Exporters told a Government panel on Tuesday that the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme should be continued till the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
In the alternative, the DEPB scheme should be replaced by a duty drawback scheme that takes into account the high transaction costs, local levies and taxes as well as the rising interest rates that are hurting the exporters.
This was the demand made by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations in its presentation before the high-level Drawback Committee chaired by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Member, Mr Saumitra Chaudhuri.
The Committee is working on a scheme to replace the DEPB as, according to the Finance Ministry, the scheme is not fully WTO-compliant.
The 14-year-old DEPB scheme is set to expire on September 30 and is likely to be replaced by a duty drawback scheme.
The FIEO President, Mr Ramu Deora, said the export growth will fall drastically in the third and fourth quarters this fiscal due to the expiry of the DEPB scheme, the uncertainties in the US and Europe as well as the rising interest rates.