Industry bodies today hailed the new Foreign Trade Policy saying it will improve ease of doing business, reduce transaction costs and provide "breathing space" to SEZs.
They also demanded that the interest subvention scheme for the export sector should be announced immediately. This scheme lapsed last April.
"The interest subvention scheme for the export sector should be announced immediately so that a stable framework both of the foreign trade policy and credit support is available to the exporters to do their costing for fetching new orders," exporters' body FIEO President S C Ralhan said.
"The policy is nicely calibrated to attain closer integration with the global market and mainstreaming of states & Union territories in the trade policy making process, while at the same time measures have been put in place to forge effective linkage with important initiatives such as Make in India and Digital India," Ficci Secretary General A Didar Singh said.
Aiming to nearly double India's exports of goods and services to USD 900 billion by 2020, the government today announced several incentives in the five-year Foreign Trade Policy for exporters and units in the Special Economic Zones.
Terming the policy as "positive and pragmatic" Chairman of CII National Committee on Exports Sanjay Budhia told PTI: "Overall rates under focus market scheme (FMS) and Focus Product Scheme (FPS) seem to have been reduced, which would definitely have adverse effect.
Moreover, we were expecting interest subvention scheme but it is still awaited, whereas Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) are yet to be withdrawn".
Unveiling the first trade policy of the NDA government, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the FTP (2015-20) will introduce Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) to boost outward shipments.
Engineering exporters' body EEPC India said: The focus is clearly is on ease doing of business by initiatives like e-governance and reduction in transaction cost."
"It seems that the export benefits for the engineering tariff lines have
been reduced, while no transition period have been given.
"At least six months of transition period should have given so that the exporters could adjust to the new framework. Further, the interest subvention scheme has also not materialised. This will impact adversely on the exports of engineering goods to some extent".
Assocham President Rana Kapoor said the boost to e-commerce and services exports are well-timed and take into account the unfolding shift in the paradigm of businesses.
Besides, higher level of incentives will be provided for export of agriculture products under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), which seeks to integrate with Make In India and Digital India initiatives of the government.
