The Indian government has excluded the steel industry steel from the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) export promotion scheme.
On Aug 17, the commerce ministry announced an outlay of Rs12,454mn as refunds to promote the exports. Under the scheme, exporters will receive a refund for various central and state duties, taxes and levies imposed on input products. The ministry has notified export return rates for 8,555 products under the RoDTEP for the current fiscal. The rates range from 0.5-4.3pc. Rebates will be issued in the form of a transferable duty credit/e-scrip.
The reimbursement of taxes aims to increase the competitiveness of Indian products in the global market. Existing export promotion schemes including Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) are viewed as export incentives and violated trade rules set by the World Trade Organization.
Despite high hopes, steelmakers were disappointed by the exclusion of steel exports from the RoDTEP scheme. The government’s view is India’s steel, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors as performing efficiently without incentives.