Govt announces round-the-clock customs clearance at 8 ports

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday announced a slew of measures, including round-the-clock customs clearance at eight ports in the country, with the aim of bringing down transaction costs on exports by Rs 2,100 crore.

"It is expected that implementation of the 23 issues is likely to mitigate transaction costs by approximately Rs 2,100 crore," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said here.

The government expects that a permanent reduction in transaction costs through these initiatives will have a long-term positive impact on the competitiveness of India's exports.

Reducing transaction costs should be an "ongoing task", said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee while releasing the report of a 'Task Force on Transaction Cost in Exports'.

In India, the transaction cost for exporters is around 7%-8% of the total value of the cargo. This is among the highest in the world.

India's exports rose by 36.4% year-on-year to USD 22.5 billion in December, 2010, the highest growth rate in the last 33 months.

During the April-December period of the current fiscal, the country's outbound shipments grew by 29.5% to USD 164.7 billion from USD 127.1 billion in the same period last year.