Fixing new duty drawback rates may take over 3 months

The government has started work on fixing the duty drawback rates for products, which, at the moment, subscribe to benefits under the Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) Scheme.

But commerce ministry sources have told CNBC-TV18's Rituparna Bhuyan that many products may have to live without duty drawback benefits after the DEPB scheme expires on September 30. That's because the committee may take more than three months to finalise the duty drawback rates. In addition, officials also said that many goods meant for exports that subscribe to the DEPB scheme at the moment, may not be entitled to duty drawback benefits, which reimburse exporters of all indirect taxes. Commerce ministry officials also said that the industry is not proactive in giving inputs to the government, which is finalising duty drawback rates for products that use DEPB.