RoSCTL Scheme

The Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has announced Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) scheme to improve the exports especially the textiles which will be expanded to other sectors as well. The GOI has come up with the revised guidelines with easy compliance like the ANF-4R Form (Aayat Niryat Form) where the procedures to avail the scheme is streamlined. This article will explain RoSCTL scheme in detail.

Background

The Ministry of Commerce introduced the RoSCTL scheme on 7th March 2019 for better compliance with WTO guidelines, and the old RoSL (Rebate of State Levies) scheme was discontinued. The RoSCTL Scheme is currently applicable only for exporters of apparel and made-ups where the exporters will be reimbursed the State Taxes and Levies, Central Taxes and Levies in the form of duty credit scrips issued by the DGFT, for all exports made on or after 1st April 2019. For exports done before 6th March 2019 and for exports done between 6th March 2019 and 31st March 2019, the Department of Revenue will give different rebates based on old RoSL scheme.

Updated Procedure

The latest notification has made some changes in the procedures to apply for RoSCTL scheme and other Ad-hoc Incentives under RoSCTL. There is also a minor change made in the Recovery Mechanism regarding a refund of the excess claim.

Changes Made

Exporters can apply for Additional Ad-hoc Incentives under the RoSCTL Scheme that are also declared in Gazette Notification periodically. While applying online, it is necessary to make separate online applications for:

Exports with Let export date between 7th March2019 and 31st December 2019
Exports with Let export date on or after 1st January 2020

Changes in the DGFT processing of online applications are provided below:

Old System	New System
Not Available	For every shipping bill applied which is between 7th March 2019 and 31st December 2019, the DGFT online system will electronically populate the entitlement including the Ad-hoc incentives given additionally and reduce the MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) where it has been granted already.
After system-based approval, scrips will be issued by RAs but no EDI Shipping Bill details will be cross-verified.	RAs will scrutinize 2% of applications under a new Risk Management System on a weekly basis. The applications to be reviewed will be randomly generated by the DGFT online system.
The Scrip will be delivered by hand or by post, as per the option selected by the applicant online.	Once the system approves the final entitlement, the RAs will issue the scrips in paperless mode (electronically)
The application needs to be filed within one year of the Let Export Date. The Scheme is valid for exports made up to 31st March 2020 only.	30th June 2020 is the last date for filing of the application for Duty Credit Scrips for shipping bills with LEO dates between 7th March 2019 and 31st December 2019. For shipping bills with LEO date on or after 1st January 2020, the deadline for filing is one year from the date of LEO. The Scheme is also valid for all textile exports made on or after 1st January 2020.

Changes in the Recovery Mechanism is as follows:

Old System	New System
Not applicable	The eligible amount issued is adjusted for MEIS or otherwise when checking if recovery needs to be made.

Procedure to apply for RoSCTL

The following are the procedures detailed in the latest notification to apply for RoSCTL by the exporter:

File an online application in the DGFT website http://dgft.gov.inusing revised ANF-4R form.
Link the relevant shipping bills online (maximum of 50 shipping bills in a single application)
- Note: The exporter should make separate online applications for:
  - Exports with Let export date between 7th March2019 and 31st December 2019
  - Exports with Let export date on or after 1st January2020
- For Split Scrips facility, provisions detailed in para 3.09 of HBP shall apply.
- Jurisdictional RA (Regional Authority) to be chosen as per para 3.06 (b) of HBP; but the restriction or limitation of maintaining the same RA for all applications in the Financial Year as per para 3.06 (a) of HBP has been removed.
- Choose the Port of Registration for RoSCTL Scrips. This is different for shipments made from EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) ports and non-EDI ports. Please note:
  - Shipments from EDI Ports and Non-EDI Ports need to be in separate applications.
  - For EDI enabled ports: The applicant can choose the port of registration from any one of the ports from where export is made.
  - For exports from non-EDI port: Separate application shall be filed for each non-EDI port the port of registration. The port shall be the relevant non-EDI port of exports.
- For every shipping bill applied, that is between 7th March2019 and 31st December 2019, the DGFT online system will electronically populate the entitlement. This entitlement will include the Ad-hoc incentives given additionally and reduce the MEIS (Merchandise Exports from India Scheme) where it has been granted already.
- Once the system approves the final entitlement, the RAs will issue the scrips electronically (paper less mode)
- Registration of Duty credit scrip has to be done at the port mentioned on the scrip, before duty credit can be used. After registration at the EDI port, scrip can be used at any EDI port for import and at any manual port under Telegraphic Release Advise (TRA) procedure.
- In case port of registration is a manual port (non-EDI), TRA is required for imports at any other port.
- Duty Credit Scrips are valid for 2 years (24 months) from the date they are issued. They should be valid on the date when debit of duty is made.
- 30th June 2020 is the last date for filing of application for Duty Credit Scrips for shipping bills with LEO dates between 7th March 2019 and 31st December. For shipping bills with LEO date on or after 1st January 2020, the deadline for filing will be 12 months or 1 year from the date of LEO. No provision for Late Cut under RoSCTL.

Except exporters who are in the Denied Entity List of the DGFT, all other exporters can claim under RoSCTL.

Recovery Mechanism

The following are the conditions laid down under the Recovery Mechanism:

For Post Issue Scrutiny and Recovery purpose, every exporter has to maintain a record of shipping bills and all export-related documents for three years, from the date the Scrip was issued.
In cases where more than the eligible amount has been issued and is noted by the RA, the exporter will have to refund the excess claim with interest as per para 3.19 of FTP (Foreign Trade Policy). If the exporter fails to refund or does not respond to the message from the RA even after 1 month (30 days), then action can be initiated by the RA as per FT (D&R Act), 1992 and Rules.

Revised ANF 4R Form

Changes made to ANF 4R Form are provided in the below table:

Area	Old Form	New Form
Guidelines for Applicants	NA	Instructed to read the declarations in ANF 4R. Informed that separate applications need to made based on Let Export date for different periods as mentioned above in this article. Informed that Auto Calculation of entitlement with adjustments for MEIS will be done.
Declarations/Undertaking	NA	New declaration agreeing to suitable adjustments made for MEIS benefits already taken. New Undertaking to refund the undue or excess RoSCTL amount in cash with interest.
Input Fields	No Change

Details of ANF 4R Form

Part A

Here, the Applicant Details need to be provided, like IEC (Importer Exporter Code) number, Name, Address, Telephone number, and Email ID.

Part B

Here, the Application Details need to be provided like Export Licensing Year, Date of Filing and Port of Export for the application.

Shipping bill details – The details of one shipping bill at a time should be fed. The online repository will have a list of eligible shipping bills. For EDI shipping bills, there is no need to enter details.
Specify the number of Split certificates required.
Port of Registration (should be one of the ports from which exports has taken place)
After entering all the details, Declaration or Undertaking box should be ticked and Digital Signature to be submitted digitally.

Adjustment for MEIS based excess claim

For exports with Let export date between 7th March 2019 and 31st December 2019 that are related to apparel and made-ups, the excess claims that were paid to exporters under the MEIS will be adjusted against RoSCTL and the recoveries will be made where due. The latest notifications can be accessed below:

rosctl-latest-amendment

rosctl-gazette

Tags: RoSCTL Scheme Textiles