Sops for SEZs in India's new foreign trade policy

Wednesday 08th April 2015 06:19 EDT
 
Nirmala Sitharaman
 

The Indian government announced a slew of incentives and new institutional mechanisms as part of the new Foreign Trade Policy to nearly double country's goods and services exports to $ 900 billion by 2019-2020.

Unveiling the much-delayed five-year FTP (2015-2020), commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the policy was being aligned with the government's key programmes like Make in India and Digital India to boost manufacturing, job creation and to improve ease of doing business. The government is also contemplating tariff rationalisation to raise India's share in the global trade from 2% to 3.5% by 2020.

Sitharaman said the FTP, her first trade policy, would incorporate various incentive schemes to introduce Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) to boost outward shipments.

"FTP lays down a roadmap for India's global trade engagement in the coming years. India will become a significant participant in world trade by 2020," she said, adding that the sops include reduction of export obligation under the EPCG scheme and extension of all export benefits to units within the special economic zones (SEZs).

Industry chambers said the said the new policy would improve ease of doing business, reduce transaction costs and provide "breathing space" to SEZs. They also demanded that the interest subvention scheme for the export sector should be announced immediately. The scheme lapsed last April.

The government aims to increase India's exports of merchandise and services from $465.9 billion in 2013-14 to about "$900 billion by 2019-20", commerce secretary Rajeev Kher said. On the most-awaited demand of restoring 3% interest subsidy scheme, he said that the ministry would soon seek the Cabinet's nod for its implementation. Budget has allocated Rs 16.25 billion to provide interest subsidy for exports for 2015-16 fiscal.

Unlike the annual reviews of the past, the new FTP will be reviewed after two-and-a-half years to ensure continuity in the trade policy. The policy also proposed setting up of a host of institutions, including Trade Council and National Committee on Trade Facilitation, to improve India's share in global trade and implement of WTO obligations. It also seeks to establish an Export Promotion Mission to provide an institutional framework to work with state governments to boost India's exports.


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