The notification of amendment to the export-import (Exim) policy, to be announced next week, is likely to deal more with procedural simplification than sops for exporters. The announcement, scheduled tentatively for January 28, would be made by director-general of foreign trade (DGFT) L. Mansingh instead of Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley, sources said. The long-awaited electronic data interchange (EDI) system will also be officially launched on January 28, by the DGFT. The facility will enable exporters to file all their papers through the internet as the system will recognise digital signatures. Official sources said that the procedural simplification notification to be issued would lead to a cut in operational costs of exporters. The annual Exim policy for 2004-05 which, under ordinary circumstances, would have been announced on March 31, will have to be delayed because of Lok Sabha elections scheduled in April. However, the commerce ministry wants to make some amendments through notification prior to the elections. A five-year Exim policy for 2002-07 is already in place which coincides with the Tenth Plan period. Annual Exim policies are announced every year to make amendments after assessing the export performance and changes in the international market. Exports have not done very well this year compared to the previous fiscal. After clocking a over 15 per cent growth in 2002-03, exports dipped to 8.87 per cent during April-November 2003-04. This is mainly due to an appreciation of the rupee against the dollar and the high base for comparison.
