The Hindu Business Line : Paper industry woes likely to be addressed in Budget

"Though the excise duty was rationalised in the previous Budget, any further rationalisation required in the wake of ASEAN and global developments can be taken up, and be forwarded to the Finance Ministry for consideration," said Mr Ashwani Kumar, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, at the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association's (IPMA) annual general meeting.

"The industry should outline their expectations from the Budget. I am ready to convene a meeting where all the views would be taken up point by point," he added.

The paper industry has been demanding reduction in excise duty to eight per cent across all varieties of paper and paperboard. The duty was cut to 12 per cent from 16 per cent in Budget 2006-07.

"The cut-back on excise duty will add substantially over the next three-five years to the exchequer once the size and scale of the industry improves after benefiting from proper growth policies," said Mr R.R. Vederah, the outgoing President of IPMA.

The other demands by the industry include creation of a technology upgradation fund to access technology, retention of Customs duty on imports at the current level of 12.5 per cent to maintain parity in global production costs and the proposed multi-stake partnership be implemented soon to enable the industry to create a robust raw material resource.

The paper body also appointed Mr Pradeep Dhobale, Divisional Chief Executive of ITC's paper business, as President.

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