Commodity exporters face cash crunch as customs delay refunds

KOCHI: Commodity exporters in south India are facing a shortage of working capital as a glitch in the customs software system has made it difficult for them toclaim incentives.

In seafood sector alone, incentive claims worth `250 crore remains to be cleared due to the system problem. Applications are filed online by exporters for getting many incentives. This requires online verification of customs bill copies from the point of origin. Due to the connectivity problems, these are not accessible in many cases.

Speaking to ET, Nawas, deputy commissioner of Customs, said that there have been some teething problems with regard to the upgradation of the EDI system. Earlier, there was an automatic flow of data. But due to the snags in the system this flow has been affected. “It is being sorted out,” he said.

Exporters have pointed out that since September there has been connectivity problems, making inter-departmental communication difficult.