The government is working on integrating the Budget and the Exim policy to boost exports from targeted sectors.
"We had discussions on Budget and Exim Policy proposals to see that both are well integrated so that exports from targeted sectors get a boost," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told reporters after a two-hour meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
The meeting, ahead of the Union Budget, assumes significance with Kamal Nath promising to take up the exporters' cause after detailed presentations made by export organisations like FIEO.
"Heads of export organisations had met me as well as the the finance minister. We have to see what leverage can be rightly provided to enable export growth," he said.
Several export incentives have revenue implications and there is always a tussle between Revenue department and commerce ministry over tax sops to exporters.
While the Revenue department is of the view that tax exemptions are misused by exporters leading to loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion), nearly half of the total customs mop-up annually, commerce ministry feels without tax incentives, exporters, already handicapped by high input costs, will not be able to face global competition.
Kamal Nath has indicated that government would come out with a National Foreign Trade policy by July end to take India's exports to $150 billion by 2010. The idea is to have a common policy for trade in goods and services which together account for about $85 billion exports.
