The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has corroborated the plea of the textile sector for a review of taxes on products left outside the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The concerns, which the textile sector had been airing, were related to the implanted taxes on petroleum and electricity.
“We have been asking for the review because only select segments of the textile industry such as apparel production units were able to get the input tax credit on petroleum and electricity. Even for select segments, the input tax credit is only 1.7 % which is insufficient,” said Tirupur Exporters Association president Raja M. Shanmugam. Another major aspect in the Survey was the constraints faced by them to get leverage in global markets despite China losing market share. “The Survey has said in tandem with the versions from here that high domestic taxes on man-made fabrics, high logistic costs, and duty free access which countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Ethiopia enjoying in US and European markets are pushing back the Indian manufacturers. Hence, the government should not phase out incentives anymore,” pointed out S. Dhananjayan, an industry consultant.

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