Exporters exempted from transaction costs

Dispatch of imported goods directly from the port to the site has been allowed

With a view to boost exports, the government initiated several measures to rationalise procedures and reduce transaction costs in its new foreign trade policy (FTP), announced today. Following the demand of industry, the application and redemption forms under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme have been simplified.

The maximum fee charged on authorisation or licence applications on schemes like focus product, focus market, market access initiative and market development assistance, has been slashed to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh (manual applications) and to Rs 50,000 from Rs 75,000 (for electronic applications). No fee shall now be charged for granting incentives under the schemes in Chapter 3 (which deals with export incentives) of FTP.

The government has extended the time within which exporters can convert shipping bills from one export scheme to another, from one month to three months. An inter-ministerial committee would also be formed to resolve issues of exporters.

In order to reduce transaction costs, dispatch of imported goods directly from the port to the site has been allowed under the Advance Authorisation Scheme for deemed supplies. At present, duty-free imported goods could be taken only to the manufacturing unit of the authorisation holder or its supporting manufacturer.

To facilitate duty-free import of samples by exporters, number of samples or pieces has been increased from the existing 15 to 50. Customs clearance of such samples shall be based on declarations given by the importers with regard to the limit of value and quantity of samples.

The government has also allowed disposal of manufacturing wastes, after payment of the excise duty. Besides, automobile firms, which have their own R&D centres, would be allowed free import of petrol and diesel up to 5 kl.

The commerce and industry ministry is also promoting the use of electronic systems with initiatives like electronic data interface (EDI) ports, electronic message exchange between Customs and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

In order to further EDI initiatives, Export Promotion Councils or Commodity Boards have been advised to issue registration-cum-membership certificates through a web-based online system. The government expects that issuance of such certificates would become EDI-enabled by the end of 2009.