Two institutions proposed to address exporters' grievances: Minister

The Dollar Business Bureau The government has proposed two institutional mechanisms for addressing issues of exporters and for regular communication with stakeholders, said Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The minister informed the Lok Sabha  on Friday that  the ‘Board of Trade’ will have an advisory role and offer a platform for discussions and consultation while the other institution, ‘Council for Trade Development and Promotion’, will act as a body to representatives of the central government and various states and union territories governments. Meanwhile EPCs and other industry bodies like FIEO, etc, will be continued as specialised institutions. “Product/sector specific export promotion councils and various industry and trade bodies will continue to be the specialised institutions available for consultation from time to time,” said Sitharaman. The government is committed to easy and speedy redressal of grievances from trade and industry, she assured the lower house. Apart from the two institutions to address the grievances of the traders’ community, other measures such as empowerment to DGFT to consider relaxation of policy and also, if required, can facilitate personal hearing before the Policy Relaxation Committee (PRC).  A grievance committee has been constituted at DGFT headquarters and at its regional offices. Moreover, a web-based complaint monitoring system, a toll-free number (1800 111 550) and a dedicated email identity is active for resolving electronic data interchange (EDI) related issues/grievances. Besides, the Committee on Quality Complaint and Trade Dispute (CQCTD) will resolve quality complaints and trade disputes. These committees have been formed in 22 offices of DGFT. The Central Board of Customs Excise (CBEC) has set up an All India Customs Consultative Group to discuss issues related to customs policy and procedural aspects of import and export operations with various stakeholders. Arrangements for discussing and resolving such issues at the commissionerate and zonal level by the field formations of the CBEC are also in place.  

May 9, 2015 | 3:54 pm IST.