New FTP must enable seamless export mechanism: India SME Forum President

India needs a short and sweet foreign trade policy to facilitate seamless export mechanism in the country and aid the post-pandemic recovery of the MSME sector , India SME Forum President Vinod Kumar said during a panel discussion on “FTP priorities for the MSME Sector.

“We have a 2600 page Foreign Trade policy. So, if an entrepreneur wants to get into exports, he needs to browse through maybe 3000 odd pages. In the current era, if we are looking at enabling people, we need to have a short and sweet policy that’s easier for an entrepreneur to understand so that he immediately moves on to the next step to expedite the entire process. We should not have a policy that prevents a person from getting into b2c markets.”

Kumar highlighted that the B2C exporters are suffering in absence of guiding principle for online sellers and stressed the need for a level playing field for online sellers.

“If an entrepreneur want to export he has to go through more than 30 different formats. He has to go through certifications; he is needed to be a part of a Export Promotion Council and faces many other issues,” he said.

“We must avoid creating a situation where we are making life difficult for the exporter? Especially when the exporter is going to go out and bring in a very crucial foreign exchange and also create jobs?, He asked

I can tell you even without a foreign trade policy, there are ecommerce exports that are already happening in the b2c space. But the fact is, it is difficult because there are no guiding principles. There are issues that exporters are having with okay what why are you sending this product is easier to import and export.

Kumar pointed out that the budget 2020 is focussed on bridging the massive industrial gap between rural and the urban India.

“Almost 58% of MSMEs are in rural areas while 42% are in urban areas. And the SMEs in rural areas are lagging behind. So, there is lot of impetus on bridging this gap by enabling connectivity, building logistic parks and industrial infrastructure.”

“Another key point that the government has talked about is that they’ve been trying to take customs completely online. The finance minister has said there’ll be complete reinvention of the procedures through infusion of technology and when we will have a faceless customs, it would be big booster. Many MSMEs do not have the wherewithal to follow up and push files and papers. And this is going to be the single biggest support for MSMEs both from the rural and the urban space, He added.