Exporters' wishlist: Panel to give suggestions in 12 days

A committee of senior government officials, set up earlier this month to look into the problems faced by exporters, will deliberate on the wishlist received from exporters and will come out with a set of recommendations in the next 12 days.

The demands were presented to the government today at a meeting attended by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and top government officials, including Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar.

“Having heard them, we will discuss what needs to be done. The demands will be studied over the next 10 to 12 days,” Nath told reporters, adding that the export target of $200 billion for the current fiscal would not be met.

The committee, headed by Finance Secretary Arun Ramanathan, was set up on January 2. Other members include Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai and Revenue Secretary PV Bhide.

“We were assured that the demands will also be discussed with the prime minister,” said A Sakthivel, chairman of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). Industry bodies like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) were also represented at the meeting.

However, Nath ruled out a comprehensive package for exporters and said the demands would be addressed one at a time. “There is nothing as a package. We will deal with the issues raised today one by one,” Nath said.

The meeting between exporters and the government has taken place in the midst of a slump in export growth. Overseas sale of Indian goods dipped by 12.1 per cent and 9.9 per cent in October and November 2008, respectively. Initial indications suggest that exports in December 2008, too, would dip.

One of the key demands of exporters is tax exemptions. However, this is unlikely as Ahluwalia has already said that tax-related exemptions will not be provided in this financial year, ending March 31.

Exporters also asked for reimbursement of state and local taxes, which constitute 5- 6 per cent of the value of the export consignment.

They claim that their competitors in China, Pakistan and Bangladesh get loans which are at least 4 to 6 per cent cheaper. The government had announced an interest rate subsidy of 2 per cent for export-related credit in December 2008, but Indian exporters claim that that is not enough.