Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's longest ever budget speech on February 1 was complex, but it contained announcements to boost the income and purchasing power of consumers.
It also gave relief to the textiles industry by way of abolishing anti-dumping duty on purified terephthalic acid (PTA). However, specific measures for retail sector were missing.
"So far, the rollout of GST has resulted in gains of about ₹1 lakh crore to consumers, which is likely to increase further with revised GST laws being implemented from April 2020. Simplification of GST norms will be significant in inspiring consumer demand and consumption and spur industrial growth. Additionally, allocation of ₹100 lakh crore for infrastructure development also opens growth prospects for the brands in non-metro cities. However, we feel specific measure pertaining to the retail sector have still not been fully addressed in the budget," said Sudhanshu Agarwal, founder & director, Citykart.
It is a very strong budget in terms of focus on fundamentals, according to Rajan Sharma, founder & CEO, Excess2sell. "The budget has focused on agriculture, simplifying tax structures, infrastructure, and on self-reliance for the long term. The finance minister has tried to create a level playing field by going to markets for fundraising rather than through the tax route. The continued emphasis on technology will help in the coming years to ensure ease of doing business, transparency and better compliances by all stakeholders. With tax rates reduced on the existing tax slabs, consumers will have more to spend. We are happy that e-commerce was defined for the first time in the budget and we look forward to policy initiatives on new-age business formats. With tax-deferred on ESOP and early-stage fund for start-ups, we feel this government has good intentions to ensure that technology and knowledge-based entrepreneurship is encouraged in our country."
On the announcement of abolition of anti-dumping duty on PTA, Madhusudhan Bhageria, CMD, Filatex India Ltd, said, "It is a huge positive for polyester yarn manufacturers like us. We welcome and appreciate the Government of India’s efforts in abolishing anti-dumping duty on PTA to make critical input for man-made fibres easily available at competitive prices. It would go a long way in strengthening domestic manufacturing of man-made fibres and textile players at large, which would also make them more competitive in international markets.
"Abolition of current anti-dumping duty, which is in the range of $23 to $62 per ton on imports from EU and China, means reduction in cost of raw material for polyester yarn manufacturers and easy availability of raw materials too. This would help us to improve our profitability during the next financial year."
As per Union Budget 2020-21, ₹27,300 crore has been provided for development and promotion of industry and commerce.
Published On : 04-02-2020
Source : Fibre 2 Fashion
