burden of up to Rs 50,000 crore for the government, looks attractive as it will neutralise all duties and levies suffered by the export products.

Giving three months lead time till December 31 to the existing incentive scheme MEIS (Exports from India Scheme) will remove the uncertainty creeping in the minds of the exporters and will greatly help to finalise their export orders, Saraf said.

Sharing similar views, world trade information provider Connect2India founder and CEO Pawan Gupta said there are two big roadblocks to expansion of global trade today, one is lack of easy availability of working capital and the other is inefficiencies and delay.

"Its good to see that government is focusing to provide solution for both these issues. The usage of technology to reduce the time to export and make export more seamless is a good initiative that would help make our exports more competitive," he said.

Expanding the scope of Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) by Export Credit Guarantee commission (ECGC) to offer higher insurance cover to banks lending working capital for exports, is a step that should help MSMEs facing liquidity issues for exports, he added.

"The announcement regarding introduction of RoDTEP from January 1, 2020, with allocation of Rs 50,000 crore, will help alleviate these concerns and would help MSMEs to remain in a competitive market. The new scheme will benefit the exporters, especially MSME exporters as well as encourage first time exporters to explore global opportunities," he added.

Council for Leather Exports (CLE) Chairman Panaruna Aqeel said the measures would help in boosting exports and achieve significant level of growth in leather shipments.

"Easy and timely availability of credit with affordable interest rates is extremely important for the labour intensive sector," he said.

It is crucial to provide duty free facility to exports to reduce financial burden in importing raw material and inputs, he added.

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

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