SIL helps exporters to price their products competitively, said EEPC chairman P K Shah. "If imports against SIL and transferred advance licenses are burdened with such levy, the competitive edge of Indian exporters will be eroded," added Shah.

About DEPB credit being granted on a transferable basis only if the exporter produces bank realisation certificate to the effect that export sale proceeds have already been repatriated to India, Shah said such a condition will severely affect cash flow of engineering goods exporters who have to grant credit to importers in line with the practice adopted the world over.

He urged the government to do away with this decision so that export operations are carried out smoothly.

Shah also drew attention to the limitationsto the export promotion capital goods (EPCG) scheme in spite of the threshold limit for zero duty import being lowered to Rs 1 crore. It was not a equitable decision as the facility could be availed only by a few selected sectors, Shah added.

In the engineering industry, nearly 60 per cent of the exports consist of production generated in the small scale sector. As long as the export obligation norms, prescribed under the Exim Policy against grant of EPCG licenses, are fulfilled, the reduced threshold of Rs 1 crore should equally apply to all exporting sectors, Shah pleaded. Referring to the recent RBI decision to provide refinance facility to banks at four per cent and directive to offer it for export finance at 6.5 per cent, Shah said it was not going to impact export growth immediately. Finance at 6.5 per cent rate of interest will be available only on export turnover in excess of export performance levels achieved during the fiscal 1997-98.