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The Commerce Ministry has informally informed exporters that a new foreign trade policy (FTP) will be implemented only from April 1 and not this fiscal. However, it is yet to take a call on a formal announcement on the delay.
“It has been decided that there will be no new FTP this year and the same has been communicated to exporters. A formal announcement may be made by the Commerce Ministry, but at the moment no orders have been issued,” an official in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) told BusinessLine .
Postponing the new FTP till next fiscal means that while some of the existing product and market-related incentive schemes will continue in the present form till March 31, the ones that lapsed at the end of the previous fiscal, such as the interest-subvention scheme for exporters, will not be available this year.
“The Finance Ministry’s focus on containing expenditure to meet the fiscal deficit target for the year is the main reason behind new schemes not being announced and some old ones not being continued,” said another official in the Commerce & Industry Ministry.
The BJP Government, which assumed office in May last year, was expected to announce the new FTP soon after the Budget in July. The FTP was to take a fresh look at all existing export promotion schemes and incorporate new incentives targeting markets and products with growth potential.
But the Commerce & Industry Ministry kept delaying the announcement, despite exporters complaining that they needed clarity on the continuation of existing schemes for accurate costing while contracting new orders. “We have now been told by Commerce Ministry officials that the incentive schemes will continue till March 31,” said Ajay Sahai, Director- General, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
Exporters are hoping for more support from the Government next year as demand from overseas markets is still uneven and overall outbound shipments in the April-November 2014-15 period posted just a 5.02 per cent year-on-year increase to $215.75 billion.
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