Industry & Economy
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Cement
Mixed reaction to excise duty parity on cement
Our Bureau
Mumbai, Feb. 29 The cement industry remained somewhat divided on the impact of excise duty parity on bulk and packaged cement and the hike in the duty on clinker.
Mr N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman, India Cements, said that the excise duty on clinker at Rs 450 a tonne will not have a major impact as clinker sales were insignificant. Bringing excise duty rate of bulk cement on par with packaged cement at Rs 400 a tonne too would not have a major impact, he felt.
Mr Sumit Banerjee, Managing Director, ACC, said as a product of mass consumption which is already among the highly taxed, cement has received some more indirect tax loading by way of hike in Cenvat rates for clinker and bulk cement.
Mr A.V. Dharmakrishnan, Executive Director (Finance), Madras Cements Ltd, said that excise duty on clinker would be insignificant as manufacturers can get Cenvat credit when cement is dispatched. However, the condition of Rs 400 a tonne on bulk cement or 14 per cent ad valorem required clarification on whether the ad valorem rate was on MRP or sale price, he said.
Mr Vinod Juneja, Managing Director, Binami Cements, said, “In fact, there was a valid case to bring down excise duty on cement to six per cent to give a boost to the infrastructure development. With firm competition from Southeast Asia, China and West Asia, both the industry and the government must work hand-in-hand to tackle the issue.”
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