Proposed GST hike is continuously being opposed across India,and Apparel Resources is regularly reporting on this issue to keep everyone updated.
In the latest move, Amit Mitra, former Finance Minister of West Bengal and currently advisor to the State’s Chief Minister, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene an urgent meeting of the GST Council to reverse GST hike on garments.
In a tweet, he said, Modi Govt. will commit another blunder on 1 January. Due to this decision, there will be loss of millions of jobs and 1 lakh units will close.
Earlier he also urged the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to similarly convene an urgent meeting of the GST Council to rescind the 7 per cent tax hike in GST on the textiles sector to prevent job loss and closure of small units.
The South India Hosiery Manufacturers’ Association also appealed to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to retain 5 per cent GST on garments that are priced less than Rs. 1,000 or at least for garments of less than Rs. 500 value.
In Tirupur, the former president of Dyers’ Association of Tiruppur S. Nagarajan said in a memorandum that with the levy of 12 per cent GST on processing at Common Effluent Treatment Plants two years ago, the processing units were unable to take input tax credit and nearly Rs. 150 crore is the amount pending for reimbursement. However, with the increase in GST for job working processing units to 12 per cent from 5 per cent, this amount will be set off over a period of time.
In Ludhiana, Harish Kairpal, President, Ludhiana MSME Association, said that it is our request to the Centre to defer this decision or we will be forced to start a state-wide agitation.
Similarly, textile traders in Telangana have launched a postcard campaign opposing the proposed hike. With ‘Save textiles trade, roll back increase in GST’ stamped on them, the postcards are addressed to Prime Minister and Union Minister of Finance, Union Minister of Textiles and Chief Secretary to the office of the GST Council Secretariat.
Telangana State Federation of Textile Associations leader Prakash Ammanabolu said, “We are expecting 40,000-50,000 postcards from across the state to be sent.”
