In line with the reduction in Customs duty, the government has reduced the duty-entitlement passbook (DEPB) scheme rates for a majority of the 2,000-odd products covered under the tax neutralisation scheme. However, around 30 per cent of the rates remain unchanged.
In addition, the level of value caps on 329 items accounting for about 16 per cent of the products covered by the scheme has also remained largely unchanged, officials said.
They said that rates have been increased only in a few cases to remove anomalies in the scheme.
Officials clarified that the benefits under the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme announced by commerce and industry minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden Exim Policy speech on Monday will not have retrospective implications.
Those who have availed of the scheme before March 31, 2003 will have to comply with the export obligations undertaken by them.
According to commerce industry estimates, between 1996-97 and 2000-01, 10,242 EPCG licences had been issued by the government involving export obligation of Rs 170,569 crore.
According to commerce ministry data (available till 2000-01), the export obligation fulfilment period which started at least five years after the issue of licences, nearly 93 per cent of the obligation undertaken by 206 licence holders to whom the permission was accorded in 1990-91 had been fulfilled.
Among the prominent product categories, in 365 of the 575 engineering goods items, the DEPB rates have remained unchanged.
Similarly, in case electronic products the rates have not been changed in 57 of the 88 cases, for the textiles sector rates have not been changed in case of 58 of the 106 items covered under the DEPB scheme.
In case of plastics, however, rates have been changed in a majority of the 135 items with unchanged rates only in 21 cases.
