Govt to offer export sops for African safari
The government is planning a major booster dose for exports to Africa and the outlay is a whooping Rs 600 crore.
By Gaurav Malani, TNN |
NEW DELHI: If you are an exporter with customers in Africa, now is the time to go all out.
The government is planning a major booster dose for exports to Africa and the outlay is a whooping Rs 600 crore.
A decision to this effect has been taken after discussions between the finance and commerce & industry ministers, with the cabinet secretariat chipping in to wrap up a major package.
The concessions would also be available to exporters who focus on the Latin American and the CIS markets. Exports to all emerging markets will get a special import entitlement of nearly 2.5%, officials said.
A similar benefit is also being extended to certain key products such as handlooms, processed food, handicrafts and stationery.
The incentive programme is likely to be unveiled by commerce & industry minister Kamal Nath on Friday as part of the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy.
However, the government is also benefiting from savings on notional revenue foregone to the extent of Rs 8,000 crore by scrapping the Target Plus scheme.
A formal notification has been issued to do away with the controversial scheme as of March 31. In any case, key items such as petro products, foodgrains, gems, jewellery and mineral ore were already taken out of the scheme.
Africa has been identified as the new focus market in view of the huge potential, the officials said.
The focus on emerging markets would be a big boost to those focusing on non-traditional markets. The strategy would help in reaping long-term benefits, officials feel.
The two schemes would be mutually exclusive and the benefits cannot be combined with other schemes too, they added.
The government is also looking at providing more flexibility to farmers by enlarging the scope of the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana scheme. Rural industries like processed food and jute products are expected to benefit from this flexibility.
The finer details of the modifications to Foreign Trade Policy were discussed by the commerce and revenue secretaries at a meeting with the cabinet secretary.
A number of proposals for new export sops were not cleared due to resistance from the finance ministry. The government is now taking a more serious view of revenue foregone through export sops, the officials said.
The government is planning a major booster dose for exports to Africa and the outlay is a whooping Rs 600 crore.
A decision to this effect has been taken after discussions between the finance and commerce & industry ministers, with the cabinet secretariat chipping in to wrap up a major package.
The concessions would also be available to exporters who focus on the Latin American and the CIS markets. Exports to all emerging markets will get a special import entitlement of nearly 2.5%, officials said.
A similar benefit is also being extended to certain key products such as handlooms, processed food, handicrafts and stationery.
The incentive programme is likely to be unveiled by commerce & industry minister Kamal Nath on Friday as part of the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy.
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Positioned as a replacement to Target Plus, a new window would be opened for promoting exports to Africa, apart from Latin America and the CIS markets. The notional revenue foregone is expected to be in the range of Rs 600 crore.However, the government is also benefiting from savings on notional revenue foregone to the extent of Rs 8,000 crore by scrapping the Target Plus scheme.
A formal notification has been issued to do away with the controversial scheme as of March 31. In any case, key items such as petro products, foodgrains, gems, jewellery and mineral ore were already taken out of the scheme.
Africa has been identified as the new focus market in view of the huge potential, the officials said.
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The plan for greater trade with Africa falls with the larger plan of prime minister Manmohan Singh to allow African countries greater access to the Indian market. Import duty preferences would be made available to African countries to boost trade with India.The focus on emerging markets would be a big boost to those focusing on non-traditional markets. The strategy would help in reaping long-term benefits, officials feel.
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Apart from the focus on emerging markets, additional incentives would be made available to export of fish, marine products, leather, leather products, processed food, handicrafts, handlooms, sports goods, fireworks and stationery. The two schemes would be mutually exclusive and the benefits cannot be combined with other schemes too, they added.
The government is also looking at providing more flexibility to farmers by enlarging the scope of the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana scheme. Rural industries like processed food and jute products are expected to benefit from this flexibility.
The finer details of the modifications to Foreign Trade Policy were discussed by the commerce and revenue secretaries at a meeting with the cabinet secretary.
A number of proposals for new export sops were not cleared due to resistance from the finance ministry. The government is now taking a more serious view of revenue foregone through export sops, the officials said.
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