As Indian exporters navigate rising logistics costs and geopolitical uncertainty, policy continuity has become critical. The government’s decision to extend the RoDTEP scheme, alongside the launch of the RELIEF initiative, signals a calibrated effort to cushion exporters against external shocks while sustaining India’s export competitiveness in a volatile global trade environment.
Launched in 2021, the scheme refunds embedded taxes and duties not covered under GST, helping reduce production costs and improve global competitiveness. It covers 8,555 tariff lines across key sectors and operates through an IT-based system, with benefits issued as transferable e-scrips that enhance liquidity.
A conflict thousands of kilometres away is now rewriting the economics of global trade. The ongoing West Asia crisis has disrupted critical maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz—through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil and gas flows—triggering spikes in energy prices, rerouting of vessels, and weeks-long delays in global shipping cycles.
For India, the impact is immediate and structural. Nearly 14% of India’s exports and over 20% of its imports are linked to West Asia, making the region a vital trade artery. Disruptions have already put up to US$ 4 billion of monthly exports at risk, while freight costs, insurance premiums, and transit times have surged sharply.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has extended the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme until September 30, 2026, providing continued support to exporters.
According to Notification No. 74/2025–26 dated March 31, 2026, the existing terms, rates, and value caps applicable as of March 31, 2026, will remain in force during the extended period. The notification further clarified that all eligible exports made between April 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026, will continue to receive RoDTEP benefits at the prevailing rates and value caps, subject to existing scheme conditions.
This extension follows a recent period of rate volatility, during which the government reduced RoDTEP rates before temporarily restoring them on March 23 for a week.
The latest decision ensures continuity of the scheme for another six months.
Indian exporters, who were already grappling with high US tariffs, are now facing fresh challenges due to the West Asian crisis triggered by last month’s joint attack by the United States and Israel on Iran. The conflict has led to a sharp rise in sea and air freight rates, along with increasing insurance premiums, adding to the cost burden on exporters.
Recent developments in the region have also disrupted maritime logistics, causing shifts in shipping routes and transit patterns. These changes have affected delivery timelines and raised logistics costs for consignments moving to or through West Asia.
Merchandise exports by India in February 2026 stood at US$ 36.6 billion, slightly lower than US$ 36.9 billion recorded in February 2025. In contrast, merchandise imports rose significantly to US$ 63.71 billion compared to US$ 51.33 billion in the same month last year.
Source: Ministry of Commerce & Industry
India’s merchandise exports during April–February 2025–26 stood at US$ 402.93 billion, up from US$ 395.66 billion in the corresponding period of 2024–25. Merchandise imports during the same period increased to US$ 713.53 billion, compared to US$ 657.46 billion a year earlier. As a result, the merchandise trade deficit widened to US$ 310.60 billion, higher than US$ 261.80 billion recorded in the previous year.
India’s total exports (merchandise and services combined) for February 2026 are estimated at US$ 76.13 billion, reflecting a growth of 11.05% compared to February 2025. Total imports during the month are estimated at US$ 80.09 billion, registering a higher growth of 21.64% year-on-year.
India’s total exports during April–February 2025–26 are estimated at US$ 790.86 billion, registering a positive growth of 5.79% YoY. Total imports during the same period are estimated at US$ 900.51 billion (US$ 838.69 billion in the corresponding period last fiscal), reflecting a growth of 7.37%.
The effects of the West Asia crisis are expected to be reflected in the March data, as the conflict began on February 28.
The Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme, launched on August 17, 2021, aims to boost India’s exports and strengthen global competitiveness by extending support across a wide range of sectors. Major beneficiaries include marine products, agriculture, leather, gems and jewellery, automobiles, plastics, electrical and electronics, and machinery.
The scheme provides refunds to exporters for certain taxes and duties that are not covered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework, thereby helping reduce cost burdens and improve export efficiency.
The scheme covers an extensive base of 8,555 tariff lines, ensuring that a large segment of India’s export basket benefits from duty remission and improved cost efficiency in international markets.
Put simply, when companies in India manufacture goods for export, they incur various indirect costs that are not reimbursed through GST. The RoDTEP scheme helps compensate exporters for a portion of these unrecovered expenses.
Indian exporters face several embedded costs during production, including:
As these costs are not fully offset through existing mechanisms, they raise the overall cost of Indian goods in global markets. RoDTEP helps ease this burden, thereby improving the competitiveness of Indian exports.
The process is relatively simple. When an exporter sells goods in international markets, the government assigns a refund rate based on the product category. The scheme is administered by Customs through a simplified IT-based system, ensuring transparency and ease of use.
Rebates are granted in the form of a transferable duty credit, or electronic scrip (e-scrip), which is maintained in an electronic ledger by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Exporters can use this e-scrip to pay applicable duties or sell it in the market, providing flexibility and liquidity. As per reports, the refund rates under the scheme generally range between 0.3% and 3.9% of the export value.
Under RoDTEP, identified export sectors and notified rates cover 8,555 tariff lines. In addition, similar support is extended to apparel and made-ups exports through the RoSCTL scheme administered by the Ministry of Textiles, further strengthening export incentives across key segments.
Additionally, the government has launched the RELIEF (Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) scheme to further assist exporters. It is a time-bound and targeted initiative under the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) to support exporters affected by disruptions in West Asia. The move comes in response to escalating geopolitical tensions in the region, which have significantly impacted maritime logistics across the Gulf, leading to higher freight costs, rising insurance premiums, and increased war-related trade risks.
RELIEF is designed to provide comprehensive support across the export cycle, covering both shipments that have already departed during the disruption period and those planned for export to affected destinations. These include key markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Yemen, including consignments meant for transshipment.
The scheme will be implemented by ECGC Ltd (formerly Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd), a government-owned entity under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, which will act as the nodal agency for verification, claim processing, disbursement, and monitoring. Leveraging its experience in export credit risk coverage, including protection against political and war-related risks, ECGC is expected to ensure efficient and timely delivery of assistance.
The RELIEF initiative will be implemented under the Export Promotion Mission with an approved financial outlay of ₹497 crore. ECGC will establish a dashboard-based monitoring system to facilitate real-time tracking of claims and fund utilisation. Meanwhile, the EPM Steering Committee will periodically assess the scheme’s performance in response to evolving geopolitical conditions and may recommend adjustments, continuation, or withdrawal as required.
Overall, the initiative seeks to ease immediate logistics disruptions, sustain exporter confidence, minimise order cancellations, and protect jobs in export-driven sectors, thereby strengthening India’s resilience in global trade.
The extension of the RoDTEP scheme reinforces policy stability and underscores the government’s commitment to supporting exporters amid global uncertainties. By restoring rates and ensuring continuity, the scheme helps offset rising cost pressures and sustain competitiveness. Alongside targeted interventions like RELIEF, it reflects a proactive approach to safeguarding India’s export momentum and resilience in an increasingly volatile trade environment.
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