The Hindu Business Line : Impose import duty, says Binani Cement

Mumbai, Nov. 21 Close on the heels of 5 per cent customs duty on steel, Binani Cement has urged the Government to impose import duty and countervailing duty to bail out the distressed cement companies.

Since both steel and cement demands are catalysts to industrialisation and economic growth, the Government should consider giving the required support to domestic cement industry to boost demand, said Mr Vinod Juneja, Managing Director, Binani Cement, which has a capacity of 8.5 million tonnes at its units located in India, Dubai and China.

It has also demanded the withdrawal of customs duty on import of coal and reduce the excise duty by switching back to specific excise duty of Rs 400 a tonne (plus cess) instead of the prevailing MRP-based excise duty which adds up to more than Rs 500 a tonne (introduced from May 2007).

Once the demands are met, price of cement will become cheaper by at least Rs 6 a 50 kg bag and consumption will increase, he said.

On the export front, the Government should encourage export of cement by giving more incentives by way of 5 per cent duty benefit through Duty Entitlement Passbook scheme, concession on rail freight to the port. Increase in exports will absorb the additional capacity in the pipeline, add to forex reserves and will also create new jobs.

The recent announcement of 2.5 per cent duty benefit through DEPB on export of cement is inadequate and does not serve the desired objective, he said.

The prevailing downturn in demand has forced the industry to run at a lower capacity utilisation which further pushed up the cost of production. The company strongly feels that the time has come for the Government to take proactive action to ensure uninterrupted growth in demand for cement, he said.

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