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03/01/2019

Exporters to receive online refund of input tax credit from next fiscal

Posted by Daily Shipping Times on 03-01-2019
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NEW DELHI: Exporters can hope for speedier refund of input tax credit (ITC) from the next fiscal with the GST Council recommending online refund of the tax.

Clearance of pending ITC refunds, estimated by exporters at around Rs. 10,000 crore, will also gain traction once the refund happens entirely online.

“It is very encouraging that the GST Council has also recommended online ITC refund mechanism for exports. We are hopeful that it may start from the next fiscal,” said Ajay Sahai, Secretary-General, FIEO.

The process of ITC refund at present is partly online and partly manual. Exporters complain that the manual part not only adds to time and costs, but also places them at the mercy of tax officials who, at times, ask for irrelevant documents.

Commerce Ministry officials say that while some glitches still remained in the refund of ITC, especially due to some States reluctant in parting with their funds, the problems related to refund of IGST (Integrated GST) had been sorted out. “We are happy that because of our continued interaction with exporters and officials in the Finance Ministry, we were successfully able to identify all problems related to refund of IGST and refunds are happening smoothly now,” the official said.

Sahai said that IGST was now more or less streamlined except for ICD (Inland Container Depot) shipments.

“Many of the hinterland exporters complain that when they are filing shipments, one or two cases out of ten remain pending because of fault of the shipping lines. These errors are not attributable to exporters,” he said.

E-wallet system

Under the GST regime, exporters have to pay the tax upfront and then apply for a refund. The Government is working on an e-wallet system under which a notional credit would be transferred to the exporters’ accounts based on their past record and the credit can be used to pay taxes on inputs.

03/01/2019

Government sets up export promotion cell for MSMEs

Posted by Daily Shipping Times on 03-01-2019

NEW DELHI: The MSME Ministry has established an export promotion cell to create a sustainable ecosystem for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Parliament was informed recently.

The benefits likely to accrue from the setting up of the cell include integration MSMEs into global value chain, evaluation of readiness of MSMEs to export their products and services, and recognition of areas where improvements are required in order to be able to export effectively and efficiently.

The current status of exports from the MSME sector as per the information received from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), the value of MSME-related products is USD 147,390.08 million and share of MSME-related products in the Country's exports was 48.56 per cent during 2017-18.

The Ministry has also proposed to formulate a Governing council that will be chaired by Secretary of the MSME Ministry and co-chaired by the Development Commissioner, MSME. The council will comprise senior officials and members from Ministries of MSME and commerce, MSME Export Promotion Council, Export Development Authority, Commodity Boards, and other bodies.

03/01/2019

Gujarat's export grew by 22%, higher than national average

Posted by Daily Shipping Times on 03-01-2019

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat Government has been boasting its achievement in increase of exports from State that remained 22% in 2017-18. With this, Gujarat recorded hike in export at almost double the rate of that of national average that was 10.1% in the same year. The Government released the details on exports from State recently. The Industries Commissioner Mamta Verma, talking to media persons said that Gujarat also stood at second position among all the States, so far the exports concerned.

"Exports from Gujarat increased from $54 billion in 2016-17 to $66 billion in 2017-18 that reflects 22% growth. While, exports from India increased from $275 billion in 2016-17 to $303 billion in 2017-18 that shows 10.1% growth," Verma said.

"If we look at a state-wise scenario, Gujarat's share in India's exports increased from 20% in 2016-17 to 22% in 2017-18 that is second among all the States after Maharashtra," Verma said.

The basic products that are exported from Gujarat comprise petroleum, organic chemicals, plastic raw materials, semi precious stones, gems and pearls, yarns, castor oil and ceramic products to the US, the UAE, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Turkey, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

Verma, informing on the event at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit to be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, also said a seminar dedicated to Trade and Exports – Making India a Trillion Dollar Exports Economy will be organised on January 19. Union Minister of Industry and Commerce, Suresh Prabhu will deliver the key note address here.

03/01/2019