Govt proposes tax refund plan for exporters

New Delhi, Oct 22 (UNI) After providing a 1,400-crore relief package to exporters in July to enable them tide over the hardening rupee, the Commerce and Industry Ministry proposes to give them a sector-specific refund of taxes and levies to stay competitive in the global markets.

It was mainly the textile sector which had got a major relief the previous time.

''We are preparing a Cabinet note for expanding coverage of refunds to exporters,'' Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told reporters here before a review meeting to assess the export performance of the plantation sector.

Hoping that India will achieve export target of 160 billion dollars in the current financial year in spite of the rupee's appreciation, he said the government is thinking of providing refund and remission of taxes to ensure that exporters get a level playing field.

Besides the Rs 1,400-crore relief package to exporters in July, the government had also exempted seven items from service tax.

The Minister said he will hold a series of meetings with different export promotion councils next month to take a holistic review of the situation and discuss measures to achieve the export target.

The Commerce Ministry has already sent several proposals to the Finance Ministry listing relief measures for the exporters but the latter has yet to take a final view on these. One of the proposals was refund of state level taxes to exporters.

UNI