New Delhi, Dec. 23: The commerce ministry has warned exporters that there could be a rollback of some sops following signs of recovery.
Rahul Khullar, the commerce secretary, today said the finance ministry might target exporters in its attempt to control the fiscal deficit.
“My friends in the North Block (finance ministry) are having a hard time fixing the budgetary hole. When they get around to fill in that hole...they are going to start drawing back the stuff...easy target are exporters,” he said. Exports grew 18.2 per cent in November compared with the corresponding month last year, after contracting for 13 months.
He said there was no point in giving subsidies if these could not be sustained. “Don’t give subsidy or incentives if you cannot sustain (it),” he said. While the government offered a stimulus package to create demand, the move widened its fiscal deficit.
In their response to Khullar, exporters said it was too early to pull the plug on the stimulus.
“Decision should not be taken on a month’s data. No one knows what the trend will be in 2010. There is a strong case for the government to not only continue with the existing sops but also give more incentives to exporters who have been badly hit by recession,” A. Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said.
Source : telegraphindia.com