The Hindu Business Line : 3-member panel to decide duty drawback rates

Basis of computation
The all-industry rate is usually fixed as a percentage of free-on-board price of export products
The drawback rates are worked out and notified every year after taking into account budgetary changes in the duty structure

K.R. Srivats

New Delhi, Aug. 14 The Finance Ministry has constituted a three-member committee for the formulation of all industry rates of duty drawback for 2009-10.

The three-member committee comprises Mr Saumitra Chaudhuri, Planning Commission Member, Mr S.B. Mohapatra, a former Secretary to the Government of India, and Mr T.R. Rustagi, a former Chief Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs.

Under the duty drawback scheme administered by the Revenue Department, the customs and central excise duty paid on inputs and service tax paid on input services used in the manufacture of export goods are refunded to the exporters in the form of drawback.

The all-industry rate is usually fixed as a percentage of free-on-board price of export products.

Meanwhile, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has asked the trade associations and export promotion councils to provide a comprehensive cost and consumption data regarding the various inputs/input services that are used in the manufacture of export products.

This information has to be furnished in the prescribed proforma by August 21, the CBEC has said.

Data pertaining to at least five units have to be submitted for each export product. Also, the CBEC has said that the units should be selected from among the small, medium as well as large exporters so that the data is truly representative.

The All-Industry drawback rates are worked out and notified every year after taking into account budgetary changes in the duty structure and other relevant facts. The trade associations and export promotion councils have also been asked to highlight the anomalies, if any, in the existing drawback schedule both with reference to description of the goods or the rates.

Even for the previous year (2008-09), the same three-member committee was constituted by the CBEC.