Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP)

Introduction

The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products Scheme(“RoDTEP”) is a new scheme that is formed to replace the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). MEIS was one of the schemes introduced under chapter 3 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 (FTP) with the objective "to provide rewards to exporters to offset infrastructural inefficiencies and costs". However, MEIS was successfully challenged by US at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body and is effectively being replaced with RoDTEP.

With an objective to establish a WTO-compliant export subsidy scheme, RoDTEP was notified and made operational by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with effect from 1 January 2021. However, the much-awaited rates under RoDTEP were finally notified vide Notification No 19/2015-20 dated 17 August 2021 (Rates Notification). The Rates Notification lays down guidelines, objectives and operating principles for RoDTEP under chapter 4 of the FTP along with rate of remission for products per appendix 4R of FTP.

RoDTEP is created for reimbursing taxes / duties / levies at the central, state, and local level, which are incurred in the process of manufacture and distribution of exported products, but which are currently not being refunded under any other mechanism or scheme. However, there will be no reimbursement of duties already exempted, remitted or credited.

Product Coverage of RoDTEP and Applicable Incentives

FTP prescribes that benefit shall be granted as fixed percentage of FOB(define this or use full form) value of export goods with value cap per unit on some products. For certain products, benefit shall be granted as fixed amount per unit.

Exclusions

It is pertinent to note that chapters 01 to 02 (live animals, meat and meal offal), chapters 24 to 31 (tobacco, mineral products, products of the chemical or allied industries), and chapters 72 to 73 (iron, steel and items thereof) have been excluded from the rates notification. Further, chapters 61 to 63 are benefited under Rebate on State and Central Taxes and Levies Scheme (RoSCTL) and also excluded from the rates notification.

Though, the rates have been notified from 17 August 2021, the benefits under RoDTEP will be effective from 1 January 2021 with the exception that exports by Export Oriented Units (EOU), Free Trade Zones (FTZ) / Export Processing Zones (EPZ) / Special Economic Zones (SEZ) unit and by Advance Authorisation / Duty-Free Import Authorization (DFIA) / Special Advance Authorization (SIA) holders may be subsequently included in RoDTEP and applicable rates will be decided by RoDTEP committee.

Para 4.55 of the FTP provide that all exports are eligible for RoDTEP, except the following:

Governance

The FTP provide that RoDTEP will operate based on budget allocated by MoF and the Department of Commerce (DoC) will review rates on annual basis and notify them before commencement of every financial year (FY) as well as decide the sequence of introduction of RoDTEP across sectors, prioritization of sectors, degree of benefit, ceiling within prescribed rates, etc.

The FTP prescribes refund of benefits received along with imposition of penalty in cases where foreign exchange is not realised, and suspension and withholding of RoDTEP in case of frauds and misuse. Detailed provisions for the same are yet to be notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)

Exporters are mandatorily required to indicate in their shipping bill whether or not they intend to avail RoDTEP on their exports. No benefit will accrue if claim is not made in the shipping bill. Further, no changes will be allowed after filing of export general manifest.

The IT based system will process the declarations made in shipping bill and forward it to Risk Management System (RMS). The claim will either be processed by the officer for examination or will be facilitated without intervention upto the issue of scroll.

The claim will be available with the exporter as credits on ICEGATE once the scroll is generated. Exporter can generate duty credit scrips and it will be available for utilization in paying basic custom duty during import or transfer it to another IEC holder.

Concluding thoughts

RoDTEP was expected to lead to the cost competitiveness of exported products in international markets and lead to better employment opportunities in export-oriented manufacturing industries. However, exclusion of key export sectors such as steel, chemicals and pharmaceuticals from the scheme appears counterproductive. Further, the pretext that said products have performed well without incentives may be counterintuitive with the objective of the scheme itself and also prejudicial to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises exporters and fragmented industry constituents. Further, exporters can claim RoDTEP benefit along with duty drawback but not with AA, however, a tangible explanation for the differential treatment of benefits is lacking.

For businesses contemplating RoDTEP, it will be prudent to undertake a detailed evaluation of all available incentives and compliance requirements to avoid complications such as double benefit, etc. Exporters trading goods through EOU / FTZ / EPZ / SEZ unit should apply procedures to ensure that the benefit for the prior periods is not extinguished.

Since RoDTEP is driven by budgeted outlay resultantly, exporters do not have any certainty on getting benefit at prescribed rates as there may be rate reductions on account of budget allocation or prioritization of sectors.

Exporters can consider making representations for issues such as exclusion of products from RoDTEP, rate enhancement, procedural requirements, etc. so as to optimally gain from the benefit of the scheme.

-     Udayan Choksi (Partner), Vikram Naik (Principal Associate) and Marmik Kamdar (Associate)

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