New Delhi: India is preparing for a detailed assessment of two major export-support schemes as policymakers examine whether the existing framework remains effective amid changing global trade rules, supply-chain shifts and new free trade agreements.
The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), an attached office of NITI Aayog, has issued a Request for Proposal for an evaluation study covering the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) and Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) schemes. The RFP was posted on September 24, 2026, with the bidding process scheduled to remain open until October 28.
The review matters because both schemes are designed, in different ways, to reduce the burden of taxes and levies embedded in Indian exports. The exercise could therefore help determine whether the current mechanisms should continue in their existing form, be modified or eventually give way to a different policy framework.
What exactly is NITI Aayog reviewing?
The evaluation will focus on RoSCTL and RoDTEP, rather than India's entire universe of export-promotion programmes.
RoSCTL is a remission-based mechanism supporting exports from the apparel, garments and made-ups sector. RoDTEP, meanwhile, is designed to refund certain duties and taxes embedded in exported products that are not reimbursed through other mechanisms.
The Economic Times, citing a senior government official, reported that the government wants to assess how effectively the two schemes have helped maintain the competitiveness of Indian exports and what their broader consequences have been for exports, employment and industry.
The official DMEO tender provides independent confirmation that an evaluation study of both schemes has formally been initiated.
Review goes beyond measuring export growth
A significant aspect of the proposed exercise is that the government is not expected to judge the schemes simply by asking whether exports increased after their introduction.
According to the government official cited by The Economic Times, the assessment is expected to examine their economic and sectoral effects across areas including investment, employment generation, production costs, productivity, input-use efficiency, value addition, export pricing, profitability, capacity utilisation and growth.
The review is also expected to examine potential positive and negative effects on domestic demand, supply and prices of goods covered by the schemes.
That distinction is important. A tax-remission programme may improve an exporter's international price competitiveness, but policymakers also need to determine how efficiently the benefit translates into additional production, investment, jobs and value addition.
Why is the review happening now?
The global trading environment confronting Indian exporters is changing rapidly.
According to the official quoted by The Economic Times, factors including fluctuations in global demand, cost pressures, evolving trade rules, sustainability requirements, supply-chain reorganisation and increasing digitalisation of trade have created a need to reassess the existing export-support framework.
India is simultaneously deepening its engagement through free trade agreements, which can alter tariff advantages and competitive conditions across individual markets.
NITI Aayog itself has emphasised the importance of exports for economic growth, foreign-exchange earnings, participation in global value chains and India's international competitiveness in its Export Preparedness Index 2024.
The evaluation therefore comes at a point when the policy question is shifting from simply providing export support to determining which interventions produce measurable improvements in competitiveness.
RoDTEP: Why the scheme matters
RoDTEP was introduced in 2021 as an export-remission mechanism.
Its basic purpose is to neutralise certain taxes, duties and levies that remain embedded in exported goods but are not refunded through another existing mechanism. The objective is to prevent such domestic taxes from becoming an additional cost carried by Indian products in international markets.
This principle is important for export competitiveness because an exporter carrying unreimbursed domestic taxes can face a higher effective production cost when competing with suppliers from other countries.
The evaluation will therefore have to look beyond the amount of remission distributed and assess whether the mechanism is actually contributing to improvements in competitiveness, investment, productivity and export performance.
RoSCTL: Focus on labour-intensive textile exports
RoSCTL has been in operation since 2019 and is targeted at the apparel and made-ups segment.
The mechanism reimburses certain state and central taxes and levies embedded in eligible exports, helping exporters compete internationally without carrying those unrecovered domestic costs.
NITI Aayog material published in 2026 describes RoSCTL as a measure intended to help Indian exporters remain competitive globally by reimbursing embedded state and central taxes and levies on apparel, garments and made-up exports.
The sectoral focus makes the assessment particularly relevant because textiles and apparel are closely linked with employment-intensive manufacturing.
India may compare its system with international models
The review is also expected to benchmark the Indian schemes against mechanisms used by other countries to neutralise embedded taxes and levies and achieve the principle of zero-rating exports.
According to the government official cited by The Economic Times, the findings could ultimately inform a decision on whether the schemes should be modified or replaced by a new mechanism.
However, no final decision to withdraw, replace or redesign either scheme has been announced.
That distinction is important: the confirmed development at this stage is an evaluation, not the termination of RoDTEP or RoSCTL.
Wider export policy is already evolving
The review is taking place alongside broader changes in India's export-support architecture.
NITI Aayog's trade-policy material has highlighted the government's Export Promotion Mission, approved with an outlay of ₹25,060 crore and aimed particularly at supporting exporters in labour-intensive and trade-affected sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery, engineering goods and marine products.
India's recent merchandise-export numbers also provide an important backdrop. Merchandise exports rose 26.1% year-on-year to $43.81 billion in August 2026, while exports excluding petroleum products and gems and jewellery increased from $28.26 billion to $34.68 billion, indicating that growth was not confined solely to the traditionally volatile categories.
This means the policy review is taking place while exports are showing momentum, rather than simply being a response to a headline contraction.
What should exporters watch next?
The most important question is not simply whether RoDTEP and RoSCTL survive the review.
The evaluation could provide evidence on whether India's export-support system is generating additional investment and productivity, lowering effective production costs and helping domestic companies compete more efficiently in global markets.
It could also identify sectors where remission benefits are producing stronger results and areas where the design or implementation of the schemes may need adjustment.
DMEO's RFP lists October 28, 2026 as the closing date for the tender process.
Until the evaluation is completed and the government announces its response, any suggestion that the two schemes will definitely be withdrawn or replaced should therefore be treated as premature.
Why this review matters
The larger policy question is increasingly about the quality of export support, not merely its size.
India must balance several objectives: preventing domestic taxes from being exported, keeping Indian products internationally competitive, complying with global trade rules, encouraging investment and employment, and ensuring public support produces measurable economic benefits.
The NITI Aayog evaluation could provide policymakers with evidence to determine whether RoDTEP and RoSCTL are achieving those objectives—and whether India's export-support architecture needs to change as the global trade environment evolves.
Sources
Primary source: Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog — RFP for Evaluation Study of RoSCTL and RoDTEP Schemes, issued September 24, 2026.
Additional sources: NITI Aayog trade and export-policy publications; The Economic Times report dated September 27, 2026; recent Indian export data and trade analysis.
