RS 56,000 CRORE RELEASED TO CLEAR DUES TO EXPORTERS

Government has released Rs 56,027 crore in order to clear pending export incentive dues to exporters, which is for various Schemes namely: Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) – Rs 33,010 crore, Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) – Rs 10,002 crore, Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) – Rs 5,286 crore, Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) – Rs330 crore, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) – Rs 2,568 crore and other legacy Schemes like Target Plus Scheme (TPS), Focus Product Scheme (FPS) etc. – Rs 4,831 crore. This includes support for exports made under RoDTEP and RoSCTL Schemes during the 4th quarter of FY 2020-21. It is estimated that such benefits would be disbursed to more than 45,000 exporters, out of which around 98% may fall in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) category.

Clearance of dues under these Schemes is dependent on meeting the eligibility criteria by the applicant exporter, whose applications are scrutinized for any deficiency. The process of approval of complete applications under these Schemes varies. In certain Schemes, such as MEIS, ROSCTL and ROSL, online applications are largely system approved, whereas for SEIS, TPS, FPS online applications require manual scrutiny and examination of documents. Accordingly the detail of exporters’ dues state-wise isnot maintained.

To reach the target, some of the key schemes/interventions taken by the Government are:

i. The Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 has been extended upto31.03.2022 to provide a stable regime during the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein Schemes such as the Advance Authorization Scheme and the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme are being implemented to enable duty free import of raw materials and capital goods for export production.

ii. Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme has been introduced with a budget of Rs 12,454 crore for FY 2021-22.

iii. Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme for apparel and made-up exports has been extended till March 2024 with existing rates.

iv. Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for specified agriculture products is being implemented to provide assistance for the international component of freight and marketing of agricultural produce and to promote brand recognition for Indian agricultural products in the specified overseas markets.

v. A common digital platform for Certificate of Origin (CoO) has been launched to increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters.

vi. Monthly monitoring of exports for 200 countries and 31 commodity groups is being done.

vii. Under the aegis of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, VanijyaSaptah was celebrated during 21-26th September 2021 to reach out to members of industry, exporters, association and State/Union Territory Governments for awareness and interaction on exports and various export related issues.

viii. In order to leverage full export potential, districts are being promoted as Exports Hubs by identifying products and services with export potential of each district.

ix. Exports of services is being supported through negotiating meaningful market access through multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements and through participation in and organization of international fairs/exhibitions like the Global Exhibition on Services.

x. An ‘Action Plan for Champion Sectors in Services’ to give focused attention to identified Champion Services Sectors through identified nodal Ministries/Departments is also in place.

xi. Assistance is being extended to exporters under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme for various activities such as export market research, product development, product registration, organizing / participating in fairs, exhibitions and Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs) abroad, Reverse Buyer Seller Meets etc.

xii. In order to have a coordinated and focused attention on development of export infrastructure, a working group on infrastructure up-gradation has been constituted under National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) and a National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) has been formulated. This includes measures for improving road and rail connectivity to ports and smart gates at sea ports.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Anupriya Patel, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.