The Man-Made and Technical Textiles Export Promotion Council expects various proposals announced in the Budget to improve business sentiments and boost employment generation.

The textile industry as a whole will benefit from various proposals but urged the government to correct the inverted duty structure in GST hampering the industry, said MATEXTIL.

The Budget proposal of Credit Guarantee Scheme to enable MSMEs to get term loans for the purchase of machinery and equipment without collateral or third-party guarantee will bring in a major relief for the industry.

MATEXTIL appealed to the Government to rectify the inverted GST structure in the manmade fibre industry. Man-made fibres are taxed 18 per cent while the key raw material yarn attracts 12 per cent. The industry body urged the Government to reduce the GST rate on plastic bottles from 18 per cent to 5 per cent. Pet plastic bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) are used to make fabrics and clothes.

Bhadresh Dodhia, Chairman, MATEXTIL (formerly SRTEPC) said the Budget for this fiscal is growth-oriented as it focuses on crucially important areas such as employment generation, skill development and investments.

The proposal to introduce employment-linked incentives and skilling programmes will lead to job creation in the textiles industry and clothing sector, he said.

While the outlay for RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) and RoSCTL (Remission of State and Central Taxes and Levies) schemes have been increased, Dodhia urged the Government to increase the rates under these schemes for textiles and clothing.

The proposal to provide internship opportunities for one crore youths in top companies over five years will help the labour-intensive industry.

The Budget has reduced customs duties on Methylene Dipheaye isocyanate (MDI) to 5 per cent from 7.5 per cent and reduced the production cost. MDI is used in the manufacture of Spandex Yarn for production of textile garments and technical textiles.

Source: The Hindu Business Line