India Raises Incentives by More Than a Third to Boost Exports

(Bloomberg) -- India announced incentives worth 84.5 billion rupees ($131 million) as it seeks to double overseas shipments by 2020 amid slowing trade as well as help exporters tide over a chaotic roll out of the new sales tax.

The increased benefits for exporters in labor-intensive businesses including textiles and farms is in addition to incentives worth 250 billion rupees already available to traders, said India's commerce secretary Rita Teotia in New Delhi today.

While micro and small businesses can access benefits worth 45.7 billion rupees, incentives worth 27.43 billion rupees have been extended to garment exporters, Teotia said. The government said it has refunded 4.51 billion rupees for July to exporters who've been complaining of delays and received more than 10,000 applications for export refunds after the implementation of goods and service tax.

India is betting on recovering global trade to help boost exports. The $2.3 trillion economy is struggling with a widening trade deficit as rising oil prices hurt import bills. The government's aim of almost doubling exports by 2020 will be tough to achieve as traders continue to feel the disruptive effects of the GST.

Read more: Traders Say Delay of Billions in Tax Refunds Slows India Exports

Indian exports dipped for the first time in 15 months in October, falling 1.1 percent to $23.1 billion. The government unveiled its first foreign trade policy for 2015-2020 in April, setting a merchandise and services export target of $900 billion by 2020. 

While last month's trade deficit widened the most in three years to $14 billion, exports are expected to fall further in November if prices of crude oil, India's biggest import, continue to climb, traders say.

--With assistance from Vrishti Beniwal

To contact the reporters on this story: Shruti Srivastava in New Delhi at ssrivastav74@bloomberg.net, Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Unni Krishnan

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.

Also Read: India's Foreign Trade Policy: Here's All You Need To Know

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