SEIS Service Exports from India Scheme

Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)

Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) under Indian Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 (FTP 2015-20) is one of the two schemes introduced in Foreign Trade Policy of India 2015-20, as a part of Exports from India Scheme. (The other scheme is Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS))

Enquire about SEIS

Nature of Rewards

Duty Credit Scrips shall be granted as rewards under Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS). The Duty Credit Scrips and goods imported / domestically procured against them shall be freely transferable. The Duty Credit Scrips can be used for the following requirements:

Payment of Customs Duties

Payment of Customs Duties for import of inputs or goods, except items listed in Appendix 3A.

Payment of excise duties

Payment of excise duties on the domestic procurement of inputs or goods, including capital goods as per DOR notification.

Payment of service tax

Payment of service tax on the procurement of services as per DOR notification.

Payment of Customs Duty

Payment of Customs Duty and fee as per paragraph 3.18 of this Policy.

Background of the scheme

Service Exports from India Scheme(SIES) has been introduced through the latest Foreign Trade Policy(FTP) 2015-2020 as a tool to encourage export of notified services from India.
It replaces the Served from India Scheme(SFIS) that was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009.
The SFIS scheme was available only for the Indian Companies, while the SEIS scheme can be availed by all the companies in India which are exporting services.
The SEIS scheme has expanded the scope of services for which the benefits were available under the SFIS scheme
SFIS benefits were not available to SEZ units, whereas under the new FTP, SEIS benefits would be extended to SEZ units as well.
SIES provides rewards in the form of Duty Credit Scrip to the eligible service providers which is calculated as specific parentage (in the range of 3% to 5% ) of Net Foreign Earnings of the eligible service provider.
The reward scheme has come into force from 1st April, 2015 i.e., the rewards under SEIS shall be admissible for services rendered on or after 01.04.2015.
SEIS rewards are available to service exporters in addition to the rebate of input service tax as per Notification No. 39/2012 dated 20th June’2012 under Rule 6A(2) of Service Tax Rules,1994.

Eligibility Criteria’s:

Government has notified certain services which are eligible for SEIS benefits. These services has been listed in Appendix 3D of FTP.

All type of Service Providers (i.e. Companies, Partnership, Proprietorship) providing notified services as per only two specified mode (out of four modes) will be eligible for SEIS.

Such Service Providers should have following minimum net free foreign exchange earnings in preceding financial year:

US$10,000 : Individual Service Providers & Sole Proprietorship .

US$15,000 : Others

Payment in Indian Rupees for service charges earned on specified services, shall be treated as receipt in deemed foreign exchange as per guidelines of Reserve Bank of India. The list of such services is indicated in Appendix 3E

Net Foreign exchange earnings for the scheme are defined as under:

Net Foreign Exchange = Gross Earnings of Foreign Exchange minus Total expenses / payment / remittances of Foreign Exchange by the IEC holder, relating to service sector in the Financial year.

Foreign exchange remittances , other than those earned for rendering of notified services, would not be counted for entitlement. Thus, other sources of foreign exchange earnings such as equity or debt participation, donations, receipts of repayment of loans etc. and other inflow of foreign exchange , unrelated to rendering of service, would be ineligible.

Further, Service Provider must also have an active Importer Exporter Code(IEC) at the time of rendering the services, for which the rewards are being claimed.

Duty Credit Scrip

Service Providers of eligible services shall be entitled to Duty Credit Scrip at notified rates(as given in Appendix 3D of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020) on the net foreign exchange earned.
The duty credit scrip can be utilized for:
Custom duties for import of inputs or goods except the notified items.
Excise duties on procurement of input and capital goods.
Service tax on procurement of services.
Custom duty in case of default in fulfillment of Export obligation & payment of value shortfall in Export obligation.
Reimbursement of duties on imported inputs under schemes such as The Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, The Duty Free Import Authorization Scheme and The Advance Authorization Scheme.
For payment of composition fee or Application fee under the FTP.
The reward issued as scrip would be freely usable for all goods and service tax debits on procurement of goods/services.
The Duty Credit Scrip under SEIS is freely transferable i.e.,an exporter can transfer the scrip he obtained, to any other person.
The rates of reward are in the range of 3 to 5 percent of the net foreign exchange earned depending upon the category/ nature of services.
The scrip so rewarded under this scheme shall be valid for a period of 18 months from the date of its issue.
An application for obtaining Duty Credit Scrip shall be filed within a period of 12 months from the relevant financial year of claim period. Such application is filed in Form ANF 3B using digital signature.

How we can help you?

Determination of eligibility for the benefit under this scheme
This is the most important part of this scheme. Any mistake at this stage will render all the efforts futile. We’ll understand your services in detail and will arrive at the eligibility criteria including the rate at which duty credit scrip will be issued. If there is any shortcoming in your eligibility criteria which can be migrated, we’ll advise you on that also.
Preparation of application with complete paperwork
Our services is not limited to consultation part only. Our team of experts will prepare the application for availing this benefit completely as per the required guidelines so that there is no back and forth at the time of review of application by the concerned department.
Co-ordination with Department to get the Duty Credit Scrip issued
Once the application is filed, it would require regular co-ordination with the concerned department to expedite the matter.
Help in selling the Duty Credit Scrip if the exporter doesn’t want to use it
In case, you are not able to utilize the full or part of the duty credit scrip, we’ll help you to sell it to a potential buyer in the market which will convert the benefits in free funds.

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To see how Kelular Consulting can help you, get in touch with us at [email protected]

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