Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, had a meeting with the Export Promotion Councils (EPCs).
The meeting was convened to have a feedback on the export performance of the sectors and also seek inputs regarding various issues.
Chairmen and Heads of around 35 EPCs, Commodity Boards along with the senior Government officers were present in this meeting.
Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman, EPCH strongly raised the issue of enhancement of rates under Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme.
They requested the Minister to intervene in the matter as handicrafts exporters who used to get higher MEIS rates, factor in the MEIS incentive in their pricing and low RoDTEP rates will make their products uncompetitive.
He specially stressed on the need for enhancement of RoDTEP rates for the handicrafts sector as the handicrafts sector engages 7 million artisans and any increase or decrease in exports affects their livelihood.
He also raised issues like restoration of provision of duty free import of essential embellishments, trimmings, tools consumables for handicrafts sector; restoration of MAI provision for opening of showrooms, warehouses and marketing offices abroad and display in international departmental stores; high container charges levied by shipping lines; policy framework for B2B e-commerce and others.
