New scheme for services exports soon: Commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan

Exporters have been awaiting the notification of help for FY20 and FY21 underneath the Service Exports From India Scheme (SEIS).

The federal government is within the technique of formulating applicable measures to spice up companies exports, which will likely be a part of the upcoming foreign trade policy (FTP), commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan stated on Thursday.

The assertion will probably reassure Covid-hit companies exporters about continued coverage help, albeit in several varieties or construction, amid apprehension that the resource-strapped authorities might considerably cut back advantages for sure companies. Exporters have been awaiting the notification of help for FY20 and FY21 underneath the Service Exports From India Scheme (SEIS).

Requested if the present SEIS would proceed to be part of the brand new FTP, Wadhawan instructed reporters: “Once we agency up the brand new FTP, what we have to do for the companies sector will likely be taken under consideration, primarily based on stakeholders’ suggestions and different inputs. And applicable schemes and measures will likely be there for companies exporters within the new FTP.”

Sources had earlier instructed FE that the commerce ministry was weighing a proposal to overtake the SEIS to make it extra broad-based and fool-proof so {that a} wider pool of companies, particularly Covid-hit MSMEs, get the succour. This revamped scheme, most likely with a brand new identify, might be a part of the brand new five-year FTP, which might be efficient from October 2021, they’d stated.

Beneath the extant SEIS, the federal government provides exporters responsibility credit score scrips at 5-7% of the online international trade earned, relying on the character of companies.

Sources had earlier stated the federal government may additionally cut back advantages for consultancy and sure different skilled companies that it thought cornered a sizeable chunk of incentives with out commensurate advantages. Furthermore, a bit of the federal government believes that since few gamers are grabbing a lot of the SEIS incentives, the scheme must be altered in such a vogue that it helps numerous small companies as nicely.

Already, companies exporters have urged the federal government to launch SEIS advantages for FY20 on the earliest, which might be to the tune of `3,000-4,000 crore.
The SEIS was launched within the FTP for 2015-20; the validity of the FTP has now been prolonged as much as September 2021.

Companies exports dropped nearly 6% year-on-year in FY21 to $203 billion as a result of pandemic, whereas merchandise exports contracted by simply over 7% to about $291 billion, in accordance with a fast estimate by the commerce ministry. Companies commerce surplus has been considerably offsetting the merchandise commerce deficit. Regardless of the pandemic, the general commerce deficit dropped to only $13 billion, due to an $86-billion surplus in companies commerce in FY21.