Kamal Nath announces relief package for exporters

New Delhi, June 13 (UNI) Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath today announced a slew of measures to counter the negative impact of rupee appreciation on the country's exports.

A committee is also being set up to assess job losses due to rupee appreciation and loss of export orders, he said during an interaction with a high-level delegation of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and all Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) here.

Mr Kamal Nath said his ministry would recommend to the Ministry of Finance to increase duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) and duty drawback rates by five per cent. It has also recommended reduction in interest rate on pre-shipment and post-shipment credit to exporters to six per cent from 9-11 per cent now being charged from exporters.

Exporters would now earn interest on exchange earners' foreign currency (EEFC) accounts. Interests on such accounts were discontinued in 2000 and since then EEFC are treated as current account earning no interest on deposits made in them.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry has requested the Finance Ministry to direct scheduled commercial banks to meet 15 per cent export credit disbursement target. It also recommended immediate issue of notification in respect of service tax exemption and refunds on exports announced in the Foreign Trade Policy-2007.

It said all arrears of TED (terminal excise duty) and CST (central sales tax) should be reimbursed by June-end even if it required additional funds.

Premia rates on exports by Export Credit&Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) will be reduced by upto 10 per cent to make exports more competitive.

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