India’s new FTP to focus on transparency, trade facilitation: DGFT

Neha Dewan | The Dollar Business Pravir Kumar, Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), India, has said that the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) will aim to implement the government’s long term vision of providing transparency in both export and import, and improve trade facilitation. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) held a round table on “India’s Foreign Trade Policy” in New Delhi last week to convey industry recommendations on the new FTP. Speaking at the conference, the DGFT said that the upcoming FTP will focus on trade facilitation, simplifying procedures as well as streamlining the various channels between bureaucrats and the industry. “The Indian Government recognises the importance of trade for growth of economy and the new FTP would be dovetailed with the long term vision of the government,” said Kumar. The DGFT also said that the new FTP has taken into consideration the recommendations of the industry and will not burden exporters with increase in taxes. He urged exporters to renew their efforts on helping the country reach its export target. The government had announced last week that it is aiming at total exports worth over $900 billion in the next five years, a target that is almost double the total exports of $464 billion recorded in FY2013-14. The DGFT said that everyone knows the targets, and exporters should now focus on “how” and not “why” and “what”. Bipul Chatterjee, Deputy Executive Director, CUTS International, said that the FTP must help bring large scale job creation in India and promote two-way trade and investment. The new FTP is expected to be announced next year after a delay of several months due to consultations by the Ministries of Commerce and Finance on granting tax incentives to export promotion schemes. India has already announced some measures to facilitate trade, including reduction in documents, labour reforms, and single window clearances.  

 This article was published on December 1, 2014.