Tuesday, January 24 2006 13:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: In a move that will give some relief to exporters, a task force of Commerce and Finance Ministries is to be set up for greater coordination and resolution of tax-related issues faced by exporting community.

"The Prime Minister has accepted our suggestion that a task force be created for more coordination between the two ministries. The task force will meet every six months," FIEO president O P Garg said after a meeting of exporters with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The hour-long meeting, which discussed various problems such as high transaction costs confronting the exporters, was attended by Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

In a presentation to the PM, the exporters also sought withdrawal of the controversial Fringe Benefit Tax to increase global competitiveness, exemption from service tax and early resolution of the Duty Entitlement Pass Book scheme.

The exporters also suggested declaring gateway ports as 'sleepless ports', similar to the Shanghai port in China, for expediting clearance of cargo round the clock.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations have sought creation of a separate fund for greater market access and a single nodal agency for exports.

The apex exporters' body has also mooted an employment export growth oriented scheme for meeting the twin objective of speeding up exports and generating additional jobs.