Relaxations To Meis And Seis Scheme

Recently, vide the Public Notice No. 08/2015-2020 dated 1

st 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 1

st 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 1

st 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 1

st 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.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Relaxations to MEIS and SEIS Scheme.

MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) and SEIS (Service Exports from India Scheme) are two export incentive schemes introduced by the Government of India under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020. Eligible exporters are rewarded with 'Duty Credit Scrips' under these schemes as incentives for their exports.

'Duty Credit Scrips' are incentives given to eligible exporters under the MEIS and SEIS schemes. These scrips can be used for payment of various duties like Basic Customs Duty, Additional Customs Duty, etc. They are valid for 24 months from the date of issuance as per the Hand Book of Procedures 2015-2020.

As a relief measure due to COVID-19, the validity period of 'Duty Credit Scrips' issued between 1st March 2018 and 30th June 2018 has been extended till 30th September 2020 by the Government of India.

As per the Hand Book of Procedures 2015-2020, late cut charges are applicable for delayed submission of MEIS and SEIS applications. The late cut charges range from 2% to 10% of the entitlement, depending on the duration of delay.

The period from 1st March 2020 to 30th June 2020 will not be counted for submitting the MEIS application with late cut. The last date of submission will be redetermined accordingly. This relaxation is available only for MEIS applications attracting late cut as on 1st March 2020.

For SEIS applications related to services rendered in the Financial Year 2016-2017, the last date of filing with 10% late cut has been extended up to 30th June 2020. For applications related to the Financial Year 2017-2018, the due date of filing with 5% late cut has been extended up to 30th June 2020, and after that, applications can be filed with 10% late cut till 31st March 2021.

These relaxations have been provided as relief measures to exporters due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The extensions and relaxations aim to support foreign trade and boost the economy, which has been severely impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The relaxations will provide exporters with more time to utilize their 'Duty Credit Scrips' and file their MEIS and SEIS applications without incurring high late cut charges. This will help them manage their cash flows better during the challenging times of the pandemic.

The eligibility criteria for availing these relaxations are clearly defined in the Public Notice No. 08/2015-2020 dated 1st June 2020. Exporters need to ensure that their 'Duty Credit Scrips' or applications fall within the specified date ranges mentioned in the notice.

The relaxations are temporary measures announced by the Government of India to support exporters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific validity periods for the relaxations have been mentioned in the Public Notice No. 08/2015-2020 dated 1st June 2020.