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G. Gurumurthy

Coimbatore , Oct. 5

THE Union Government may concede to the demand from the textile industry for a review of the duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) scheme rate.

The reduction in the rate made by the Commerce Ministry recently has led to an all-round protest among different sectors of textile exporters.

Hinting at the possibility of the Central Government partially restoring the rates pruned in last month's Exim Policy pronouncements, the Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Mr Wajahat Habibullah, said the Finance Ministry would fine-tune the DEPB rates so that those exporters who did not benefit under the `cenvat' chain dispensation could get higher DEPB benefits.

Addressing the members of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) here on Tuesday, Mr Habibullah said the across-the-board cut in the DEPB rate for all textile sectors was considered to be unfair by the industry. His ministry has taken up he matter with the Government and some adjustments are likely to be made.

The Textiles Secretary was reacting to a representation made by the SIMA Chairman, Mr Vijay Venkataswamy, who said the reduction in the DEPB rates had come as a jolt to the cotton textile industry when there was no change in the customs duty applicable to the cotton textile industry. The move was contrary to the principles on which the DEPB scheme was formed.

In the case of 100% polyester yarn and blended yarn (including polyester cotton/polyester viscose yarns), the excise duty on the basic raw material was compulsorily retained under the `cenvat' chain and the customs duty for the basic inputs was maintained at 20%. Though the Commerce Ministry had come out with some correction in the rates (for four products), this may not help the textile exports. Hence, the DEPB rates must be restored till an alternate scheme is introduced, Mr Venkataswamy said.

More Stories on : Textiles | Exports & Imports

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