Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate for textile machinery has been decided at 18 per cent by the GST Council of India at its two-day meeting which concluded recently in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. GST rates announcement for textiles and footwear has however been deferred to 3rd June by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
As per the data available on Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) website, following textile machinery will now fall under 18 per cent tax slab from July 1, 2017:
- 8444 – Machines for extruding, drawing, texturing or cutting man-made textile materials.
- 8445 – Machines for preparing textile fibres; spinning, doubling or twisting machines and other machinery for producing textile yarns; textile reeling or winding (including weft-winding) machines and machines for preparing textile yarns for use on the machines of heading 8446 or 8447.
- 8446 – Weaving machines (looms).
- 8447 – Knitting machines, stitchbonding machines and machines for making gimped yarn, tulle, lace, embroidery, trimmings, braid or net and machines for tufting.
- 8448 – Auxiliary machinery for use with machines of heading 84.44, 84.45, 84.46 or 84.47 (for example, dobbies, Jacquards, automatic stop motions, shuttle changing mechanisms); parts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with the machines of this heading or of heading 8444, 8445,8446 or 8447 (for example, spindles and spindles flyers, card clothing, combs, extruding nipples, shuttles, healds and heald frames, hosiery needles).
- 8449 – Machinery for the manufacture or finishing of felt or nonwovens in the piece or in shapes, including machinery for making felt hats; blocks for making hats.
- 8451 – Machinery (other than machines of heading 8450) for washing, cleaning, wringing, drying, ironing, pressing (including fusing presses), bleaching, dyeing, dressing, finishing, coating or impregnating textile yarns, fabrics or made up textile articles and machines for applying the paste to the base fabric or other support used in the manufacture of floor covering such as linoleum; machines for reeling, unreeling, folding, cutting or pinking textile fabrics.
- 9024 – Machines and appliances for testing the hardness, strength, compressibility, elasticity or other mechanical properties of textiles.
Commenting on the declared tax regime, Puneet Agarwal, Managing Director, Pushp Creation, Jodhpur, told Apparel Resources, “18 per cent is not what we expected. In this era of competition, it should have been at least in 12 per cent tax slab. It’s really tough to survive for textile machinery industry. But I am hopeful for the further announcement on the 3rd June.”
The Council has broadly approved the GST rates for goods at nil rate and 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent to be levied on certain goods.
