'Getting certification for export invoice is in favour of ind'

Allaying fears expressed by small and medium IT firms, a top official of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) today said RBI instruction that all export invoices should be certified by the agency is in the interest of the industry and would not affect them.
"It is a misplaced concern and it (certification) is in the interest of the IT industry," STPI Director General Omkar Rai said replying to a specific question on the concern raised by small and medium units about the certification.
He made it clear that there was no going back on the stipulation that IT companies have to get certification for each and every export invoice from STPI as instructed by RBI.

"There is merit in the (RBI) instruction. We will be able to capture all the data in a better way," Rai said, adding: "We need data. Without data how can we plan? The industry should see it in a pragmatic manner."
The export threshold limit was USD 25,000 earlier but exporters of software services/products must now get export invoices certified from STPI even if the value of the transaction was as low as one dollar raising concerns in the industry that it would affect small and medium IT units adversely.
The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project for ensuring that certification was done in a seamless manner had been awarded to Infosys and would be available from March, he said.

"We will not charge anything. IT companies are not required to pay any transaction fee," said Rai, who was here to participate in 'Connect Coimbatore 2014,' a flagship annual event of local chapter of CII.
IT companies would be required to visit the office of the STPI only for important work such as obtaining the letter of permission and renewals.
STPI, which comes under the Ministry of Communication and IT, charges a small fee for certifying export invoices now, Rai said.