Exporters should strive to find new markets and ensure quality standards, besides sticking to delivery schedules, Chief Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Service Tax, Visakhapatnam Zone, Deepa B Dasgupta, has said.
Speaking at an interactive session with exporters organised jointly by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and the Vizagpatam Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Friday, she said, risk management systems were in place for exporters and they should make full use of them. It should be the endeavour of everyone — the trade, the department, and others — to reduce the transaction cost to make exports competitive.
The Visakhapatnam Customs House expects revenue of Rs.17,000 crore during the current financial year (Customs Duty, Excise Duty plus Service Tax collections) as against Rs.15,373 crore during 2012-13, she said, and added that there were four ports — Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Kakinada, and Krishnapatnam — within the jurisdiction of her zone, and in spite of the global slowdown the export performance was quite encouraging.
Commissioner of Customs Vizag-1 C. Rajendiran said there was some spurt in iron ore exports during the current financial year and till December the exports from the zone amounted to Rs.22,900 crore as against Rs.14,911 crore during the corresponding period the previous year.
Commissioner of Customs B.V. Sivanaga Kumari, who also looks after Kakinada Customs House, said infrastructure at the Kakinada old port (the anchorage port) was in a very poor shape and some more jetties should be built urgently to facilitate more rice and maize exports. The port was under the control of the State government and some urgent steps were needed to improve it, she added. The new port of Kakinada was being operated by a private consortium.
Joint Director-General of Foreign Trade, Visakhapatnam, P.K Ghosh, spoke about the incentive schemes for exporters.
Appraiser of Customs House Sharmila Koorpad spoke about the scheme introduced by the government for the benefit of bona fide defaulters who failed to meet export obligations.
These exporters import capital goods free of import duty against an export obligation and, if they fail to meet part of the export obligation due to genuine reasons such as adverse market conditions, they could pay the duty for the shortfall without any punitive penalties. The scheme would be in force till the end of the financial year and such exporters should make use of it, she added.
President of Vizagapatam Chamber of Commerce and Industry K. Ramabrahmam, honorary secretary M.V. Narayana Rao, K. Unnikrishnan of the FIEO, and Branch Manager of the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) C. Chakravarthi spoke.
