Niti Aayog examines tax issues in textile industry

The government think-tank Niti Aayog is examining tax issues and anomalies in the textile industry including goods and service tax rates on airfare. The Niti Aayog plans to raise these issues to streamline tax and boost businesses in the sector. 

“Niti Aayog has sought views of the textile industry on tax related matters that are impeding the growth of the sector,” said a senior government official close to the matter, ET Bureau reported. Following input from industry players, the government plans to make recommendations to the Ministry of Finance to consider. To this end, Niti Aayog recently held a meeting to hear feedback from industry bodies. 
 
For the micro, small, and medium enterprise segment of the textile industry, Niti Aayog has heard issues raised concerning exempting job works from GST. A number of industry players also opined that the higher GST rates on airfares is making airfare uncompetitive in the global market. It was posited that demand will not pick up until this issue is resolved. 

“Issues related to increasing the customs duty on manmade yarn to 10% from the existing 5% to check rising imports along with higher imports of apparel from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were discussed,” an anonymous government official told the Economic Times.