MID-TERM REVIEW OF FTP 2015-2020, Released on 05.12.2017

TERM REVIEW OF FTP

Today, a supportive effort has been made by DGFT by releasing mid-term review of the foreign trade policy (FTP), to align with GST laws with the aim to promote exports of goods and service, generation of employment and increasing value addition, in keeping with the “Make in India vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister. Hon’ble Commerce and Industry Minister Sh. Suresh Prabhu has released mid-term review FTP 2015-2020 aimed to provide Rs. 8450crore boost to exporters.

The major highlights of the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 are as under:

Promotional Measures

A new Duty Exemption Scheme with self-Declaration and self-ratification has been introduced to allow duty free inputs for export production.

The MEIS rates have been further enhanced from 2% to 4% for Ready-made garments, leather, carpets, agriculture products and selective labor incentive and MSME products.

To provide an impetus to the export of services, the SEIS rates have also been increased by 2%.

The validity period of Duty Credit Scrips has been changed from 18 months to 24 months to enhance their utility and attractiveness in the GST regime.

EPCG

For faster rule based processing, relaxed norms and delegation to Regional Authorities has been done for Export Obligation period extension, installation of machinery and block-wise extension under EPCG scheme.

Shifting of Capital Goods has been allowed from one unit of the IEC holder to the other.

Clubbing of EPCG authorizations has been allowed in respect of those authorizations also where period has expired.

Import of second hand goods for repair/refurbishing/re- conditioning/re-engineering made free.

Facilitation Measures

A single window contact point for exporters and importers called Contcat@DGFT has been launched where any concerns/query/suggestions related to foreign trade can be raised, which are monitored at high level and the exporters can track the status and give feedback on the action taken.

A new Logistics Division has been created to develop an action plan for the integrated development of the logistics sector, by way of policy changes, improvement in existing procedure, and identification of bottlenecks and introduction of technology in this sector in order to reduce comparatively high logistics costs in India.