CHENNAI: The textile industry, which has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic, has shown good signs of recovery in the last few months and now has a lot of expectations from the upcoming budget.
The anti-China sentiment, quality goods and timely production have helped the manufacturers and exporters attract good global business and the textile industry feels that it is the opportune time for the Centre to provide appropriate support to the industry to fuel its next phase of growth.
In its pre-budget recommendations, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has proposed enhancing the interest equalization scheme to all apparel exporters and not just the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The council has also sought procedural simplification by Tax Collected at Source (TCS) and concessional tax regime (CTR) for expansion to boost investment in the sector.
AEPC believes the Centre should also take measures to encourage investment in green energy and eco-friendly technologies by offering tax benefits to the players and at the same time it should also look at simplifying the clearance of import goods from FTA Countries.
“Exporters are facing difficulty in clearance of import goods from FTA Countries in the wake of implementation of Customs Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements (CAROTAR), 2020 in respect of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements,” said AEPC chairman, A Sakthivel.
Raja M Shanmugam, President of Tirupur exporters’ association has also proposed to set up a research and development (R&D) centre for the design-driven industry, which has been attracting many global fashion brands of late.
Source: The Indian Express, India Friday, 22 January 2021