(PTI) Government today notified refund of tax paid by exporters on three additional services of general insurance, technical testing and analysis, and inspection and certification -- a move that will provide much- needed respite to businesses hit by an appreciating rupee. The government had last month announced exempting services rendered by ports, road transport and railways from the purview of tax. "Government has issued a notification, extending refund of service tax paid by exporters on additional three taxable services, which are not in the nature of 'input services' but could be linked to export of goods," a Finance Ministry statement said. Exporters would now be refunded the tax they pay on general insurance services, technical testing, analysis agency services, inspection and certification agency services in the process of exporting goods. The measures would partially provide relief to exporters, whose margins have been hit by the rising rupee, which has appreciated to a record high of 39.36 to a dollar, its highest since March 1998. In July, the Finance Ministry had provided a financial package of Rs 1,400 crore to exporters, especially to the textile, handloom, handicraft and other labour-intensive industries, to cushion the impact of rupee appreciation. The notification comes nearly six months after Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath announced the government's intention to exempt exporters from Service Tax in the April supplement of the Annual Foreign Trade Policy
CAclubindia
