Published
Jun 5, 2018
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Tirupur apparel exporters struggle as asked for old customs records

Published
Jun 5, 2018

 ​Apparel exporters in the Tirupur cluster are contesting an order to submit their financial records dating back to 2004 to customs officials in the VO Chidambaranar Port in Tuticorin.


Apparel exporters in the Tirupur cluster have been directed to submit their financial records dating back to 2004 - DR


Records detailing apparel exports since 2004 have been demanded by customs officials in the region as financial systems are in the process of being computerised. However, for apparel export businesses that previously made their records without computers, this is proving a challenge.

Customs officials can cancel the Importers Exporters (IE) Code of a business if it fails to comply which has been met with protest from businesses who argue that it is impractical for businesses to keep paper records dating back so far.

The reason that the records are being demanded is that the Reserve Bank of India automated the system in 2014 and has now extended the deadline for submitting export records dated up until 2015 to December 2018. The data collected will be input into the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS). Apparel exporters need to prove that they are not involved in fraud to take extra money from the government’s duty drawback scheme made to encourage exports.

The Tirupur cluster is one of the main garment export areas in India and in the last financial year, Rs 23,000 crore ($3.5 billion) of knitwear exports alone was recorded. The government is working to increase garment production and exports as part of the “Make in India” campaign but is trying to balance this with a need to organise the market and increasingly digitalise it.


 

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