Finance, commerce ministries lock horns over fiscal support for exporters

The commerce department last month pitched for the additional 2 per cent MEIS, introduced in 2017 for a few months, as a transitionary measure

Two ministries — finance, and commerce and industry — are at loggerheads over fiscal support for exporters.

While Revenue Secretary A B Pandey has pressed for withdrawing the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) once an alternative one for all export sectors is implemented, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan has pitched for a phased withdrawal, sources said.

The revenue department has pitched for strict closure dates of any new reward schemes for exporters, or else they will stay valid till the end of the fiscal year in which these are introduced, sources added.

Here, the commerce department said