ComMin wants exports out of GST purview

The Dollar Business Bureau

The two-day meeting of the GST Council is underway with the Commerce Ministry pitching in for an ab-initio exemption for exporters from the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The meeting headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has the participation of Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

According to Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the exemption on final export products should continue under the GST in a bid to encourage overseas shipments.

"Exemption on the final export products should continue, else it will lead to a problem of working capital particularly for MSME units," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S C Ralhan said.

The Commerce Ministry had earlier proposed to the Finance Ministry for keeping such exemptions intact for exporters under the upcoming tax regime.

The Commerce Minister said that “the exporters might have to endure the time-consuming process of refund of taxes after the implementation of GST as presently they get exemptions from paying levies.” The ministry is also of the view that the new law should clearly define domestic tariff area and special economic zones as two separate terms.

The meeting has representatives from six important sectors namely IT, telecom, banking and insurance and will conduct deliberations on the implementation hurdles under the GST regime. This is the eighth meeting of the council after September 22, 2016.

After the GST comes into play, all the various taxes including excise, service tax, octroi and other levies will be subsumed into one with other levies and proceeds being shared between the Centre and states.