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Remove excise duty sops on textiles: FICCI

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, May 6

THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has urged the Government to ensure that rules of origin requirements are strictly adhered to on import of textile items from the other SAARC countries.

The chamber has also called for removal of all excise duty concessions and exemptions which are currently leading to cross-subsidisation of fiscal distortions in the textile industry.

In a statement FICCI said that all textile items should attract eight per cent excise duty. It further said that import duty on apparel grade wool should be brought down to five per cent to enable the industry in manufacturing premium quality textiles.

The chamber said that free import and export of raw cotton should be allowed without any custom duty. Further, textile policy should be a phased action programme and a nodal agency should be established to monitor and implement the policy expeditiously, it said.

FICCI also suggested some long-term plans, such as, dismantling regulatory frame work of the industry, relaxations in provisions of Textile (Development and Regulation) Order, 1993, abolition of Hank Yarn Obligation, knitting industry as well as knitted garments industry to be de-reserved from SSI, and abolition of Handloom Reservation Order, for development of Indian textile industry.