Relaxations to MEIS and SEIS Scheme
Relaxations to MEIS and SEIS Scheme
Recently, vide the Public Notice No. 08/2015-2020 dated 1st June 2020, the Director General of Foreign Trade undertook several amendments in the Handbook of Procedure 2015-2020, relaxing the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme and Service Exports from India Scheme.
Relaxation is provided in terms of extending the validity of Duty Credit Scrips and relaxing the late cut provisions. The relaxation covered by the referred public notice is taken up and explained in the current article.
Extension of validity of ‘Duty Credit Scrips’
Basically, under Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, the Government of India has introduced two export incentive schemes, namely-
- Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS); and
- Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS).
After appropriate application under MEIS and SEIS, the eligible exporter will be rewarded ‘Duty Credit Scrips.’ As per para 3.13 of the Hand Book of Procedures 2015-2020, such Duty Credit Scrips shall be valid for 24 months from the date of issuance.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, as a relief measure, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, vide Public Notice No. 08/2015-2020 dated 1st June 2020, has extended the validity period of specific ‘Duty Credit Scrips.’ It is announced that ‘Duty Credit Scrips’ issued between 1st March 2018 and 30th June 2018 shall be valid till 30th September 2020.
Relaxation in the Late Cut Provisions
As per para 9.02 of the Hand Book of Procedures 2015-2020, the application for MEIS and SEIS can be filed even after the expiry of the date of submission after imposing the following late cut charges –
| Delay in the submission of the application | Applicable Late Cut |
| Within six months from the last date of submission of the application. | 2% of the entitlement |
| After six months from the last date of submission of the application, but within one year. | 5% of the entitlement |
| After one year from the last date of submission of the application, but within a period of two year. | 10% of the entitlement |
Vide the Public Notice No. 08/2015-2020 dated 1st June 2020, the relaxation to the above late cut provisions is provided as under-
Relaxation in late cut provisions applicable to MEIS application
The period from 1st March 2020 to 30th June 2020 shall not be counted/ considered for submitting the MEIS application with the late cut. Accordingly, the last date of submitting the MEIS application shall be redetermined.
The above relaxation is available only to the MEIS application attracting late cut as on 1st March 2020.
Relaxation in late cut provisions applicable to SEIS application
| Particulars | Relaxation |
| Relaxation to SEIS application for services rendered in the Financial Year 2016-2017 | The late date of filing SEIS application with 10% late cut has been extended up to 30th June 2020. |
| Relaxation to SEIS application for services rendered in the Financial Year 2017-2018 |
The due date of filing SEIS application with 5% late cut has been extended up to 30th June 2020. After that, the SEIS application with 10% late cut can be filed till 31st March 2021. |
Conclusion
The above relief, recently announced by the Government, is undoubtedly a welcome step for the exporters. It will push-up the foreign trade and eventually boost the economy to get back on track after getting totally devasted by the Coronavirus Epidemic.