Business

Textile Industry Seeks A Uniform 5% Duty Under The GST Regime

The textile industry has sought a uniform duty of 5% under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is expected to be rolled out from July this year, according to a Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) spokesperson.

In December, the central government had announced special packages for the apparel sector in June last year and for ‘made-ups’, which are essentially articles manufactured or stitched from any type of cloth – other than garments.

The industry had expected a special package for the power loom sector to be announced shortly, he said.

However, the industry does not expect any major announcement in the forthcoming budget, because it has already announced packages for different segments of the industry. Also, since the focus is on GST, the industry hopes that there are no changes in the optional CENVAT, until GST is rolled out, he stated.

The textile and clothing sector has sought the lowest duty slab of 5% without exemptions for any segment of the value chain, according to the industry representative.

About 60% of the Indian textile industry is cotton-based while 80% of textile and clothing exports are also cotton-based, he said.