The government has announced the extension of the RoDTEP scheme support to additional export sectors, including SEZ units, to boost India’s export competitiveness in international markets.
What is RoDTEP?
RoDTEP stands for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products. It is an export promotion scheme that aims to refund various central, state, and local duties/taxes/levies that are incurred in the process of manufacturing and distribution of exported products but are not refunded through schemes like GST or Duty Drawback scheme.
The scheme was launched in January 2021 with a budget of Rs 15,070 crore for the current financial year and an additional increase of 10 per cent in 2024-25. The government has notified the rates of tax refunds under the scheme for 8,555 products, ranging from 0.3 per cent to 4.3 per cent.
Why SEZ units?
SEZ units are special economic zones that enjoy various tax and regulatory benefits to promote exports and investments. They contribute about 25 per cent of India’s total exports. However, they were initially excluded from the RoDTEP scheme, along with other sectors like advance authorisation holders, export-oriented units (EOUs), electronic hardware technology parks (EHTP), biotechnology parks (BTP), and customs-bonded warehouses.
The commerce ministry said that amid global economic uncertainties and supply chain disruptions, extending RoDTEP benefits to the uncovered sectors will help the exporting community in handling the international headwinds. The extension is aimed at enhancing India’s export competitiveness in international markets. Key sectors, such as engineering, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and food processing, stand to benefit from the measure.
The extension of the scheme to additional sectors is presently till September 30, 2024. The ministry said that since its inception, the scheme has already provided support amounting to Rs 42,000 crore to more than 10,500 export items.
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