The notification covers 51 products under the groups: leather, plastics and ready-made garments (other than silk products).
Director general of foreign trade S B Mahapatra said that, overall, the DEPB entitlement rates were 30 per cent higher than the drawback rates and would benefit exporters.
The rates for the groups range between 4 per cent and 20 per cent. Most leather items have been allowed a 4-10 per cent rate of credit. All kinds of writing instruments under the plastics product group and most ready-made garments have been allowed a credit rate of 20 per cent. However, certain cotton items have been allowed a credit rate of 15 per cent. The rates for other product groups, such as, engineering items, bulk drugs and chemicals, are expected to be issued soon.
The DEPB may be issued either on a pre-export or a post-export basis. On the post-export basis, it will be granted against exports already made and will be freely transferable.
The transfer of DEPB will however be for import at the port specified in the passbook, that is, the port from which the exports have been made. Both merchant and manufacturer exporters will be eligible for it.
The DEPB on a pre-export basis aims to enable the eligible exporters to import inputs required for production. The scheme will therefore be open to manufacturer exporters and merchant exporters tied to the supporting manufacturer with export performance in the preceding three licensing years.
The DEPB credit on a pre-export basis will be granted at the rate of 5 per cent of the average export performance of the applicant during the preceding three licensing years. This scheme will carry an export obligation that will have to be offset by the DEPB holder by undertaking exports.
The credit entitlement against such exports will be calculated in accordance with the rate specified in this respect. When the DEPB holder has made exports of such a value that will entitle him to credit equivalent to the credit already given under the DEPB, his obligation will be offset. The credit on a pre-export basis will be offset within 12 months of the date of issue of DEPB.
