To help exporters navigate the elevated freight costs and war-related trade risks arising from disruptions in the Gulf and the wider West Asia maritime corridor, the government has extended the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) for six months till September 30.
The scheme that reimburses taxes, duties and levies at the central, state and local level which are currently not being refunded under any other mechanism but are incurred by the exporters in the process of manufacture and distribution of exported products had expired on March 31.
A major component of such taxes includes electricity duty and VAT on fuels used in the transportation and distribution of export products.
The scheme covers exports of 10.780 products from the units in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), Export Oriented Units (EoU), Advance Authorisations (AA) holders and units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will be eligible for the scheme.
Refunds usually range from from 0.3% to 3.9% of the value of exported products. They are given in the form of transferable duty credit scrip which can be used to pay import duties or sold in the market by exporters.
The scheme is operated within a budgetary framework which means that the benefits should be managed within the allocated budget.
For 2026-27 the allocation for the scheme is Rs 15,728 crore, of which Rs 5,346 crore is for clearing past dues. So effectively just around Rs 10,382 crore is available next year for benefits. For 2025-26 Rs 19,080 crore was earmarked for the scheme in the revised estimates of which Rs 991 crore is for paying the arrears.
Apparel and Garments and Made-ups are outside the RoDTEP and are covered by the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) Scheme.
RoDTEP replaced the Merchandise Exports from India scheme which along with other export promotion schemes were successfully challenged at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the US
RoDTEP has seen many extensions and modifications since it was first introduced. The current period of extension is expiring on March 31, 2026. Cumulatively, from 1st April 2021 till 31st December 2025, the benefit of Rs. 77,262.60 crore has been granted to exporters under the RoDTEP Scheme
TOPICSexportThis article was first uploaded on April one, twenty twenty-six, at forty-eight minutes past eight in the night.