India to extend tax break for exporters

The Indian government has agreed to extend a tax break for exporters beyond a June 30 deadline, the Times of India newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting trade minister Anand Sharma. Earlier, the finance minister favoured phasing out the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme at the end of the month, citing a loss of $1.8 billion.
Opposing the move, industry officials said withdrawing incentives without an alternative would hurt export growth. The finance ministry had agreed to continue with the incentive now but the government would work out a new scheme to replace the DEPB later, the report said, quoting Sharma. Under DEPB, the government reimburses exporters for some 80 billion rupees of taxes paid on imported supplies.