Textile Industry Seeks Higher Duty On Knitted Fabric Imports

The first-ever meeting of the newly constituted Textile Advisory Group (TAG) for manmade fibre under the Ministry of Textiles has offered hope for changes in customs duty on knitted fabrics to reduce imports.

“We raised the issue of illegal and undervalued import of Chinese knitted fabric, which is mixed with woven fabric,” RK Vij, Secretary General of the Polyester Textile Apparel Industry Association said.

Almost 1,000 tons of fabric is dumped in India daily due to the difference in customs duty for woven and knitted fabrics.

“RK Vij claimed that the annual revenue loss to the government is approximately Rs 6,000 crore due to lower customs duty,” the Hindu reported.

Highlighting the extent of undervaluation, he added that knitted fabric is imported at US $1.5 per kg or lower than the export price of yarn, when actually the finished product should cost about $4.5 per kg.

“The Minister has assured to resolve this anomaly within two months,” Vij observed.