Nath announces package to offset impact of rising rupee on export
14 Jun '07
3 min read
Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry announced a package of wide ranging measures to counter the negative impact of rupee appreciation on India's exports.
Following extensive interaction with a high-level delegation of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and all Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) led by the FIEO President, Shri G.K. Gupta, the Minister announced the following measures:
Ministry of Commerce would recommend to the Ministry of Finance the following: • Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) and Duty Drawback rates may be enhanced by 5%.
• Rate of interest on pre-shipment and post-shipment credit be reduced for exporters to 6%.
• Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency (EEFC) Accounts may be made interest bearing.
• Scheduled Commercial Banks may be mandated to meet 15% export credit disbursement target.
• Notify the Service Tax Exemption / Refunds for exports announced in the Foreign Trade Policy 2007 without further delay.
• All arrears of TED (Terminal Excise Duty) & CST (Central Sales Tax) reimbursement would be cleared by 30th June, 2007 and the Ministry of Finance will be requested to provide additional funds, if necessary.
• Export Credit & Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) will reduce its premia rates by upto 10% to make exports more competitive.
A Committee is also being set up to assess job losses due to rupee appreciation and loss of export orders, Shri Kamal Nath said.