PM to visit state again in early May
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit West Bengal again for campaigning early next month.
With sections in the export sector apprehensive about their liquidity taking a hit if inputs needed for exports come under the ambit of the proposed Goods and Service tax, an apex trade body on Thursday suggested that exporters be allowed to pay GST on transactions through e-currency.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations President Ganesh Kumar Gupta suggested that the GST Council should look at providing export refunds through the duty drawback option by expanding it to cover both basic customs duty and Input Tax Credit.
"A section of the export sector is apprehensive that GST will affect their liquidity if inputs required for exports are subject to GST," an FIEO release quoted Gupta as saying.
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Gupta and managing committee members of the FIEO eastern region called on West Bengal Finance and Industry Minister Amit Mitra and deliberated on the opportunities before the state to cash in on the buoyant global marker and emerge as a leader in the industrial front, including in exports.
Mitra underlined that the state's current thrust was on labour intensive sectors like leather, plastics, jute and tea.
Besides, the state was also laying emphasis on advanced technology sectors such as engineering, polymers, steel and chemicals.
Mitra urged the FIEO to conduct studies so as to help the state improve upon its present exports of $8.21 billion in 2016-17.
He also appealed to the FIEO to identify new areas of exports and global markets and suggest means to strengthen traditional sectors of exports through upgradation of skills and technology.
Gupta said West Bengal's huge population and skilled work base was a big plus and his organisation would like to work with the state to identify export centric manufacturing and exploit the opportunity offered by the growing world market, the release said.
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