Budget 2016: Government to take measures to support export sector says Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: The government will give more support to exporters in a move to boost falling overseas shipments.

"The duty drawback scheme has been widened and deepened to include more products and countries. The government will continue to take measures to support the export sector," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Budget for 2016-17.

India’s exports in January fell 13.6% from a year earlier to $21.07 billion – declining for the 14th consecutive month.

The minister proposed to amend the Customs Act to provide for deferred payment of customs duties for importers and exporters with proven track record and to increase the limitation period from one year to two year in cases not involving fraud, suppression of facts and wilful mis-statement.

The government also plans to extend the facility of direct port delivery to more importers.

Last year, the government took a series of measures to boost exports including the Interest Equalization Scheme to provide cheaper credit to exporters for five years, expanding support to various products under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and a revision of the duty drawback rates for exporters.