Indian government changes DEPB rules

TYRE exporters in India may have cause for cheer now that the Central Government has allowed fixation of value caps for availing duty entitlement passbook (DEPB) on a per kilogram basis. This is as against the present system, where the Director-General of Foreign Trade fixes uniform value caps for each category. Thus, exporters of truck and bus tyres were eligible to claim 20 per cent DEPB on free-on-board value or the specified value cap of Rs 5,500 per pair (tyre plus tube), whichever was lower.

To overcome the classification problems, the Government now fixed the value caps on a weight basis at Rs 90 per kg for all automobile tyres. There has, however, been no change to the DEPB rate, which has been pegged at 20 per cent. .