Vodafone and Microsoft forge global deal on business services

Vodafone and Microsoft have teamed up to offer a business comms and collaboration package for businesses. Microsoft Online Services is launching in the US today and will hit other markets in the first half of 2009.

Under the agreement Vodafone will offer a single package involving both fixed and mobile voice and data, customer equipment and handsets to both large and small business users.

The services themselves will be hosted by Microsoft and will comprise Microsoft Exchange for email; SharePoint for collaboration; Office Communications for instant messaging and presence; and Live Meeting for web conferencing and videoconferencing.

The offer seems to be designed to appeal to businesses looking to trim costs and rationalise their comms environments by pulling all these capabilities into a single package. As a global player with a presence in all the main developed markets, Vodafone is a natural fit for Microsoft.

The companies say they're going to grow the partnership and the capabilities available from the unified comms package to include Vodafone Voice Services (not yet included) and Virtual PBX capabilities.

Source: http://web20.telecomtv.com

'Exporters to benefit from simple & fast procedures'

The trade facilitation measures or supplement to foreign trade policy announced on Thursday includes a plethora of procedural simplification norms and incentives for the exporting community. Director-general of foreign trade RS Gujral explains the nuances of the measures announced in an interaction with ET. Excerpts:

Could you give us details of the special package of Rs 325 crore for the leather and textiles sector?

The minister will decide the specifics at an appropriate time. It could include allowing exporters market linked focus products (incentive to export specific products to specific markets). The quantum of incentive and the markets for which it will be provided will be decided by the minister. The sectors, which will be included in the scheme, are the ones which have been more severely affected.

How the decision to delink grant of incentive scrips under various reimbursement schemes from realisation of export proceeds will benefit exporters?

Incentive scrips under schemes such as DEPB, focus product and focus market would now be provided immediately on exports without bankers realisation certificate which sometimes used to take 10 months to 18 months. Now, like duty drawback, these scrips would be provided as soon as exports take place. Exporters will now have to give only shipping bills and bankers certificate of export to get the scrips. We will also be stipulating guidelines to be notified separately to prevent misuse.

Are there other relaxations, too, in terms of using the duty-free scrips for imports?

Yes. Earlier, these scrips were allowed to be used for only freely importable items. Now, these can also be used for importing restricted items. The government will continue to monitor imports in order to see whether there is sudden surge and whether there would be any adverse impact on any sectors.

To what extent will the industry be benefited by the extension of export obligation period against advance authorisations by up to 36 months?

This is a major measure for exporters. Earlier, if any extension was allowed beyond 24 months, a composition fee was charged. The fee was 2% for the first six months and 5% for the next months But now, exporters will not have to pay any charges for 36 months.

Could you elaborate on the measure reimbursing additional duty of excise levied on fuel for 100% EOUs?

The government has been reimbursing the duty paid on fuel by 100% EOUs. The additional duty was not being reimbursed. It has now been decided that the additional duty, too, would be reimbursed.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

India - Textile co`s call for duty drawback, upset with Trade policy

26 Feb, 2009 - India
In the interim trade policy, the custom duty under Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme (EPCG) was cut to 3% as compared to 5%. Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) Scheme for exporters was extended to December.

According to the industry, the textile sector is going through its own ‘S’ curve at this juncture. Most of the textile companies are US based and Europe based where there is a tremendous slowdown in demand. Therefore, the industry expected some more stimulus packages from the government to see a revival and protect a lot of job losses.

Industry expected more

Rajendra Hinduja, ED, Gokaldas Exports, said the foreign trade policy is pretty lukewarm as there is nothing much in it for the apparel sector. He said the company was expecting an increase of duty drawbacks and interest subvention. "This has not found place in the policy. If that doesn't come through now in these difficult days, then there would definitely be more job losses of nearly 5-7 lakh in the next 2-3 months."

Akhil Jindal, Director, Welspun India expected a much better help from the Centre in the textile segment. “We are looking at a situation where there are tremendous pressures building up on all counts. Internationally, there is a demand compression. Costs are going up. So, I would have recommended a much more liberal policy in terms of the duty drawback, which could have probably taken our earnings to a higher level.”

Jindal is of the view that the Commerce Minister was very bullish on USD 200 billion export turnover by 2010 and feels that this remains a challenging number. This is very much required for us to maintain and sustain the GDP growth of around 6-7%, he added.

State of textile industry

Hinduja said orders are being snatched by neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam. "We are losing out on terms of 4-5% in difference in price and that's the reason we were requesting the Finance Minister to give us 3-4% increase in the drawback. China has increased its drawback from 12% to 17%, Bangladesh from 11% to 15%, and Vietnam up to 15%. We are getting 8.5%."

The apparel industry, he said, has done USD 9.7 billion in exports in 2007-08. "But this year we may not cross USD 8.5 billion, which is an about 12-13% dip."

On custom duty reduction

Jindal believes that the reduction in custom duty from 5% to 3% under the EPCG scheme will not have any material implications going forward because not many people in this market are looking to really get the machinery in the investment mode. “Most of the companies are just consolidated on the investment that they have made in the past. So to that extent this is a welcome change. But this is not going to affect profitability in the short run. Over the long to medium-term, this might be helpful. But we need steroids at this juncture not vitamins. So to that extent this is not going to help immediately.”

What the industry needs?

Akhil Jindal lists out three things which he expected. “The industry needs a better drawback scheme because at one point in time there was a drawback which was around 11%, and then it was brought down to around 4% and then it was hovering around 4%. So there is a 6-7% possibility on the drawback itself. The second thing that probably will help the industry is bringing the input costs down. Cotton, chemicals and other things that are very heavily involved in textile making, they could bring the cost of production down and make the textile industry very competitive vis-à-vis Bangladesh, Pakistan and China. The third is providing effective TUF loans or Technology Upgradation Fund loans, which can certainly help in terms of deferment of cash flows.”

Source: http://yarnsandfibers.com/

Indian Leather, Textile Sector Exports To Get Rs.325 Cr. Relief Package

Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry on Thursday announced a special package of Rs.325 crore for the leather and textile export sectors, immediate settlement of duty credit scrips under DEPB scheme and an extension of such scrips for the import of even restricted items after the payment of duty.

Announcing the final stimulus to the slowdown-hit export sector, the minister said the special package for the twin sectors would be given for exports to be undertaken from April 1 this year.

Highlights

The recognition slab for premier trading houses based on export turnaround has been reduced to Rs.7,500 crore from Rs.10,000 crore.

Under the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, where the decline of exports of the products was more than 5%, the export obligation for all exporters of those products will be reduced proportionately. This has been extended for the fiscal year 2010, for exports made during 2008-09, while the export obligation period against advance authorizations has been extended up to 36 months from the current 24 months.

For import of precious metals, STCL Ltd., Diamond India Ltd., MSTC Ltd., Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and Star Trading House, have been added as nominated agencies. Import restrictions on worked corals have been removed. Authorized persons of gems and jewellery units in export oriented unit or EOU will be allowed personal carriage of gold in primary form up to 10 Kgs. in a financial year, subject to Reserve Bank of India and customs guidelines.

The Minister said the duty credit scrip used for payment of duty only on items that fall under free category is now extended for restricted items as well under Duty Entitlement Pass Book and the duty credit scrip will now be issued immediately for realization of export proceeds. The value cap applicable under DEPB has also been revised to two products.

For advance license issued prior to April 1, 2002, the requirements of modvat/cenvat certificate will be dispensed with in case of customs notification prescribed for payment of countervailing duty.

The procedural formalities for claiming duty drawback refund and refund of terminal excise duty for deemed exports have been further simplified. Kamal Nath said the reimbursement of additional excise duty levied on fuel would also be admissible for EOUs.

In order to boost rural exports, a re-credit of 4% special additional duty of SAD, in case of payment of duty by incentive scheme scrips such as Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana, FPS and FMS, would now be allowed.

The Minister said Bhilwara in Rajasthan for textiles and Surat in Gujarat for diamonds have been recognized as Towns of Export Excellence, so that all the benefits for such clusters of export activity would accrue to them.

In a measure to improve health infrastructure, the export of blood samples is now permitted without license after obtaining 'no objection certificate' from the Director General of Health Services.

Nath announced that a new office of Directorate General of Foreign Trade would be opened at Srinagar to increase the export potential and employment generation. He further added that electronic message transfer facilities for advance authorization and EPCG Scheme established for shipments from electronic date interchange or EDI ports from April 1 this year.

While highlighting the achievement during 2004 to 2008, Kamal Nath said India's exports during the fiscal year 2008 touched $162 billion from $63 billion in 2003-04, registering an average annual growth rate of over 25%. The Minister expects to achieve $175 billion for the fiscal year 2009. As a result of increased economic activity, the Minister said that, there is generation of around 140 lakh jobs in the export sector.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Source: http://www.rttnews.com/

Gems, jewellery shares up on govt moves

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in gem and jewellery exporters rose as much as 6 percent on Friday after the government allowed agencies under the sector to import precious metals and extended tax exemptions and refunds for exporters.

On Thursday, Trade Minister Kamal Nath said Export Promotion Council for Gems and Jewellery, Diamond India Ltd , MSTC Ltd and STCL Ltd are allowed to import precious metals.

"Administratively this makes it a lot easier for people to handle gold imports and so from the operational point of view, it will really help the sector," said Neelesh Hundekari, Principal at consulting firm A.T. Kearney Ltd.

The government also extended tax exemption for 100 percent export oriented units to March 31, 2010 and the tax refund scheme for exporters until December 2009.

At 11.07 a.m., shares in Gitanjali Gems, which had risen as much as 6.63 percent, were up 2.86 percent at 39.55 rupees, while shares in Rajesh Exports were up 2.32 percent at 24.30 rupees, after rising to 25.25 rupees.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/

Gems, jewellery shares up on govt moves

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in gem and jewellery exporters rose as much as 6 percent on Friday after the government allowed agencies under the sector to import precious metals and extended tax exemptions and refunds for exporters.

On Thursday, Trade Minister Kamal Nath said Export Promotion Council for Gems and Jewellery, Diamond India Ltd , MSTC Ltd and STCL Ltd are allowed to import precious metals.

"Administratively this makes it a lot easier for people to handle gold imports and so from the operational point of view, it will really help the sector," said Neelesh Hundekari, Principal at consulting firm A.T. Kearney Ltd.

The government also extended tax exemption for 100 percent export oriented units to March 31, 2010 and the tax refund scheme for exporters until December 2009.

At 11.07 a.m., shares in Gitanjali Gems, which had risen as much as 6.63 percent, were up 2.86 percent at 39.55 rupees, while shares in Rajesh Exports were up 2.32 percent at 24.30 rupees, after rising to 25.25 rupees.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/

Industry, exporters welcome interim foreign trade policy

New Delhi (PTI): India Inc on Thursday welcomed the trade facilitating measures announced in the interim foreign trade policy saying the steps will provide support to the Indian exporters reeling under the global economic slowdown.

"The measures are pragmatic keeping in line with the requirements of the time and will help the exporters in reducing transaction costs and time," Federation of Indian Export Organisations' President A Sakthivel said.

FIEO, the apex exporters body said, measures like rise in the number of nominated agencies, declaring Surat as a town of export excellence and increase in limit of personal carriage of jewellery, would boost the gems and jewellery sector.

However, FIEO asked for simplification of reimbursement procedure for instant refund of service tax.

Industry chamber CII said the announcements made by Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath would go a long way to address the concerns of Indian exporters.

"Announcement of the supplement to the foreign trade policy would go a long way in boosting employment generation in India as the export sector is the second largest employment generator in the country," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/

B2B e-commerce in China hits USD 202 million in Q4 2008

During Q4 2008, online transactions on B2B e-commerce services providers' websites in China have reached USD 202 million in value, according to a consulting company cited by IT news portal digitimes.com.

This is a 6.2 percent increase over the corresponding quarter of 2007 and a 24.8 percent jump on year-over-year basis. Alibaba.com holds the biggest share of the transactions value for the period under review, namely 63.51 percent, followed by B2B media company Global Sources and B2B portal Made-in-China with 7.31 percent and 6.46 percent, respectively. Data has been released by Analysys International.

Source: http://www.thepaypers.com/news/