To provide a boost to manufacturing, the Government of India has doubled import duty on 328 textile products to 20 per cent from the earlier 10 per cent. This is in addition to the 50 textile products on which the government had doubled import duty last month. This increased duty is expected to give an edge to domestic manufacturers and create jobs.
A notification tabled by the Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan stated that it seeks to “increase Customs duty on 328 tariff lines of textile products from the existing rate of 10 per cent to 20 per cent, under Section 159 of the Customs Act, 1962.” The increase in import duty will result in greater production activity in the sector, which already employs about 10.5 cr people.
In June 2018, India’s textile yarn, fabric and made-ups imports stood at $168.64 mn, registering a growth of 8.58 per cent year-on-year. On the other hand, exports of cotton yarn, fabric, made-ups and handloom products increased by 24 per cent to $986.2 mn. Man-made yarn, fabric and made-ups exports grew 8.45 per cent to $403.4 mn. However, exports of readymade garments dropped 12.3 per cent to $13.5 bn.
