India’s first time exporters and those from the micro, small, medium enterprises (MSME) sector have demanded new measures to boost exports.
They are awaiting clarity on the new export policy of the government and Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), which will replace Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) in 2020 as announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in September 2019.
Exporters said RoDTEP will more than adequately incentivise exports than the existing schemes put together and they were awaiting the fine print.
Plastic exporters from MSME sector have also demanded clarity on MEIS for certain categories of products that overlap between plastics and textile sectors.
Since MEIS on textile sector has been stopped, exporters who deal in both plastics/chemicals and textiles (which are inter-connected) are facing problems in terms of getting refunds and incentives, said Ravish Kamath, chairman, PLEXCONCIL, on the sidelines of CAPINDIA 2019, one of India’s largest export sourcing expositions that concluded on Wednesday in Mumbai.
“MSME exporters are concerned about existing export incentives and recent trade remedy measures initiated on import of basic inputs. They also seek clarity on the proposed RoDTEP scheme and forthcoming foreign trade policy which will auger well for exports,“ said Ajay Kadakia, Chairman, CHEMEXCIL, at the expo.
R. Veeramani, President, CAPEXIL said, “Exporters have also asked the government to focus on the development of infrastructure and basic materials of construction industry and policies such as open FDI norms, large budget allocation to infrastructure sector and smart cities mission.”
Sribash Dasmohapatra, executive director, PLEXCONCIL, the lead organiser of the expo which was organised under aegis of the Department of Commerce, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said this year Tamil Nadu was the only State that took advantage of the Union Government’s promotional initiatives and sponsored a pavilion for all its MSMEs and first-time exporters who showcased their products before over 400 international buyers from 48 countries who were all sponsored by government agencies in a bid to push exports.
“There was substantial representation from Africa, which is the sunrise destination for plastics. Cambodia sent a delegation to India for the first time ever. Chemicals witnessed action in beauty and cosmetics segment. United Nations SDG goals of housing-for-all will give a fillip to construction and building materials from India. Forest products from India will now be sourced directly rather than through other intermediaries,” he said.
