The Budget 2011-12 has proposals aimed at reducing transaction time and cost for exporters and importers. It also seeks to boost exports of labour intensive sectors such as leather and handicrafts.
To quicken the clearance of the cargo by Customs authorities and further modernise the Customs administration, the Finance Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee has proposed to introduce self-assessment in Customs.
“Under this, importers and exporters will themselves assess their duty liabilities while filing their declarations in the EDI system. The Department will verify such assessments on a selective system driven basis,” Mr Mukherjee said in his 2011-12 Budget speech.
Pointing out that there have been considerable difficulties in the sanction of refunds relating to tax paid on services used for export of goods, he proposed to shortly introduce a scheme for the refund of these taxes on the lines of drawback of duties in a far more simplified and expeditious manner.
With the completion of its IT Consolidation Project, Central Board of Excise and Customs can now centrally host its key applications in Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax, Mr Mukherjee said, adding that the Customs EDI system now covers 92 locations across the country.
The Finance Minister also took note of the fact that the Task Force on Transactions Cost (set up by the Commerce Department to identify and suggest ways to improve the efficiency of export processes) has completed its work.
Twenty one suggestions made by the Task Force have already been implemented, he said, adding that action on remaining two will be taken in next few months. This will mitigate transactions cost by about Rs 2,100 crore, he said.
Claiming that mega clusters have large employment and export potential, he proposed to extend the Mega Cluster Scheme for development of leather products. Seven mega leather clusters would be set up during 2011-12, Mr Mukherjee said, adding that he also proposes to include Jodhpur for the development of a handicraft mega cluster.
Mr. Ramu S Deora, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said FIEO’s suggestions have been accepted by the Finance Minister including reduction of Customs Duty on raw silk, textiles intermediate and inputs for chemicals sector. This will add to competitiveness of these sectors, he said. Citing increased cost of export credit, Mr Deora suggested interest subsidy for SME export sector.