Garment manufacturers protest duty on branded items
March 15th, 2011 - 7:32 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) Thousands of garment manufacturers from various parts of India, some of them clad in their undergarments, Tuesday marched to parliament, protesting the 10 percent excise duty levied on branded garments in the union budget 2011-2012.
Protesters shouted slogans like “Don’t gag Indian garments industry” and held up placards which read “Roll back excise on branded garments”.”
Demanding immediate rollback of excise duty, the garment manufacturers said the imposition of excise duty would overburden the industry, which was already facing several problems owing to rise in the price of raw materials.
“The decision to impose 10 percent tax on the branded garments is not only against us but it is also against the common man who won’t be able to afford clothes after the hike in their prices,” Federation of Readymade Garments Hosiery Trade of India (FRGHTI) president Ramesh Ahuja told IANS.
FRGHTI general secretary Naresh Sikka threatened an indefinite strike in the industry if the government did not accept their demands.
“This Holi (to be celebrated March 20) will be black for crores of people dependent on the industry unless the government decided to give it colour and smiles,” he added.
Garment manufacturers from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana and Delhi were present in the rally which started from Jantar Mantar.
“The hike in taxes would affect our livelihood and the government must reverse its decision,” said Anila Chaddha, one of the garment manufacturers from Delhi’s Tank Road.
Recently, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had written a letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee demanding rollback of the excise duty on branded garments, while his Punjab counterpart, Parkash Singh Badal, wrote to both Mukherjee and Prime Manmohan Singh on the same issue.
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Tags: ahuja, badal, bhattacharjee, branded items, crores, excise duty, garment manufacturers, holi, indefinite strike, indian garments, jantar mantar, manmohan, manmohan singh, naresh, pranab mukherjee, readymade garments, rollback, sikka, union budget, west bengal