The government will introduce the internationally accepted eight-digit classification code for exporters and importers for the excise purpose in July.

Speaking at an open house with exporters organised by Chemexcil, SK Mishra, member, Central Board of Excise and Customs, said the eight-digit code on the lines of customs, which is accepted in international markets, would become operational by July end.

The government was planning to close the duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) scheme from April 1, 2005 and merge it with the duty drawback scheme, director general of foreign trade Labanyendu Mansingh said at the open house.

Stating that schemes like DEPB were coming under attack from North America and the European Union, Mansingh said industry should gear up and become more competitive.

Mansingh asked exporters to push up the incremental growth rate to achieve the export target of 1 per cent of the world trade ahead of the 2007 deadline. He said the industry should become more ambitious and aggressive to boost the exports from the country.

"We may have reached 0.8 per cent of global trade as per the Unctad (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) figures but China already accounts for 3 per cent of the world trade minus Hong Kong," Mansingh said.

Mishra said the electronic data interchange at ports for customs will be extended to 12 more by the end of this year, in addition to the existing 23. Seeking an aggressive and pro-active approach by exporters, he said the government was making all efforts to reduce transaction costs for the industry.

Mansingh said the pharmaceutical industry was already bracing up to meet the challenges of the patent regime and had started investing substantial percentages of their turnover in research and development.

While this had begun to bear fruits for some companies, such an initiative was required also by cosmetics firms who should be more pro-active in branded sales, Mansingh said.

Speaking on the occasion, S Ramasundaram, joint secretary, ministry of commerce, said the government had brought out new guidelines for the market development assistance scheme as individual sales cum study tours would not receive any assistance.