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Industry heads applaud Exim policy

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW DELHI: After the Union Budget 03-04, which was lukewarm to the IT and Telecom sector at its best, the Amended Exim policy for 2002-2007, part of the five year Exim Policy announced by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Arun Jaitley's predecessor Murasoli Maran, has finally given IT and Telecom industry, especially the hardware sector a cause to celebrate.



Vinnie Mehta — Executive Director — MAIT



Rating — 8.5 / 10



"I am very happy with the Policy. Permitting ITA-1 to be sold unhindered in the DTA and also DTA sales of such items being considered towards fulfillment of NFEP criteria will help the hardware industry build global scales and harness the associated economies. However, it is essential that the sector be allowed concessional access — at 50% of the existing rate of duty into the DTA."



Focus on simplification of procedures for exports & imports, and implementation of EDI across all ports and bringing the transaction time down to international levels will help the IT industry significantly as the rate of obsolescence in this industry is considerably higher than the others.



Navin Kohli- vice chairman — ESC



Rating — 7.5/10



An excellent policy at the macro-level. But whether the fine print will do justification to the intended good is something one has to watch out for. But there should have been some more benefits.



Kiran Karnik- President - Nasscom



Rating — 8.5/10



It is difficult to rate the policy as it has very little to do with software. Generally speaking would give it a 8.5 out of 10. However it is heartening to note that the Exim policy has recognized the contribution of software exports as it continues to increase its share in total exports from India. (While total export growth rate in the period April 2002 to February 2003 was 18.8% in rupee terms, the software sector has grown by 28% in rupee terms in the same period).



The new policy has taken a major positive step by introducing a scheme for the promotion of exports of services and also does away with procedural deterrents, which were hampering Indian software companies conducting work in cutting edge areas such as embedded software. The removal of procedures for the import and re-export of hardware with regard to embedded software for testing and development is a positive step that will promote software exports in this area.



N.K. Goyal _President — TEMA



Rating — 9.5 /10



This Policy will definitely increase investment in the telecom equipment manufacturing sector. I would not want to project a figure or a percentage hike in investments at the moment though. The amendment on the EHTP front means that the sector will now be privy to a host of incentives it was doing without previously.



Somnath Chatterjee — Secretary General — ELCINA



Rating — 8/10



The good news is surely on the 217 ITA product front. The fact that the government is giving a 50 per cent discount on online applications of forms is also definitely a incentive and a feel-good factor. We have no problems competing with foreign counterparts, but what ought to have been taken into account was the disability factors one inevitably encounters in domestic manufacturing.



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