Exporters' life to be made easier

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is taking a slew of initiatives to make the procedures simpler and less cumbersome for Indian exporters and importers.

Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Greater Mysore Chamber of Industry (GMCI) in Bangalore on Saturday, CBEC chairman A K Singh said: "We are committed to making life simpler for exporters and importers and to improve the Indian economy as a whole. We are adopting computerisation in a big way which will help all companies to pay various taxes online and with simple procedures. We have given the mandate to Wipro and Birla Infotech for computerisation."

He further added that the forthcoming EXIM Policy on August 31, will solve a host of issues being currently being faced the Indian economy when they interface with other countries for their business.

"Lowering of bank guarantee is on the agenda and as I see the adoption of self-assessment moving fast and catching with the industry. There will always be a bit of problem when a new concept is introduced but I am sure these things will be sorted out and dealt with in due time," Singh added.

Stating the CBEC and export and import community are of the same fraternity, he said "we are here to help you in all aspects".

"The number of notifications and amendments which follow the EXIM policy will be reduced to avoid confusion and we will make sure that any amendment will be done after consultations with representatives," promised Singh.

Commenting specifically on service tax, CBEC officials noted: "Services constitute over 50 per cent of our GDP and for obvious reasons, agriculture is out of tax net and also with fragmented holdings, this sector cannot contribute too much."