Textile sector poised for growth

Duty cuts on textile machinery and the capital subsidy are likely to help reduce funding costs for the manufacturers.

Reduction in customs duties and the subsidy on capital is likely to boost capital investment in the sector on the back of reduced costs. Further a decline in excise duties on manmade fibres and polyester filament yarn is likely to make the textile industry more competitive in the export markets. De-reservation of certain products is likely help the textile industry increase investments in these segments of business. Given the vast opportunity in the global scenario, the measures are likely to help the textile companies become more efficient on the cost front and therefore, positive.

Change the DEPB scheme to make it WTO compatible

Reduce the excise duty on man-made filament fibres & yarn to 8 per cent

Halve custom duty on synthetic fibre intermediaries - PTA, DMT, MEG and Caprolactum to 10 per cent from 20 per cent

Reduce customs duty on POY, PFY, NFY and PSF to 15 per cent from 20 per cent

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) is pitching for 100 per cent tax exemption on profits from apparel exports

Exempt texturising companies from mandatory duty

The excise duty rates on yarns fixed at 8

Excise duty exemption on handloom fabrics to continue and automatic shuttleless looms provided exemption from excise duty.

The customs duty on automatic shuttle less machinery reduced from 25 per cent to 10 per cent.

Reduction of excise duty on polyester filament yarn from 32 per cent to 24 per cent.

Excise duty on all knitted cotton fabrics and garments reduced from 12 per cent to 8 per cent.

Basic customs duty on paraxylene reduced from 10 per cent  to 5 per cent.

Excise duty on garments reduced from 12 per cent to 10 per cent.

Cenvat duty on handloom and powerlooms withdrawn

Instead a new tax regime for the textile sector introduced

Mandatory Cenvat chain stands abolished.

No mandatory excise duty on pure cotton, wool and silk, be it fibre, yarn, fabric or garment.

Blended textiles and pure non-cotton items like polyester, viscose, acrylic and nylon to have a different tax regime.

Mandatory excise duty on man-made staple fiber at 16 per cent imposed.

2 per cent education cess on all taxes

It's a free world:  Post 2004, the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) has been phased out. This will enable Indian companies to export their products in any quantity to any country as against a specific quota provided for export.

Lower labour costs:  Due to cheaper labour available in India as compared to European countries, the big brands have started outsourcing garments from Indian companies. Thus, the growth potential expands post 2004.

TRF showing results:  In order to restructure the sector, the government set up a textile reconstruction fund that will help in reducing the effective interest burden on viable textile companies. This fund targets reduction in interest rate for all borrowers in range of 8%-9%. This move has proved to be very successful thus far.

Huge potential:  The government has set an ambitious textile export target of US$ 50 bn by 2010 as compared to US$ 11 bn currently. Considering the huge potential in the European and the US markets, it seems possible.

Stringent labour laws:  Impractical labour laws also restrict large players to lay off redundant workers to improve competitiveness. Though promise of labour reforms have been made n the past, there has been a lag in terms of implementation.

High fragmentation:  One of the biggest drawbacks of the India textile sector is that it is highly fragmented at lower levels. Access to finance and technology has been hard to come by, thus affecting growth prospects of smaller manufacturers.

Volatile raw material prices:  Since raw material cost as percentage of expenses is significant, the textile majors have suffered.