Mumbai, Dec 2 (PTI) The apex engineering exports promotion body EEPC India on Wednesday met the Board of Trade and sought easing of GST refund rules to boost exports.

The board, which includes members from public and private sector, advises the commerce and industry ministry on policy measures related to Foreign Trade Policy.

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In a statement, the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India said it told the Board of Trade how procedural bottlenecks are leading to exporters being denied GST refunds and therefore sought easing of the same.

EEPC India chairman Mahesh Desai specifically sought relaxation in Rule 96 (10), which is the main hurdle in getting timely refunds.

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"We are also facing immense working capital blockage due to enactment/operation of Rule 96(10) of the CGST rules," he said. Under this rule, exporters are barred from making transactions in a specific manner for availing of GST refunds.

In fact, this provision is hindering exports and there has to some flexibility for exporters to manage things but procedural issues are leading to no refunds, choking their liquidity, said Desai.

He also said the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) rate should be announced at the earliest so that exporters can factor in the benefits from January 1.

A minimum RoDTEP of 3 per cent should be given to all engineering products made from iron and steel, he said.

Under the RoDTEP scheme, exporters are reimbursed taxes and duties with a view to boost the country's outbound shipments.

To bring down the cost of borrowing, Desai also urged the Reserve Bank to ask banks to charge exporters only at the repo rate plus 2.2 per cent.

Though the recently announced production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme is good for exports, a separate PLI scheme is needed for MSMEs with focus on technology upgrades, he said.

Desai further called for making steel available to boost engineering goods exports. Currently, engineering exporters are facing difficulty in sourcing steel and also delays in getting QCO (quality control order) certificates from BIS as the national quality control body does not have adequate personnel, he said.

Meanwhile, welcoming the draft Merchant Shipping Bill 2020, he said till a proper framework is established, an institutionalised forum should be set up by the government with representatives all stakeholders.

Such a forum should take up issues impacting cargo handling, freight rates and other procedural bottlenecks on a regular and formal basis, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)