'Com Min to resolve GST related issues of exporters in FTP'

The commerce ministry is reviewing the foreign trade policy (FTP) with a view to effectively address the concerns of exporters post-GST, a senior official said today.
Exporters have raised certain concerns after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
"We cannot let them suffer...We want to build in something in the FTP which addresses those issues of exporters," the official added.
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has stated that exporters are worried as they have to arrange funds for payment of GST which will be refunded to them upon exports.
First paying the duty and then seek refund would led to blockage of funds for over six months in many cases, thus affecting competitiveness of exports, the FIEO has said.

The official said that the ministry is looking at all these issues and that is why it is taking time to release the revised FTP.

"Lot of work is happening. We are looking at it (FTP) post GST. Post GST implementation, we are taking exporters' inputs and trying to address that," he official added.
Exporters have also raised concerns as implementation of the GST has limited the use of duty credit scrips by them as these can now be utilised only for payment of basic Customs duty and not IGST.
To deal with the issue of blockage of fund, the ministry has suggested to the GST Council that an e-wallet kind of mechanism could be evolved for virtual payment of GST so that the GST chain is not affected.

According to exporters, over Rs 1.85 lakh crore working capital of exporters may get stuck annually with the government under the GST. Blocking of this amount would push up the manufacturing cost of exporters as they have to borrow more from banks.