The commerce ministry is planning to double the registration fee for spice exports to boost revenue for the Spices Board and reduce the state-run body?s reliance on government funds for survival, a senior official said Tuesday.
The registration fee for spice exports will be raised to R5,000 from R2,500 and charges for the renewal of registration will be increased to R2,500 from R1,000, said the official. A notification to this effect is expected within a week, he added. At present, a registration is valid for three years and it can also be renewed for a period of three years.
?The raising of fees will help Spices Board garner some more revenue annually. The government is committed to provide funds to the board, but if some alternate revenue model can be explored, it?s good,? said the official.
The government has granted R100 crore to the Spices Board for the fiscal year through march 2012, while the Kerala-based body is seeking R19 crore more.
The board promotes shipments of spices and serves as a link between Indian exporters and foreign buyers. It undertakes activities to ensure quality of exports and provides guidance to farmers on achiving higher crop yields as well.
Spice exports by India, the world?s biggest supplier, rose 26% between April and August from a year earlier to R3,365.20 crore, aided by a sharp depreciation of the rupee, although shipments in volume terms have plunged by 23%, official data showed.
The country exported spices worth R6840.71 crore during in the last fiscal, compared with R5,560.50 crore the previous year, and the shipment volume, too, had risen by around 5%.