Sunday October 7, 01:48 AM
Festive bonanza for more rupee-hit exporters
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By Economy Bureau
Even as the finance ministry on Saturday extended the scope of service tax refunds to exporters and permitted them to earn interest on foreign currency account as steps to soften the impact of the rising rupee, commerce ministry said it would continue to demand for more relief, particularly for employment generating sectors. The finance ministry has now made three more services eligible for refund of tax paid by exporters, which include general insurance, technical testing & analysis, and inspection and certification. As part of the relief package, the finance ministry has also expanded the list of sectors eligible for lower lending rates from banks. These now include jute and carpets; processed cashew, coffee and tea, solvent extracted de-oiled cake, plastics and linoleum. It has also raised the revenue ceiling by Rs 300 crore to Rs 500 crore on the Vishesh Krishi Gram Udyog Yojana. "There is space for additional measures. We will continue to urge for more relief for other employment generating sectors, which do not have import content and therefore felt the maximum impact of rupee surge," commerce minister Kamal Nath said. Federation of Indian Export Organisations president GK Gupta welcomed the measures, but lamented the continued exclusion of pharmaceutical sector. Gupta also wanted the package to be extended for one more year, which is till 2008.
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