Nasscom wants exports scheme extended by a year

BENGALURU: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has asked the government to extend the Service Exports from India Scheme by one year. The scheme helps IT firms get credits that can be offset against duties. Since its introduction, the scheme has provided a huge fillip to the services industry and has significantly strengthened its backbone by providing much-needed support.

The scheme, introduced by the commerce ministry in 2015, came to an end in March 2019. Service providers of notified services are given incentives in the form of Duty Credit Scrips at the rate of 3% or 5% on their net foreign exchange earnings. This would be offset against various duties and taxes. These SEIS scrips are transferrable and can also be used to pay for a number of central duties and taxes, including the basic customs duty.