Rates under the government’s new scheme for remitting input taxes on exports may be finally notified this week, bringing an end to exporters’ long wait since January 1 this year.

“Probably by Friday (August 13), we should notify the rates for the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme,” Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said while speaking at the CII’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday.

By 2027-28, goods exports from the country can touch $1 trillion while services exports could be to the tune of $700 billion, the Secretary pointed out, stating that the calculations were based on an analysis carried out by his Ministry.

The detailed data analysis of exports, carried out by the Commerce Ministry, focussed on about 31 commodity groups being exported to roughly 200 countries based on which export targets have been set, Subrahmanyam said “I guess by then (2027-28), our economy would have grown to $5 trillion. That means 35 per cent of the economy would be traded. That puts us at par with the best economies of the world like the EU, the US and Japan,” he pointed out.

RoDTEP Scheme

Elaborating on the RoDTEP Scheme which was notified on January 1 2021 to replace the Merchandise Export from India Scheme, which was incompatible with WTO norms, Subrahmanyam said it will ensure that exporters receive refunds on the embedded taxes and duties, previously non-recoverable.

The Secretary added that a similar scheme for remission of input taxes for exporters of textile products, the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL), is also to be immediately notified by the government.

“It (the schemes) brings in a good set of incentive for exporters which would be much higher than what anybody else gives. So, this should give a big boost to our export sector,” he said.

The five-year Foreign Trade Policy will cover the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme and is to be notified by the end of August. It will be launched by mid-September so that export and manufacturing can be seamless.

India’s exports have been fluctuating between $290 billion to $330 billion in the last ten years and the time has now come to make the big leap, the Secretary added. For 2021-22, a target of $400 billion has been set based on the analysis carried out by the Commerce Ministry.

The Secretary also stated that the authorities were working on promoting ‘Brand India’ that would help establish India as a global manufacturing hub and there would also be focus on improving the policies for SEZs by undertaking measures such as denotifying the spaces which are currently empty.

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