The government on Thursday tweaked curbs on imports of laptops and computers as it allowed importers to bring in shipments of IT hardware from overseas on a mere 'authorisation' upon detailing quantity and value. The new 'import management system' is aimed at monitoring shipments of laptops, tablets and computers into the country without hurting market supply or creating a cumbersome licensing regime. The announcement is likely to provide relief to companies in the IT hardware segment in India as they had flagged concerns over the imposition of a strict licensing regime for importers.
The government on Friday came out with Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023 which seeks to boost the country's exports to $2 trillion by 2030 by shifting from incentives to remission and entitlement based regime. Unlike the practice of announcing 5-year FTP, the latest policy has no end date and will be updated as and when needed, said Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Santosh Sarangi while briefing media about FTP 2023. Earlier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal unveiled FTP 2023 which will come into effect from April 1, 2023.
Worried over continuous decline in exports, the Commerce Ministry has stepped up its pressure on Finance Ministry to expeditiously notify a scheme which was announced in June to boost the overseas shipments.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) will be extended for six months till March 31 next year. The government had earlier extended the FTP 2015-20 until September 30 this year due to the Covid-19 crisis. The FTP provides guidelines for enhancing exports to push economic growth and create jobs.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has put in place a comprehensive mechanism for verification and monitoring of exports made under various duty exemption or reward schemes.
The zero-duty EPCG scheme is in addition to the 3 per cent EPCG scheme that was introduced last year.
The government on Wednesday tightened norms for import of high end cars and sports utility vehicles by hotels, travel agents and tour operators following reports of misuse of tax concessions available on import of vehicles for tourism.
It appears that the focus of commerce minister Anand Sharma, when he unveils the new foreign trade policy, will be to eliminate unnecessary paperwork and thereby help reduce transaction costs for exporters, while retaining the basic framework of the present FTP.
The measures are part of a package of nine concessions that were suggested by the commerce ministry around eight weeks ago and are awaiting cabinet approval.
The Foreign Trade Policy Supplement released by the commerce ministry on Friday extended the (Duty Entitlement Pass book) DEPB scheme till May 2009. The exports for 2007-08 will exceed $155 billion, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said. The government has set an export target of $200 billion for the year 2008-09.
The Union Government has forgone a whopping Rs 39,704 crore (Rs 397.04 billion) duty under export promotion schemes during 2003-04, accounting for 82 per cent of customs duty collected in that year, a CAG report has said.
Enthused by over 20 per cent export growth this year, the Exim policy to be unveiled on March 31 will contain far reaching measures to encourage exports of textiles and gems and jwellery
Introduced in 2015 under the Foreign Trade Policy, the mega MEIS was created out of a merger of five existing reward schemes.
The new foreign trade policy is considered to be less effective.
'The manufacturing sector and the capital goods industry need all the support that the government can provide, because they are working in a global market where trade restrictions are coming down every day,' says Amar Kaul.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances