Delay in collection of data from some special economic zones (SEZs) and ports is the major reason for a stark contrast in the preliminary and final export growth rate numbers released by the Centre for September, a senior government official said on Saturday.
According to the preliminary data, released on October 3, the merchandise exports contracted by 3.5 per cent in September to USD 32.62 billion. On the other hand, final data released on October 14 showed a growth of about 5 per cent to USD 35.45 billion. Some variations in export growth rate figures were witnessed in the previous months as well.
For example, preliminary data released on September 3 showed a decline of 1.15 per cent to USD 33 billion for exports in August. It was revised to 1.62 per cent at USD 33.92 billion on September 14.
Similarly, the commerce ministry’s preliminary data showed a dip of 0.76 per cent to USD 35.24 billion for exports in July, which was revised to 2.14 per cent growth at USD 36.27 billion.
According to provisional data released on July 14, goods exports rose by 16.68 per cent to USD 37.94 billion in June. The revised figures reflected a growth of 23.52 per cent to USD 40.13 billion.
“There are some SEZs and non-EDI (electronic data interchange) ports from where data comes with a lag… So whatever data we get till 31st or 30th of the month, we issue the quick estimates with a disclaimer that these are preliminary or provisional numbers,” the official said.
Because of this, there are variations in the growth rate numbers, the official said, adding that though data from SEZs comes through an online platform, some zones take time to collate their data.
Also, from non-EDI ports data is collated manually, so that comes with a lag of 7-8 days.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai too said delay in collation of export data from some SEZs and non-EDI ports leads to difference in preliminary and final exports growth numbers.
“The revised data is reflecting that the export numbers particularly from non-EDI ports or from some SEZs may not have been included and since the petroleum exports have shown sizeable growth in the data released on October 14, that has pushed the overall exports growth in final numbers,” Sahai said.
A trade expert suggested that the government should not release the data twice and it should be released by the middle of a month for the previous month as it would give a better picture of India’s exports.
Exports take place from two places — airports and seaports. SEZ numbers are counted separately as these zones are treated as foreign entities in terms of provisions related to customs.
All exporters fill shipping bills as per customs rules before a consignment is ready for exports. Export data is collected from that bill as all the details are there. And for imports, there is a bill of entry.
There is a process of online filling of shipping bills through the customs portal. There are various export points in India. Units in SEZ follow the process through their portal which is integrated with the customs platform.
The Indian Customs EDI System (ICES) is now operational at 245 major customs locations handling nearly 98 per cent of India’s international trade in terms of import and export consignments.
Small and non-EDI ports, where data collection happens manually, cover only 2 per cent of the trade.
All the data then comes to the server of ICEGATE.
The Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE) is the national portal of Indian Customs of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) that provides e-filing services to the trade, cargo carriers and other trading partners electronically.
At present, about 43,542 users are registered with ICEGATE who are serving about more than 12.5 lakh importers/exporters.
Through this facility, Indian Customs offers a host of services, including electronic filing of the bill of entry (import goods declaration), shipping bills (export goods declaration), and e-payment of customs duty.
ICEGATE is internally linked with multiple partner agencies including RBI, banks, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S).
DGCI&S, an arm of the commerce ministry, takes data from ICEGATE. Non-EDI ports’ data directly comes to the DGCI&S. It collates and filters the data. DGCI&S is the official organisation for collection, compilation and dissemination of India’s trade statistics and commercial information. DGCI&S data is final.
