Govt collects district-wise export data to gauge local capacity

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has initiated collating district-wise data or origin of export goods, in deference to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s emphasis on such a break-up of data, in her Budget speech this month.

The additional information from the export declarations will provide a key statistical input to policymakers on the importance of each district for export and will help in aligning the policies to enhance local capacity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for development of districts into data hubs and district-wise data on exports will help in pursuing this objective.

The export declarations would also include declarations made by exporters intending to avail India’s Free and Preferential Trade Agreements (FTAs/PTAs) to trade with partner countries. This would provide critical data on the gains being made by Indian exporters under FTAs/PTAs and help the government align India’s foreign trade policy in the nation’s best interests, said a statement issued by the Union Ministry of Finance on Monday (February 17).

CBIC has now made it mandatory that every GST (Goods and Service Tax)-registered importer and exporter must declare their GSTIN (Goods and Service Tax Identification Number) on the import and export declarations. Not only will this help the taxpayers to claim the Input Tax Credit and IGST (Integrated GST) Refunds, it would also help in combating frauds.

The above initiatives of the CBIC will help policy makers take data-driven decisions.