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Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Government takes various export promotion initiatives like New Foreign Trade Policy, extension of Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit, etc.
Dated: 20 DEC 2023
Government has taken the following export promotion initiatives:-
i New Foreign Trade Policy was launched on 31st March, 2023 and it came into effect from 1st April, 2023.
ii Interest Equalization Scheme on pre and post shipment rupee export credit has also been extended upto 30-06-2024 with additional allocation of Rs. 2500 crores.
iii Assistance provided through several schemes to promote exports, namely, Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) and Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme.
iv Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme to promote labour oriented sector export has been implemented since 07.03.2019.
v Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme has been implemented since 01.01.2021. With effect from 15.12.2022, uncovered sectors like pharmaceuticals, organic and inorganic chemicals and article of iron and steel has been covered under RoDTEP. Similarly, anomalies in 432 tariff lines have been addressed and the corrected rates have been implemented with effect from 16.01.2023.
vi Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin has been launched to facilitate trade and increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters.
vii Districts as Export Hubs initiative has been launched by identifying products with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products and supporting local exporters/manufacturers to generate employment in the district.
viii Active role of Indian missions abroad towards promoting India’s trade, tourism, technology and investment goals has been enhanced.
ix Regular monitoring of export performance with Commercial Missions abroad, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards/ Authorities and Industry Associations and taking corrective measures from time to time.
Following measures have been taken by the Government to maximize the growth of domestic markets and to expand its reach globally;-
i. Pradhan MantriGati Shakti
ii. National Logistics Policy
iii. National Industrial Corridor Development Programme
iv. GIS enabled Land Bank- India Industrial Land Bank (IILB)
v. Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS)
vi. Productivity Linked Incentive (PLI)
vii. Make In India
viii. Startup India
ix. One District One Product
x. National Single Window System
A new Chapter has been introduced within the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), 2023 that aims to promote e-Commerce exports by bringing such exporters under the ambit of various export promotion schemes of the Government. In line with the special emphasis laid in the FTP 2023 on e-commerce exports, the outreach events are being held in the districts under Districts as Export hubs initiative with focus on promoting e-commerce exports of the identified goods from the districts in collaboration with various stakeholders including the e-commerce platforms, various concerned central and state government departments such as the Department of Posts, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Banks, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Export Promotion Councils, Local Trade Associations/Chambers of Commerce, District Industries Centers, etc.
This information has been provided by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Smt Anupriya Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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AD/VN
(Release ID: 1988823)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
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New Delhi, 15 th December, 2023
Press Release
Saint Lucia’s Tax Inspectors without Borders (TIWB) programme launched in partnership with India
Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched a programme in Saint Lucia on 14 th December, 2023. India has been chosen as the Partner Administration and will provide Tax Experts for this programme.
This programme is expected to be of 12-18 months’ duration in which India, in collaboration with the TIWB Secretariat and support of the UNDP Country Office, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, aims to aid Saint Lucia in strengthening its tax administration by transferring technical knowledge and skills to its tax administration, and through sharing of best practices. The focus of the programme will be on effective use of automatic exchange of information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) framework.
Smt. Pragya Sahay Saksena, Member (Legislation) of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Ministry of Finance, Government of India attended the launch through video conferencing along with Mr. Francis Fontenelle, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Saint Lucia; Mr. Ben Dickinson, Head of Global Relations and Development Division of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the OECD; Ms. Rusudan Kemularia, Head of the TIWB Secretariat; and other senior officers of Saint Lucia, UNDP, OECD, TIWB Secretariat and Foreign Tax & Tax Research Division of CBDT.
This programme is the seventh TIWB programme which India has supported by providing Tax Experts.
(Surabhi Ahluwalia)
Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax
(Media & Technical Policy) &
Official Spokesperson, CBDT
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
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New Delhi, 26th October, 2023
Press Release
Direct Taxes Data shows improved Taxpayer compliance
Income Tax Department has, over the years, focused on several measures to ensure ease in compliance of taxpayers and transparent tax administration. In line with transparency in its functioning, the Department had released the Time Series Data of Direct Taxes and Income Tax Return statistics, in various tranches, from time to time.
The data shows that the number of ITR filings has shown a consistent upswing over the last few years. The returns filed by individual taxpayers have increased from 3.36 crore in Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14 to 6.37 crore in AY 2021-22 registering an overall increase of 90%. During the current fiscal too, 7.41 crore returns have been filed for AY 2023-24 till date, including 53 lakh new first time filers. This is an indication of the widening of tax base subsequent to various reform measures put in place by the Department.
In fact, while the overall number of returns of individual taxpayers has shown an increase over the years, there is also an increase in number of returns filed by individual taxpayers across various ranges of gross total income.
This indicates that individual taxpayers are showing a positive trend of migration to higher range of gross total income.
A further analysis of the gross total income of individual taxpayers for AY 2013-14 and AY 2021-22 also shows that:
The above data is clearly indicative of a robust growth in the gross total income of individuals across different income groups subsequent to AY 2013-14. The overall impact has been reflected in increase in net direct tax collections from Rs.6.38 lakh crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs. 16.61 lakh crore in FY 2022-23. This has been made possible due to the taxpayer friendly and taxpayer oriented progressive policies adopted by the Government. The Department is committed to ensure transparency in processes, efficiency in administration and concerted efforts at building trust with taxpayers and stakeholders.
(Surabhi Ahluwalia)
Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax
(Media and Technical Policy) &
Official Spokesperson, CBDT
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
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New Delhi, 18 th October, 2023
Press Release
Income Tax Department conducts searches in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Region
Income Tax Department conducted search & seizure action in the cases of two groups, primarily running educational institutions engaged in professional courses, on 05.10.2023. These groups are also carrying out other businesses such as distillery, pharmaceuticals, hospitals and hotels, etc. About 100 premises were covered during the search action in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
A large number of incriminating evidences in the form of loose sheets, hard copy of documents, and digital data have been found and seized. The modus-operandi of tax evasion detected in running such educational institutions includes concealment of fee receipts, bogus claim of disbursement of scholarships, etc.
Large scale evidences about receipt of fee which are unrecorded in the books of account and claim of non-genuine disbursement of scholarships have been seized. The preliminary analysis, so far, has resulted in collecting evidences for such unaccounted fee receipts of more than Rs. 400 crore and incorrect claim of disbursement of scholarship to the tune of Rs. 25 crore. In one of the groups, seized evidence indicates that trust was utilizing the services of agents for garnering students, for which unaccounted commission payment of about Rs. 25 crore has been made.
In the distillery business run by one of the groups, it has been found that bogus expenditure has been claimed for about Rs. 500 crore towards purchase of inputs such as, bottles, flavours, Extra Neutral Alcohol and freight charges, etc. Such purchases are not corroborated with purchase invoices or entries in stock registers. Several evidences have been recovered showing that cheques have been issued to various non-existent entities and the same have been received back in the form of cash for making unaccounted investments and for other expenditure which are not allowable as business expenses.
The seized documents suggest that amount exceeding Rs. 300 crore has been diverted from trusts either for personal expenses of the trustees or for deployment in diverse businesses. It includes payments made by one of the groups for acquiring an industrial entity in Andhra Pradesh.
So far, the searches have resulted in seizure of unaccounted cash amounting to Rs. 32 crore and gold bullion of Rs. 28 crore, thereby aggregating to Rs. 60 crore.
Further investigations are in progress.
(Surabhi Ahluwalia)
Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax
(Media and Technical Policy) &
Official Spokesperson, CBDT
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
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New Delhi, 16 th October, 2023
Press Release
Income Tax Department conducts searches in Karnataka and AP&TS region
Income tax department conducted a search & seizure action in the case of some Government Contractors, Real estate developers and their Associates on 12.10.2023. About 55 premises were covered during the search action in the State of
Karnataka, AP, Telangana and New Delhi.
A large number of incriminating evidences in the form of loose sheets, hard copy of documents and digital data have been found and seized. The modus-operandi of tax evasion detected indicates that these contractors were involved in reducing their income by inflation of expenses by booking bogus purchases, non-genuine claim of expenses with sub-contractors and claiming ineligible expenses. The irregularities detected in utilization of contract receipts, has resulted in generation of
huge unaccounted cash and creation of undisclosed assets.
Evidence indicating inflation of expenses in the form of discrepancies in Goods Receipt Note (GRN) validation have been unearthed during the search. Evidences of huge discrepancies in documentation related to purchases booked and actual
physical transport of goods have also been unearthed, with regard to bogus transactions with sub-contractors, some of whom were also covered during the search. Further, these contractors were also involved in booking expenses for non-
business purposes. Evidences of claim of liaison expenses have also been found and seized.
Large scale unaccounted cash transactions, which are not found recorded in the books of account, have also been found during the search, from the premises of assessees, sub-contractors, and associates including certain cash handlers.
The search has resulted in seizure of unaccounted cash of approximately Rs.94 crore and gold and diamond jewellery of over Rs.8 crore, aggregating to more than Rs. 102 crore. Further, a cache of about 30 luxury wrist watches of foreign make
were unearthed from the premises of a private salaried employee, not engaged in the business of wrist watches.
Further investigations are in process.
(Surabhi Ahluwalia)
Pr. Commissioner of Income Tax
(Media & Technical Policy) &
Official Spokesperson, CBDT