Our Bureau The Centre has promised to refund the entire pending claims of textile exporters under GST and IGST (Integrated GST) in 15-20 days.

In a meeting held recently with the Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) and other associations, Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal agreed to clear the dues arising out of ROSL (Refund of State Levies) of textile exporters in 15 days by providing the required funds. He also said all pending claims under GST and IGST will be refunded in 15-20 days.

Further, Goyal promised to consider the Pillai committee recommendations on duty drawback and examine issues of embedded taxes for all textile products.

Review of ROSL rates

The Centre will review ROSL rates for made-ups and look at alternative export promotion schemes in consultation with the Commerce Ministry, said Texprocil Chairman Ujwal R Lahoti in a statement on Tuesday.

Speaking at the meeting, which was also attended by Textile Minister Smriti Irani, Lahoti said cotton textiles exports, which rose 7 per cent to $11 billion last fiscal, can touch $20 billion in five years if the Centre supports the sector. This could include policy measures such as refund of embedded taxes as recognised by the Economic Survey 2017-18, extension of ROSL scheme (which refunds State levies such as VAT on fuel used in transportation and generation of captive power, mandi tax, duty on electricity and stamp duties on export documents), as well as speedy refund of GST, IGST claims.

India is blessed with an end-to-end textile value chain, Lahoti said, adding that a holistic and integrated approach is needed to ensure all the segments in the value chain, such as yarn, fabrics and made-ups, get the tax benefits.

"By ensuring an integrated approach, India can increase its share in world trade in cotton textiles from the present 10 per cent to 15 per cent in five years. This will in turn spur higher investments and employment generation," he added.