Trade through e-commerce, courier to get export benefits

NEW DELHI: To provide impetus to overseas trade through courier and the Internet, the government today said it will give export benefits to e-commerce platforms on products delivered outside India.

"We have now decided that exports shipped through courier and e-commerce platform will be eligible for export benefits if shipments are effected from Delhi and Mumbai," Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said while releasing the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy.

He said an inter-ministerial task force constituted by the Ministry of Finance would expeditiously look into various aspects of e-commerce to enable shipments through designated posts.

"The nature of world trade has changed considerably and today large quantity of exports are being made by post, courier as well as through e-commerce," Sharma added.

To boost exports, the government provides several incentives to exporters such as interest subsidy, tax benefits and easy and affordable credit.

Welcoming the move, Craftsvilla.com Founder and CEO Manoj Gupta said it will help lessen the burden of high delivery cost for shipments outside India.

"Export duties and high courier costs are a challenge right now. Some concessions on that front from the government would really boost exports," he said, adding around 50 per cent of the firm's annual turnover of about Rs 10 crore comes from exports.

The portal sells handicraft products in India and 20 countries overseas, including the US, UK and Canada.