India overhauls customs duty rules to help exporters and smaller businesses

The Indian government today announced a major change to its customs rules to help small businesses and exporters find it easier to take advantage of tax benefits.

The government overhauled customs rules to put postal exports on par with regular cargo exports; this has made it easier for exporters and small businesses to avail incentives such as duty refund, Reduction of Duty and Duties on Exported Products (RoDTEP) and Reduction of State and Central Taxes and Duties (RoSCTL) schemes.

In a series of notifications issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) allowed electronic export entries for postal items to be treated the same as shipping invoices or export invoices.
The move will benefit exporters who send their goods by post, especially online sellers who face procedural loopholes in claiming tax benefits as many customs benefits are linked to shipping invoices used for cargo exports.

The change, which came into force immediately, also introduced New electronic Postal Export Certificate forms with separate formats for e-commerce exports and other postal exports.