Export ban on non-basmati rice, wheat to stay for now India

India is not looking to lift the export ban on wheat and non-basmati rice for now, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, has said. The export restrictions on these commodities were put in place a couple of years ago on the onset of high food inflation to ensure domestic availability. “As of now, there is no proposal to rollback the restrictions on exports of commodities including non-basmati rice and wheat. Basmati rice exports will continue to be allowed. An appropriate view will be taken once the monsoons are over,” Mr Sharma told a press conference after unveiling the annual supplement 2010-11 to the foreign trade policy 2009-14. Inflation Mr Sharma also highlighted that the current food price inflation implied that the Government needed to pay close attention to domestic availability. Food price inflation has remained in double digit for several months in a row despite the policymakers' assurances that they would get a handle over the situation and that wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation would come down to 5-6 per cent level by end December this year. SEZ units To a query on tax breaks for special economic zones (SEZs) in the proposed Direct Taxes Code (DTC), Mr Sharma expressed confidence that the concerns of industry would be addressed when the final version of the DTC is sent to Parliament. “I have already discussed this with the Finance Minister and also with the Prime Minister. The Finance Minister is fully sensitive to our concerns and also the apprehensions of the industry and investors,” Mr Sharma said. He assured industry and investors in SEZs and SEZ units that their benefits will be fully protected and policy stability will be ensured when it comes to SEZs that have already been notified and those that will be notified before the DTC comes into force. The Commerce Secretary, Dr Rahul Khullar, later said that the Commerce Ministry was working on a “compromise solution” with the Finance Ministry on the issue of tax breaks for SEZ units in the proposed Direct Taxes Code regime. Mr Sharma said that the financial implications of the export incentives (bonus incentives and add on to focus product schemes) announced on Monday would be about Rs 1,050 crore. The Rs 1,050 crore will not be money voted as demand for grants through Parliament. “What we are doing here is issuing scrips as incentives. This is not in the nature of an expenditure. It is what is called tax expenditure — that is you are foregoing revenue and not actually spending any money. The tax expenditure is done through an executive order,” official sources said.