The Federation of Indian Export Organisations has urged the government to introduce a Goods and Services Tax refund mechanism for foreign tourists purchasing goods in India during the Board of Trade meeting chaired by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. According to NDTV Profit reports, exporters argued that such a scheme, already adopted by several countries, would encourage overseas visitors to spend more on Indian products, thereby boosting retail exports. Sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles, handicrafts, carpets and other high-value products stand to benefit significantly if tourists are allowed to claim GST refunds on eligible purchases before leaving the country. This demand aligns with NITI Aayog's earlier proposal for a Tourist Refund Scheme that would allow international visitors to reclaim GST on purchases made in India.
NITI Aayog has recommended transitioning India's current e-visa system to a tourist visa-on-arrival framework for select countries, supported by on-arrival digital authorisation, biometric verification and integration with global payment networks. According to the report released by the Centre's policy think tank, the current reliance on pre-approval processes increases planning requirements and limits short-notice and discretionary travel. The report notes that even within the e-visa framework, variation across categories in terms of validity, stay limits and entry conditions creates complexity for applicants. The report points to Singapore's SG Arrival Card and the United States' ESTA programme as models that combine ease of entry with security screening, while also proposing multiple-entry visas to encourage repeat travel and rationalisation of overlapping e-visa sub-categories into a smaller set covering tourism, business, short-term medical and student visits.
The report argues that India's tourism sector is operating well below its potential despite a globally competitive offering, with the binding constraint lying in 'enabling conditions' rather than assets or demand. As reported by NITI Aayog, India's visa regime has not kept pace with destinations that have moved aggressively on accessibility and repeat travel. Speaking at the report launch, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Culture and Tourism, emphasised that tourism is now at a stage where institutional efficiency becomes more powerful than investment, with adequate policy clarity and decision-making pace creating investor confidence. Minister Shekhawat highlighted that while India's tourism offerings are unmatched, the real competition today is about governance, statutory efficiency, infrastructure efficiency, and administrative efficiency rather than resources, stating that "if tourism is assessed only on the basis of resources, no country can surpass India, because India's offerings are unmatched."
The report proposes implementing a Tourist Refund Scheme that would allow international visitors to reclaim GST on purchases made in India, addressing the current lack of such facilities. Additionally, NITI Aayog has recommended extending the validity of All India Tourist Permits and removing state-level entry taxes and fees on tourist vehicles. According to the report, these state-level taxes and fees fragment the country's road tourism market and add avoidable costs and paperwork to interstate travel, creating regulatory friction that constrains tourism growth. The government stressed the need for states to play a larger role in boosting exports by unlocking district-level export potential, improving the ease of doing business and strengthening local manufacturing ecosystems during the Board of Trade meeting.
On the supply side, the report cited duplicative approvals, fragmented regulation and high compliance burdens as factors slowing investment and stretching project timelines. Minister Shekhawat highlighted that while India's tourism offerings are unmatched, the real competition today is about governance, statutory efficiency, infrastructure efficiency, and administrative efficiency rather than resources. The report emphasises that the constraint lies not in tourism assets or underlying demand, but in the enabling conditions required to translate these into consistent, competitive, and high-value tourism outcomes. Minister Shekhawat added that "if policy clarity is added and the pace of decision-making becomes adequate, it creates investor confidence, and once confidence is established, progress can accelerate."
