JAIPUR: Exporters in Rajasthan said the Union Budget had almost nothing to give fillip to exports barring duty cuts on accessories and embellishments used in the garment industry.
Besides the duty cuts, finance minister Sitharaman said the Special Economic Zones Act will be replaced with a new legislation that will enable the states to become partners in ‘Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs’.
This will cover all large existing and new industrial enclaves to optimally utilise available infrastructure and enhance competitiveness of exports, said the minister in her speech.
Rajiv Arora, president of Federation of Rajasthan Exporters said, “Given the disruption the pandemic has created, the finance minister should have proposed interest subvention schemes for the exporters.”
Arora said export financing should be lower so that exporters could compete with rival nations where the cost of doing business is very low compared to India.
The sector employs large number of people. Arora said unless exports grow, it cannot generate job opportunities.
“Exporters make additional products for an order so that if there is some deficiency, the surplus capacity can be used for exports. Many a time, the items are sold in the domestic market. But we have pay duty on them. We should be allowed to sell them in the domestic market duty-free,” added Arora.
While he appreciated the finance minister’s proposal to impose duty on imitation jewellery which will curb imports and encourage domestic manufacturing, Arora said the duty on raw material imports should have been removed.
Semi-precious stone imports face duty of 0.50%. Arora said these uncut, unfinished raw materials engage lakhs of people in Rajasthan. “Had the duty been removed, Jaipur would have been hugely benefitted,” added Arora.
High cost of containers and logistics have been a major irritant for exporters. While some states are offering incentives to exporters, Rajasthan is yet to extend the same.
