Exporters of agriculture and processed food will get RoDTEP benefits at the original rates — ranging between 0.3 per cent to 3.9 per cent of the export value
A day after slashing benefits for exporters under the popular Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme by half, the government, on Tuesday, notified that exports of agricultural and food products will not be subject to the reduced rates and value caps.
Exporters of non-agricultural goods, however, continued pressing for a review of the government notification issued on Monday restricting RoDTEP benefits (a remission of embedded taxes paid on inputs) to 50 per cent of the notified rates.
They argued that reducing the benefit would serve a huge blow to exports by increasing costs and reducing competitiveness in an uncertain global market.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), on Tuesday, issued a corrigendum to the previous day’s notification, wherein it was clarified that the reduced rates were not applicable to agriculture and processed food exports.
“..the Central government hereby notifies that the reduced rates and value caps notified for the RoDTEP scheme..would not be applicable to the export falling under ITC HS Chapter 0l to 24. All other provisions of the said notification shall remain unchanged,” the corrigendum noted.
This would mean that while exporters of agriculture and processed food (covered in chapter 1-24) will get RoDTEP benefits at the original rates (ranging between 0.3 per cent to 3.9 per cent of the export value), all other exporters availing the scheme would have their benefits halved, as notified on Monday.
Shocking decision
“The decision has come as a bolt from the blue and is a real shock, as it is the last thing the exporting community was expecting amid the continuing global uncertainty, which shows no signs of letting up,” Confederation of Indian Textile Industry Chairman Ashwin Chandran said.
“Given the steadfast commitment of the government to promote exports, we remain hopeful that the decision would be re-examined since exporters had booked orders keeping the RoDTEP scheme mechanisms in mind,” he added.
RoDTEP is not an export subsidy but a refund of embedded taxes and levies paid during production—such as State taxes on fuel, electricity duties and mandi charges—that are not otherwise rebated, pointed out Ajay Srivastava from research body GTRI.
“WTO rules permit such remission because it merely neutralises domestic taxes on exports. Cutting these rates therefore raises exporters’ costs at a time when India’s shipments are already facing weak global demand, supply disruptions and rising compliance burdens, eroding competitiveness in price-sensitive markets,” he said.
Published on February 24, 2026