In the current Goods and Services Tax regime, exports are zero rated to ensure that the goods produced in India for exports are not disadvantaged due to the domestic tax burden and stay competitive internationally.

Further, Under the Foreign Trade Policy, Duty Exemptions Schemes ensure that inputs imported/locally procured for use in the export products are either exempt from duties ab-initio, or the taxes are refunded to the exporters in the form of drawback after exports. Under the current Foreign Trade Policy, there are two duty exemption schemes, namely, Advance Authorization scheme and the Duty Free Import Authorization scheme.

The details of exemptions for last three years under Advance Authorization Scheme and Duty Free Import Authorization Scheme are as under:

	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19
	Number of Authorizations issued	Number of Authorizations issued	Number of Authorizations issued
Advance Authorization Scheme	22853	21505	23042
Duty Free Import Authorization Scheme	581	815	1321

The duty exemptions under the Schemes ensure competitiveness of Indian exports in international markets and are compliant with India’s international commitments.

This information was given by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Zero-rating of exports preserves exporter competitiveness, complemented by duty-exemption schemes refunding input taxes for exported goods. Exports are zero-rated under GST to preserve exporter competitiveness. The Foreign Trade Policy implements two duty exemption mechanisms-the Advance Authorization Scheme and the Duty Free Import Authorization Scheme-which either exempt inputs from duties at import or provide post-export refunds/drawbacks, and are stated to comply with India's international commitments.