Tirupur: Textile industries here have welcomed the Union government’s decision to defer the hike in GST on textiles from 5% to 12%, which was to come into effect from January 1.

Tirupur is home to more than 12,500 knitwear and allied units that employ more than 10 lakh people. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown affected the units, especially the MSMEs.

President of Tirupur Exporters and Manufacturers Association (Teama) M P Muthurathinam, who met the Union finance minister twice in the last month to reiterate the demand, said that the much-anticipated relief for the textile industry will help in its recovery from the pandemic losses.

“The industry is also facing extreme competition from countries such China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. It is depending on the domestic market for sustaining the business and increased GST would have adversely affected sales. The cost of the inputs needed for apparel manufacturing have increased. The price of raw cotton alone has gone up by Rs 130/kg compared to the last year. Adding to woes are labour and container shortage,” Muthurathinam said.

In a statement, president of Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA) Raja M Shanmugham thanked finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for sticking to the 5% GST rate. “It will help the garment industry, particularly the people purchasing value-added items,” he said.

Published On : 01-01-2022

Source : Times of India