NEED FOR PROCEDURAL FORMALITIES : Procedural formalities prescribed for claiming various export-incentives need timely and proper compliance on the part of exporters. This alone will ensure fuller realisation of export incentives on a regular basis. Delays and cuts in the realisation of export incentives will upset the fund-flow position of the export firm on the one hand, and will render the export effort un remunerative on the other. It is therefore, essential for the exporters to develop a complete understanding about the procedural and documentary formalities for timely preparation and submission of claims of export incentives to the appropriate authorities on a regular basis. It may be desirable to prepare an action plan by the export department of the firm for filing claims of export incentives to different authorities on a planned basis.

Unfortunately, exporters in India are required to approach a number of authorities for realisation of export incentives against each export transaction. The task of the exporters has been rendered further difficult and complicated because of the fact that each incentive disbursement authority has prescribed its own exclusive procedure and documentary requirements for processing claims of export incentives. Thus besides multiplicity of authorities to be approached for realizing claims of export incentives, exporters are also required to follow different procedural and documentary formalities in each case.

Moreover, as per the existing rules, export incentives are to be claimed on post-export basis, i.e., after affecting exports. However, the basic documents required for filing these claims emanate from the process of physical shipment of export cargo. Hence, exporters have to take necessary care and precautions at the time and stage of export-shipment to claim the export incentives. Exporters have to see that the claims of export incentives after the shipment are not adversely affected due to incomplete or inadequate information in the documents supporting the fact of actual shipment of export cargo. This calls for the need for a total plan of action from factory to realisation of incentives against each export transaction.