Exporters Want Exemptions

Jalandhar: Declaring that the exporters of the state have been very adversely affected due to the rupee gaining strength, AK Kohli, senior vice-president of Punjab Chamber of Small Exporters, has asked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his intervention to pressure the state governments for help and compensation. Due to the increasing rupee and a depreciating dollar, states like Punjab exempted export units from entry tax and house-tax, who were already under huge financial losses. While welcoming Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath''s statement that the states should refund local taxes like VAT and octroi on exports, Punjab Chamber of Small Exporters demanded the Union government should allow the exemptions up to 2010-11 and lower interest rates on export credits. Exporters also demanded that units with up to 100 workers be kept away from the purview of the Factory Act to decrease the huge paper work in the face of the cut-throat competition in the international markets.