Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday told services exporters that the government has priorities and limitations, and can’t be seen giving support all the time. Instead, industry needs to develop competitive advantage, focus on quality, and explore new destinations and services to promote exports, he said.

Referring to Information Technology and allied services, which has been most successful in services, Goyal said it flourished due to its own capabilities, and without seeking much of the government’s support, which many a times comes with the bureaucratic strings and control as well.

“The government also has priorities and limitations-it can make focused and policy interventions, help the sector/industry in its nascent stages/start-up level, help them grow, check the unfair practices, but can”t be seen providing support all the time,” he was quoted in an official release after a virtual meeting with Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), and stakeholders representing various services sectors.

As per RBI data, services exports were Rs 1.25 lakh crore in April 2020 and imports were Rs 70,907 crore. India offers tax sops under the Service Exports from India Scheme or SEIS. These are incentives of 5-7% of net foreign exchange earned.

Under the scheme, benefit is extended in the form of duty credit scrip which enables the holder to import all goods which are freely importable without payment of basic customs duty. The scrip and the goods imported against the scrip are freely transferable. At present, the scheme covers nine broad services sectors including communication, business, construction and tourism, among others.

“The world is going to be different after Covid-19, as new norms are setting in, in terms of work, education, entertainment, health…There is no reason why the sector has so much import, when we have a large and varied skilled workforce,” he added. Goyal said the services sector has large potential, but it has not been harnessed fully and asked the industry to see the current crisis as an opportunity, and not as a challenge.

Source : Times of India