Exporters sought the creation of an Indian shipping line, duty cuts on the import of products like wet blue leather, an extension of a key scheme for small exporters to avail pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit, and duty drawback for platinum jewellery at their pre-budget meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday. Highlighting the need for an Indian shipping line, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations president Ashwani Kumar said that India’s outward remittance on transport services is increasing with rising exports. “We remitted over $109 billion as transport service charges in 2022. As the country moves towards the goal of $1 trillion, this will touch $200 billion by 2030. A 25% share by the Indian shipping line can save $50 billion on a year-on-year basis,” he said. The apex association of exporters also sought an extension of the interest equalisation scheme with higher incentives. At present, manufacturers and merchants exporting specified 410 products get a 2% subsidy and all exporters from MSMEs get 3%.
