The Hindu Business Line : Engineering exporters assured of level playing field

The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, assured engineering exporters of a level playing field. He was responding to suggestions by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), an apex body for engineering exports, which highlighted a number of measures that needed to be taken to encourage engineering exports.

The council wanted road transport used for moving export cargo to be exempt from service tax. This was in light of the fact that air freight and sea freight were exempted from service tax. The council said tax on inland haulage provided by foreign transporters for transporting goods to landlocked countries must also be exempted.

EPO Centres

It expressed the need to implement the goods and service tax (GST) in 2008 as opposed to the scheduled 2010. This would reduce transaction costs and refund duties to exporters. Mr Kamal Nath, who gave away export awards to 62 engineering companies, spoke of the need to develop Engineering Process Outsourcing (EPO) centres that would help India become a manufacturing hub. Quoting a study by Research Information System for Developing Countries, he said by 2010 manufacturing would create about two crore jobs and this workforce had to be productive.

The EEPC will release a study on developing the EPO sector this October. There are a host of promotional activities planned by the council starting with an exhibition at Cairo in November. An event in January will facilitate interaction between small and medium enterprises and about 400 international buyers. EEPC will open its second India Engineering Centre at Johannesburg, said Mr Rakesh Shah, Chairman, EEPC. EEPC is targeting exports of about Rs 1,03,500 crore ($23 billion) this year as opposed to Rs 89,100 crore ($19.8 billion) last year. The first quarter has shown a 25-per- cent growth over last year with exports amounting to Rs 24,750 crore ($5.5 billion), said Mr Shah.

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