|
Back
KAMAL NATH CONVENES FIRST EVER PRE BUDGET JOINT INTERACTION OF EXPORTERS
WITH FINANCE MINISTER
EXPORTERS URGE CONTINUANCE OF DEPB TEXTILE UPGRADATION FUND SCHEME
STELLAR EXPORT PERFORMANCE KEY FACTOR IN INDIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH
WIDENING TRADE GAP NO CAUSE FOR WORRY SAYS CHIDAMBARAM
LOOK AHEAD AND STRATEGISE ELSE WILL BE OVERTAKEN BY NEW COMPETITORS
KAMAL NATH TELLS EXPORTERS
Date : 21 Dec 2006
Location : New Delhi
The first ever pre-Budget
and pre-Foreign Trade Policy joint interactive meeting of exporters convened by
the Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister, with Shri P.Chidambaram,
Union Finance Minister, was held here this morning with the exporters urging the
government to ensure continuance of the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB)
and the Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), besides removal or
rationalisation of levies that erode the global competitiveness of Indian
exports. The interactive session was attended by Commerce
Secretary Shri G.K.Pillai, Secretary (Industrial Policy and Promotion) Dr. Ajay
Dua, and Revenue Secretary Shri K.M.Chandrashekhar, along with the Director
General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Shri B.S.Meena and chairpersons of all Export
Promotion Councils, as well as the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)
and Commodity Board including Tea Board and Coir Board.
Both the ministers
complimented exporters for their stellar performance which, Shri Chidambaram
said, was a major factor in India’s economic growth story. “ I recognise the
validity and merit of the exporters’ suggestions. These will be examined and
appropriate decisions will be taken”, Shri Chidambaram said, adding that his
responsibility as Finance Minister was to balance the interests of exporters,
the industry and of revenue. Shri Kamal Nath also underlined the need to balance
exporters’ requirements with the interests of the
domestic industry to facilitate the growth of both the sectors.
Stating that employment
generation and competitiveness were the two principal challenges of the export
sector and terming today’s interaction as very fruitful, Shri Kamal Nath urged
the exporting community to “ look ahead and strategise to avoid being overtaken
by emerging new competitors in the global market place”.
He suggested all EPCs should undertake in-depth studies on their prospective
competitors as part of a long-term strategy to stay ahead in the race for a
larger share of world trade.
In response to a query from
the press on the widening trade deficit after the meeting, Shri Chidambaram said
: “ Trade deficit is not a cause for worry. I can live with the current account
deficit. I want the importers to import what they want and our exporters to
export as much as they can”.
During the interaction, a
number of suggestions were put forward by the exporters.
FIEO and several EPCs
sought removal of the central sales tax from 4 % to zero as it made exports less
competitive; zero duty on imports for export production under the Export
Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) to provide a level playing field and
promote expansion and modernisation; widening of the Focus Market and Focus
Market Scheme to include CIS countries and more products; and a firm date for
EDI (electronic data interchange) connectivity by Customs as it would greatly
reduce transaction cost of exporters. Engineering Export
Promotion Council (EEPC) wanted exemption from
service tax and the Fringe Benefit Tax, which put a heavy burden on exporters
for activities which were essential for export promotion. Export Promotion
Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) urged removal of the sunset clause under
Section 10 b which provides income tax exemption on EOU exports only till 2009
and requested expediting issue of guidelines by Revenue so that SEZ Rules could
be implemented by their field formations.
The Seafood Exporters
Association wanted relaxation and extension of export obligation under the EPCG
Scheme for fishing and marine industry affected by natural calamities such as
Tsunami, besides factoring in of fuel costs in DEPB as with other export
promotion schemes. Direct import of bullion in a phased manner was proposed by
the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council as the present system of
allowing imports only by nominated agencies for supply to exporters added to
transaction costs and procedural hassles. Council for Leather Exports urged
exemption from excise and additional customs duty on machinery, spare parts etc
used in leather and leather products, including footwear, while the Sports Goods
and Plastics EPC suggested reduction in duty on inputs. Tea Board raised the
issue of reduction of duties on tea bagging and packaging machines and the
Shellac EPC suggested issue of ITC HS Code for 500 medicinal plants as also to
allow export of minor forest produce from SEZs.
From the textile EPCs viz,
Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), TEXPROCIL, Synthetic and Rayon Export
Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL)etc, the main demands included extension of the TUF
Scheme for another 5 years till 31/3/2012 which is needed to upgrade and expand
technology of the Indian textile industry to face the severe competition in the
post-quota regime; reduction in duties to facilitate growth of the indigenous
textile machinery industry; and reduced duty on man-made fibres. Handicrafts EPC
wanted infrastructure status for the India Expo Mart and setting up of a Rs 1000
crore corpus to ensure a 3-fold increase in 5 years.
***************
SB/NR/MRS
|
Archives
