The Union Government has decided to continue the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) Scheme on apparels and made-ups till 31 March 2024. The rates will be same as notified by Ministry of Textiles vide Notification dated 8 March 2019.
The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi gave its approval for continuation of RoSCTL.
Industry believes that the RoSCTL scheme will make Indian textile and apparel industry more competitive in the global market.
The scheme will help check the declining trend being witnessed in apparel exports. India’s apparel exports have been losing market share to competitors. It fell 20.8 per cent in one year from US $ 15,509 million in 2019-20 to US $ 12,289 million in 2020-21.
An official press release says that the other textile products (excluding Chapters 61, 62 and 63) which are not covered under the RoSCTL shall be eligible to avail the benefits, if any, under RoDTEP along with other products as finalised by Department of Commerce from the dates which shall be notified in this regard.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier, under the RoSCTL scheme, maximum rate of rebate for apparel was 6.05 per cent, while for made-ups, this was up to 8.2 per cent.
Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), welcomed this decision and said, “It will refund all embedded taxes and make our products globally competitive. The scheme will go a long way in bringing back positive sentiments and helping the Indian textile value chain attain US $ 100 billion annual exports in next three years.
He further added that the scheme will prove to be a major strategic decision towards generating lakhs of new employment, particularly for the vulnerable sections including semi-skilled, rural youth, migrants and women in the MSME segment. It will also help in achieving the envisioned goal of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
Raja M. Shanmugham, President, Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) said that in the long-term, the scheme will be beneficial for the exporters to work out the costing accordingly, as the exporters usually take up the order 4 to 6 months in advance.
He was hopeful that the revised guidelines for continuation and implementation of the RoSCTL scheme would be announced at the earliest to submit application to avail the scrips.
“It’s a timely and right intervention from the Government to bring more thrust to apparel and made-ups export. As mentioned in the update, these kinds of clarity will help the textile exporters to plan the growth opportunities in a better way. Now, all international brands particularly from the US are looking at India as a credible alternative destination for sourcing,” said Prabhu Damodaran, Convenor, ITF, Coimbatore.
Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) also welcomed the decision and hoped that the rates would be announced soon for all the remaining products that are not covered under RoSCTL.
