| Officials said the new scheme would cover certain products and markets to push up exports. It is likely to be unveiled in the forthcoming annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy. The incentives to undertake exports to the focus countries would cover all products, they said. |
| In addition, selected products like fish, leather, sports goods, toys, fireworks, processed food items, stationery items, handloom and handicrafts, which are manpower intensive, would be provided specific incentives for export. |
| The ministry is also considering a proposal to make the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) a zero-duty scheme in the foreign trade policy supplement. The EPCG scheme, at present, allows import of inputs at a concessional duty of five per cent. |
| Officials said with the government following the roadmap to reduce import tariffs to Asean levels, there was a view that the EPCG scheme had lost its relevance and therefore needed to be made more attractive. |
| These proposals were discussed by the Board of Trade (BoT) at its meeting today on the basis of inputs received from exporters, working groups and study groups set up by the BoT. |
| There was also a suggestion that projects having an outlay of more than $100 million should be allowed to import capital equipment at zero-duty under the EPCG scheme. |
| Some of the other proposals which were being actively considered by the ministry include expanding the scope of the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana to boost exports of processed food items, jute and other products related to rural industries. |
| Officials said there was also a proposal to provide an extension of one year to the popular duty neutralisation scheme, called the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB), to ensure that there was no uncertainty prevailing among exporters. |
| Regarding the DEPB, there was also a proposal to neutralise the duty on fuel as a separate in the DEPB rates. |
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