In a move likely that is likely to be cheered by the hospitality sector, government today allowed hotels and tour operators to import cars and SUVs under the Served from India Scheme (SFIS).
"I am allowing use of SFIS scrips for import or domestic procurement of motor cars, SUVs, all purpose vehicles for hotel, travel agents, tour operators, companies owning/ operating golf resorts for tourist purposes," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
Announcing the supplementary Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for the fiscal, he said this is being done to encourage export of services, especially in the tourism sector.
The FTP document said the SFIS scrips can be used for payment of import duties.
The service providers are entitled to duty credit scrips under SFIS at the rate of 10 per cent of free foreign exchange earned during a financial year.
However, Sharma said the entitlement would now be calculated on the basis of net free foreign exchange earned (meaning after deducting foreign exchange spent from the total foreign exchange earned during the financial year).