Tobacco Exporters Urge Government for RoDTEP Inclusion to Boost Exports

Tobacco exporters have urged the government to include them in the RoDTEP scheme to enhance their export capabilities. They highlighted issues such as illicit sales and unauthorized production of chewing tobacco, seeking government support. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal assured efforts to address the concerns and improve farmers' conditions.

Tobacco exporters are calling on the government to extend the duty refund scheme RoDTEP to their sector to spur outbound shipments.

During a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in Hyderabad on June 29, traders pointed out that tobacco exporters currently lack any export incentives.

They urged the government to include them under the RoDTEP scheme, according to a ministry statement.

The exporters also sought measures to curb unauthorized production and use of chewing tobacco in India, which impacts government revenue.

The traders flagged an uptick in illicit cigarette sales as well.

The RoDTEP scheme offers refunds on taxes, duties, and levies incurred during the export process, which are otherwise non-reimbursable at the state, center, or local levels.

Goyal noted in the meeting that unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco products saw record export values of Rs 12,005.80 crore (USD 1.5 billion).

Farmers brought up issues like labor shortages, lack of farm mechanization support, high costs for potash fertilizer, penalties on excess production, and rising fuel costs, seeking aid from the government.

Goyal promised to address the concerns of tobacco farmers and the industry.

He committed to efforts aimed at waiving penalties on excess tobacco produced this year and extending registration validity from one to three years for all tobacco farmers in the upcoming season.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)