Commerce Ministry holds meeting of stakeholders on new foreign trade policy

The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday held deliberations with stakeholders on issues related to the forthcoming foreign trade policy (FTP) for 2020-25, an official said.

The meeting was attended by representatives of CII and exporters from various sectors.

The official said that presentations were given to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on sectors such as textiles, chemicals, agriculture, capital goods, electronics, engineering, pharmaceuticals, leather, higher education, hospitality and tourism, e-commerce, and media and entertainment.

Suggestions were given on inclusion of these sectors in the next policy, the official added.

All export and import-related activities are governed by the FTP, mainly aimed at enhancing the country's exports and using trade expansion as an effective instrument of economic growth and employment generation.

The FTP will also provide guidelines and incentives for increasing exports for the next five financial years from 2020-21 to 2024-25.

The validity of the old policy will end on March 31, 2020.

Currently, tax benefits are provided under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) for goods and the Services Export from India Scheme (SEIS).