Apparel exporters want RoSL continued post-GST

The Dollar Business Bureau

The RoSL (Rebate of State Levies) scheme has benefitted 85% of apparel exporters in their export performance, a survey conducted by Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) revealed.

The survey was conducted by (AEPC) to find the catalyst for exceptional differentiated export growth of 31.7% in April, 2017. It got tremendous data about the huge impact of RoSL on the performance of the industry. The industry is very upbeat and believes that over a period of three years they can consistently increase exports.

According to the survey, done in 8 states where there is significant apparel production, 85% of apparel exporters were substantially benefited by RoSL in their export performance, while 65% rated the impact of RoSL as high or game changing.

The industry also believes that given the impact of RoSL in such a short span of time, they can over a period of three years consistently increase their capacity. About 61% of industry respondents believe that they can deliver growth above 15-20%while 6% believe more than 30% is possible.

Further, around 64% of the respondents are of the opinion that continued RoSL support will help them expand their factories. The respondents are also of opinion that expansion of factories will also lead to higher rate of employment (67%), better work environment (73%) and better prices for farmers (50%).

Moreover, 77% exporters are of the view that RoSL can be continued in its existing form.

Commenting on the findings of the survey, AEPC Chairman Ashok G Rajani, said, “AEPC has been reiterating the importance of RoSL for the industry. RoSL has helped industry deliver phenomenal growth for the sector.”

“Since its announcement in last June, RoSL has added a positive sentiment amongst exporters and roll-out in September last year helped lifting the falling apparel exports. Since then the growth has been on an upward trajectory peaking in April this year,” he added.

India's apparel export registered momentous growth of 31.7% in April 2017 compared to same period last year. The data of the apparel exports shows that after the commencement of disbursement of RoSL, the apparel sector has been registering double digit growth.

During March-April, 2017, Indian garment exporters were able to increase production by around 30% for achieving this growth and employed at least 5% more workers during the same period.