CALL US : 
WAPP : 
After implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, the requirement of carrying e-way bill was postponed pending IT network readiness.
The government on Thursday deferred implementation of the requirement to carry e-permits for inter-state transportation of goods following technical glitches. GST provision requiring transporters to carry an electronic waybill or e-way bill when moving goods between states was to be implemented from today to check rampant tax evasion.
“In view of difficulties faced by the trade in generating e-way bill due to initial technological glitches, it has been decided to extend the trial phase for generation of e-way bill, both for inter and intra-state movement of goods. It will be applicable from a date to be notified,” the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) tweeted.
After implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, the requirement of carrying e-way bill was
postponed pending IT network readiness. GST Network, the company developing the I-T backbone for the new indirect tax regime, had been conducting trial runs for the e-way bill system since January 17, during which a whopping 2.84 lakh such permits were issued on the portal.
However, with the formal launch of the e-way bill today, the system witnessed technical glitches. Sources said the along with inter-state e-way bill generation by all states, 17 states also started generating such permits for intra-state movement of goods, which created pressure on the portal.
Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) Chairperson Vanaja Sarna today held a review meeting to discuss on streamlining the system. The all-powerful GST Council had on December 16 decided to implement the e-way bill mechanism for intra-state movement of goods from June 1 and from February 1 for inter-state movement.
E-way bill is an electronic way bill for movement of goods which can be generated on the GSTN (common portal).
Movement of goods of more than Rs 50,000 in value cannot be made by a registered person without an e-way bill.
The e-way bill can also be generated or cancelled through SMS. When an e-way bill is generated, a unique e-way bill
number (EBN) is allocated and is available to the supplier, recipient, and the transporter. Transporters, who want to generate e-way bill, can visit the ‘ewaybill.nic.in’ portal and register themselves by giving the GSTIN.
Transporters, who are not registered under GST, can enrol themselves under e-way bill system by providing their
PAN or Aadhaar to generate the e-way bill. E-way bill will bring uniformity across the states for seamless inter-state movement of goods.
Archives
The announcements in the Union Budget for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and employment-heavy industries like leatherand textiles would benefit the state which leads in textile, SME and leather sectors. The host of sops announced for new employees in export-oriented sectors in the budget would make them competitive, industry representatives say.
The leather industry is the biggest beneficiary in recent times, with not only the budgetary benefits but also the Rs 2,600 crore special package announced in December. The state contributes more than 35% of the total exports and has leather clusters in Ambur and Vaniyambadi in Vellore.
Reduction in the minimum employment period from 240 days to 150 days and the additional 30% income tax deduction for leather and footwear sector for new employees would encourage more employment, industry sources say. “The extension of 25% reduced corporate tax to MSME units having turnover of up to Rs 250 crore will benefit the leather and footwear industry as 90% of the industry is concentrated in the MSME segment,” said Aqeel Panaruna, vice-chairman, Council for Leather Exports.
“Enhancement of customs duty on footwear from 10% to 20% will enhance competitiveness of domestic footwear industry and will promote Make in India programme,” he said. The budget has also made provisions for modernisation of 200 units, upgrade of existing campuses and placement-linked skill development training to 1.44 lakh unemployed people.
For small and medium-sized businesses with Rs 50 crore to Rs 250 crore turnover, the finance minister announced a reduction in income tax from 30% to 25% . “The 5% saving that I make can be used for innovation. Having our own reserve is now an advantage for funding R&D,” said S Sampath, CEO, Velmurugan Heavy Engineering Industries, Trichy. Tamil Nadu has 6.89 lakh registered SMEs contributing to over 15% of the total units in the country.
For the textile industry, the benefits would help battle competition with sops narrowing the difference in wages with competing nations, officials said. Wages, which account for about 12% to 15% of the production costs in garment making, are about 25% cheaper in Bangladesh, a key competitor for the country in textile exports.
“These initiatives will help the sector to become competitive and face challenges from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam,” said A Sakthivel, regional chairman, Federation of Indian Export Organisations, southern region. “Extending 12% EPF employer’s contribution for the first three years and also fixed term employment would encourage job creation in the textile industry,” said P Nataraj, chairman, Southern India Mills’ Association. “About 80% of textile units would benefit from the new corporate tax rate,” he said.
Garment units in Tirupur were given incentives that included the Centre bearing employer’s contribution to the employee provident fund for new workers who are earning less than Rs 15,000 per month during the first three years and an increase in overtime from three hours to eight hours per week in June 2016.
The Union Budget 2018-19 did not look to have cheered different segments of population in Tirupur industrial cluster. The decision to re-introduce taxes on long-term capital gains, increase cess component in the personal income tax, and lack of any references to key issues in the Goods and Services Tax like on the reverse charge mechanism that was bothering the apparel-sector, have been cited as the major disappointments.
“A big opportunity was wasted to permanently set right the legislative lacunae in the GST because the Budget did not mention on any amendments on reverse charge mechanism by which recipient of goods from unregistered supplier have to pay the tax, said S. Dhananjayan, a senior chartered accountant and advisor to many textile bodies.
“Nothing much to cheer about from the Budget as the allocations to the textile sector looked not high enough to settle the ROSL pending claims of apparel segment which as of now is about Rs. 2,500 crore. With made-up articles also now been brought under ROSL, it needed huge capital”, opined Tirupur Exporters Association president Raja Shanmugam.
“The people are choosing equities as better savings opportunity in view of low bank interests”, said R. M. Senthilkumar, former chairman of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Tirupur branch).
PUNE: Textile industry has said that the budget allocation for Remission of State Levies (RoSL) for the exports of garments and made-ups is inadequate. However, it is upbeat that it will create more jobs.
The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) has welcomed the increased allocation of Rs.7,148 crores that includes Rs.2,300 crores for Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and the balance for other schemes as against Rs.6,251 crores allocated during last year.
“Extending 12% EPF employer’s contribution for the first three years of employment and also the fixed term employment for all the sectors of the industry would encourage job creation in the textile industry,” said P.Nataraj, chairman, SIMA.
He has also welcomed the scheme for MSMEs to address the issues relating to NPA norms and stressed assets, a long pending demand from the industry. He has also welcomed the reduction of corporate tax rate from 30% to 25% for the units having upto Rs.250 crores annual turnover. He has stated that more than 80% of the textile units would be benefited out of the reduced corporate tax rate that would help them to plough back the amount for creating additional jobs and value addition.
Nataraj has said that the Union Budget has allocated Rs.2,164 crores for Remission of State Levies (RoSL) as against Rs.1,855 crores allotted last year for the exports of garments and made-ups. “This amount is inadequate as there is huge backlog even for the year 2017,” he said pointing out that timely disbursement of government dues is very much essential to ensure adequacy in working capital and achieve a sustained growth rate in exports and job creations. He has appealed to the Government to clear the long pending RoSL benefits, IGST refund and other dues at the earliest to ease the financial position of the exporters.
Atul Ganatra, president, Cotton association of India said that the budget will be good for cotton industry. “Increase in MSP will encourage the farmers to grow cotton without as cotton MSP may go up next season. The government has stationed more than Rs 7000 crore for textile sector, which will boost the textile industry and the effect of this will be seen on cotton trade since it is related to textile sector.”
Textiles exports from India are likely to get a boost with the increase in the special package for the financial year 2018-19.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget 2018-19 raised special package by 19 per cent to Rs 71.48 billion for apparel sector to boost exports. In 2016, the government had announced a special package of Rs 60 billion for the same purpose.
Rahul Mehta, President of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) said that the increase in the outlay looks prima facie was positive but, it is yet to be seen how impactful the enhanced outlay would be for the entire apparel value chain, he added.
Ashok G Rajani, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council said it was an excellent announcement and would also increase women’s employment and boost export growth. He added that when the last package was given India’s exports grew at 12 to 14 per cent subsequently.
Kavita Gupta, Textile Commissioner, the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India had earlier stated that the textiles and clothing industry had promised the government to bring an investment of Rs 800 billion along with creation of employment opportunities for 10 million people within three years. Already two years have passed but investment to the tunes of Rs 70 billion and employment of only 100,000 persons were achieved. “The Industry should try to fulfill its promise given to the government the Union Textile Ministry has announced the Rs 60 billion special apparel package in July 2017 and the garment and made ups Industry should take advantage of the scheme.
The domestic market growth rate of apparel industry was flat during 2017-18 due to demonetisation and GST. However, things are stabilising and the growth rate is anticipated to be between 10 and 12 per cent in the fiscal year 2018-19. On the export front, if the government does not increase duty drawback rates, there could be a possibility of negative growth in the export sector, said Mehta.
K Selvaraju, Secretary General, The Southern India Mills’ Association welcomed the allocation to boost apparel and made-ups exports, 12 per cent employers’ provident for the first three years, and extension of fixed term employment for all segments (earlier only for apparel and made-ups).
Indian apparel industry saw consecutively declining numbers for overall exports in October, November and December 2017 – a fall of 39 per cent, 11 per cent and 8 per cent year-on-year, respectively – thanks to the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), rolled out in July, and the discontinuance of certain export incentives. As a result, from seeking restoration of export incentives at the pre-GST rates (7.5 per cent duty drawback on cotton apparel and 3.5 per cent return of state levies or ROSL) to exemption of the 18 per cent taxes levied towards air freight charges under GST, Industry body Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has made around 8-10 demands.
“We have been asking the government to support the apparel exporters to survive. There have been blockages of funds as very few people got GST refunds between July and December. The dollar, which was worth Rs 65, came down to Rs 63, hurting exporters further. We have become uncompetitive and Bangladesh has started cashing in on this by offering its products 10-15 per cent cheaper in the global market,” said H K L Magu, chairman of AEPC.
From earlier rates of 7.5 per cent duty drawback and 3.5 per cent ROSL on cotton apparel, and 9.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent on man-made apparel, the apparel-exporting industry has seen these falling to 2 per cent duty drawback and 1.5 per cent ROSL on cotton apparel, and 2.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent on man-made apparel since the rollout of GST.
Some of the announcements in the Union Budget on Thursday are expected to benefit the textile and clothing industry. However, the allocation for schemes such as Remission of State Levies (ROSL) might not meet the industry requirements, according to the textile associations.
P. Nataraj, chairman of the southern India Mills’ Association, has said the government allocated Rs. 2,164 crore towards ROSL as against Rs. 1855 crore for 2017-18 for the garment and made up exports. The amount is inadequate as there is a huge backlog to be cleared even for the current financial year. The timely disbursement of dues is essential to ensure working capacity for the industry. He welcomed the announcement of a scheme for MSMEs to address issues related to NPA and stressed assets.
According to Sanjay Jain, chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, the allocation to Cotton Corporation of India has gone up from Rs. 303 crore to Rs. 924 crore for MSP operations. This will not help the industry and this year, the market prices are higher than the MSP. The hike in basic customs duty on silk fabric from 20 % to 10 % will save the industry from dumping from China. The minimum support price (MSP) on cotton will be 1.5 times the production cost. This will benefit the farmers. However, it will result in higher inflation for consumers as cotton-based textiles are 70 % of the consumption in the country.
Chairman of Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council , Ujwal Lahoti, hoped the ammount allocated for ROSL will cover fabrics too. It is at present only for garments and made ups.
The Clothing Manufacturers’ Association of India president Rahul Mehta has said that the focus on rural economy will push the demand for apparel in the domestic market. The reduction in contribution towards provident fund by women employees to 8 % for the first three years will benefit the apparel sector which employs women in large numbers. According to the Indian Texpreneurs Federation, the Corporate Tax reduction for SMEs with less than Rs. 250 crore turnover will benefit the small and medium-scale units in the textile sector. The units can now plan expenditure on solar investments. investments. The focus on agro sector is the need of the hour and the budget has done it, said Prabhu Dhamodharan, convenor of the federation.
A tripartite group consisting of employers, unions and the government finished discussing the draft law on minimum wage yesterday. Labour Minister Ith Samheng said yesterday’s talks were the last public workshop to discuss the draft law on minimum wage after two workshops had already taken place.
“This is the last tripartite workshop to discuss the draft law on minimum wage. We will send the draft law to relevant ministries and then it will be sent to the government before being sent to the National Assembly for approval,” he said. Mr Samheng said the draft law would be beneficial to workers and the nation as a whole because it intended to promote a decent living, create job opportunities and increase worker productivity, as well as push for increased investment opportunities. “I hope we can have this law approved before the end of June.
“We do not want it to take any longer because everyone is waiting for it,” he said, adding the law would not have any negative side effects. The draft law has 33 articles across six chapters.
From 1997 to 2017, the government increased the minimum wage in the garment sector from $30 per month to $153. Starting this month, garment industry workers are paid $170 per month. Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, said yesterday he did not oppose the draft law any more because it would help workers in other sectors as well. “When this law is approved, employers in other sectors will not be able to give their employees a salary lower than the minimum wage,” he said. Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said yesterday that once approved, the draft law would help parties representing employers, employees and the government to find a standard minimum wage. He said he wanted employers from other sectors, such as tourism, hospitality or agriculture, to participate in the future. “I want the other sectors to join in negotiations because we, GMAC, know the cost in the garment and footwear sector, but not for the other sectors, so they should join,” he said.
FAISALABAD:- PTI Chairman Imran Khan will visit Faisalabad on Tuesday (today) and hold meetings with industrialists and exporters. Besides these engagements, he will preside over a Textile conference to be held at a private hotel and will also announce Textile policy of the PTI at a press conference. Member of PT Central Council and expected candidate from NA-82, Zafar Iqbal Sarwar told this agency that with the cooperation and consultation of stakeholders, the party has prepared a Textile Policy . Zafar Iqbal said that Imran Khan is well aware of the problems being faced by the industrialists and exporters, adding that the PTI will make efforts for resolution of these problems. He said that PTI will make all-out efforts to facilitate the industrialists and exporters.
ISLAMABAD: Government is considering to bring the cotton crop management under the administrative control of Ministry of National Food Security and Research in order to streamline the issues and challenges being faced by the major cash crop of country. The measure would also help enhance per acre crop output and produce quality and world-class cotton in the country. Before 18th constitutional amendment and devolving of the food ministries to provinces, the cotton crop was the subject of federal ministry of food and agriculture.
But after the constitutional amendment, cotton crop was put under the control of ministry of textile industry. In this regard, a committee headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Sartaj Aziz was also formed, seeking the suggestion from all the stakeholders to streamline the matter, said an senior official in the Ministry of Textile Industry. Talking to APP here on Tuesday, he said that the committee after its due deliberations had recommended the government for bringing all matters related to cotton crops under the control of ministry of national food security and research. Besides, it had also proposed to establish a special research cell in Pakistan Agriculture Research Council to expedite research and development activities in cotton sector for preparing high quality seed varieties to enhance crop output in the country.
The recommendations of the committee would be presented in the next meeting of the federal cabinet for approval, he remarked. He said that the move to put cotton crop under food security ministry would be a positive step for the policy formulation and would help in policy making for the production of cotton crop and other competitive crops in the country. It would also help to overcome the increasing issues of crop shifting and each crop would be equally focused in collaboration with the provincial agriculture departments, adding that the output of other crops would not be suffered.
The official said that ministry of national food security and research was already looking into the matters related to fertilizers, pesticides and seeds and putting the cotton crop under the same ministry would help in adopting an holistic approach to built the cotton crop pattern on strong lines. Giving the cotton crop back to food security ministry would also help in enhancing the cooperation, communications among and the provincial governments and their allied departments and international agencies for the promotion of agriculture sector, particularly growth and development of cotton crop across the country, he added.
The future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal? was thrown into doubt early last year when the US withdrew. Vietnam was widely expected to be the largest beneficiary of the pact. Progress has now been made on the revised Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), minus the US, with stocks in Vietnam’s textile firms reacting positively. Vietnam’s textile stocks appear to have reacted positively to news the renewed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is moving forward – with the country widely expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pact.
The future of the TPP agreement was thrown into doubt early last year when President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement. He had described it as a “disaster” during his election campaign, claiming it would threaten domestic jobs by introducing lower -wage competition.
Vietnam was expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of the deal. It was seen as a huge opportunity for companies to move production from high cost locations like China, to places like Vietnam; a country that has a great advantage over other Asian manufacturing destinations thanks to its low-costs and direct access to the US and Japan – both part of the TPP. A Global Economic Prospects report published by The World Bank Group in 2016 suggested Vietnam would see the largest GDP gains from the agreement – at 10% – by 2030.
One year on from Trump withdrawing from the deal and the 11 remaining countries are now moving forward with the trade pact, now renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The deal, which is expected to eliminate 98% of tariffs in a marketplace worth close to around US$13.7trn, and deliver 18 new free trade agreements between the parties, is expected to be signed in March in Chile. The progress on the deal has sent the stocks of some of Vietnam’s largest garment and textiles firms climbing since the start of the year. The Viet Tien Garment Corporation has seen its stocks grow 45% in the last month, while shares of TNG Investment and Trading have increased 17% in the last month. Thanh Cong Textile
Garment Investment Trading has seen its share price soar 111% in the past year.
Leading garment and textile group Vinatex has gained more than 66% in the first 18 trading sessions in 2018. In the past week alone, the company says its stocks have risen 41%. The company believes this is likely due to the positive progress made with CPTPP and the potential opportunities from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is expected to take effect this year. Vinatex also has plans to divest 53.5% of state holdings in the company in 2018. Total revenues for the group in 2017 are estimated at VND45.55bn (US$1.98m), up 10.7% over 2016. Pre-tax profit remained relatively flat at VND1.43bn. The company is targeting revenues of VND48.50bn and a pre-tax profit of VND1.45bn for 2018, up 6.5% and 1.1%, respectively. Vietnam’s textile and garment industry is targeting exports of US$34bn in 2018, up 10% on 2017, as it looks to invest more in technology to boost productivity and shorten delivery times, and increase its focus on markets such as Australia and Russia.
