Minister: New Dynamic Trade Policy to be Expected

August 21, 2009 Posted by India Briefing Reading Time: < 1 minute

Aug. 21 – India’s Minister of State for Industry and Commerce Jyotiraditya Scindia has stated in an interview that the proposed new foreign trade policy would be, “dynamic and would reflect new realities.”

Mr. Scindia told The Hindu that the policy would contain measures to revive exports. He cited that there will be legislative changes to boost exports and revise levies between various states and labor laws.

In the interview he said that a small recovery was taking place: “In percentage terms exports have declined continuously over the last 10 months. But the silver lining is that there has been a quantitative increase in exports from April this year. It is early days yet…the revival resembles a hockey stick. After a period of downturn, we now are looking up a little.”

To boost India’s exports, transaction cost for exporters may be reduced by cutting or consolidating various agencies to make the process smoother. The new Goods and Services Tax will also contribute to reduced costs. The new Foreign Trade Policy is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on August 27.

New Indian Goods and Service Tax Regime