Rebate on State Levies (ROSL), a Central Government scheme announced on garment exports for three years in September 2016 to boost exports from India, has created a liquidity crisis in the apparel manufacturing hub, Tirupur.
The garment exporters from the region, who enrolled themselves under the ROSL scheme, have reportedly still not received the refund.
The overall disbursement amount, under the policy, to Tirupur apparel cluster has reached Rs. 730 crores, which in itself a major concern.
The laid back attitude of the concerned authorities has slowed down the fund releasing process. This has created a cash crunch-like situation amongst the apparel exporters of the knitwear hub of India.
Additionally, the approaching festive season has feared the exporters as they’ll have to disburse salaries and bonus to their workers.
R Sabhari Girish, an industry expert who has worked at various export/import houses over the years, told Apparel Resources, “The apparel exporters in Tirupur are facing liquidity crisis just a month before Diwali. According to the scheme, the refund has to be released by the Government within the days of filing but now it has been a year and the exporters are yet to receive it.”
He also informed that the minimum refund backlog for any SME under the ROSL scheme would be around Rs. 30-40 lakhs, a huge amount for any small- or medium-level entity. This is the high time when the Government should release immediate funds to the exporters.
