To further consolidate the gains in order to make India a more attractive foreign direct investment (FDI) destination, the Government would ease local sourcing norms for FDI in Single Brand Retail (SBR) sector.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this in her maiden Budget 2019-20 speech in Parliament today. She also announced reduction of customs duty on naphtha and wool fibre.

“To further promote domestic manufacturing, customs duty reductions are being proposed on certain raw materials and capital goods,” Sitharaman said. The customs duty on naphtha, a key raw material for synthetic fibres, has been reduced from 5 per cent to 4 per cent. Likewise, duty on wool fibre and wool tops has been reduced from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent.

For providing relief to the leather sector, export duty is being rationalised on raw and semi-finished leather, the minister said.

Under the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs, ₹350 crore has been allocated for FY 2019-20 for 2 per cent interest subvention for all GST registered MSMEs, on fresh or incremental loans.

The minister also proposed streamlining of multiple labour laws into a set of four labour codes. "This will ensure that process of registration and filing of returns will get standardised and streamlined. With various labour related definitions getting standardised, it is expected that there shall be less disputes," she said. 

Published On : 05-07-2019

Source : Fibre 2 Fashion