R VIMAL KUMAR
TIRUPUR (TAMIL NADU), JAN 17
In an attempt to resolve the grievances of Tirupur garment manufacturers, Tirupur Member of Parliament K. Subbarayan has made a representation to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, urging for the expeditious refund of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) for Tirupur garment industry.
He also wanted the Finance Ministry to initiate steps to prevent any harassment to exporters after they had been categorised as ‘risky exporters’ by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
The CBIC, in 2019, had identified a total of 5,106 ‘risky exporters’ who had claimed GST refunds based on bogus invoices. It included more than 250 exporters from Tirupur.
Subbarayan was of the view that since the criteria of categorizing ‘risky exporters’ had been vague and ambiguous, the exporters were exposed to untold hardships once classified under the tag. “Making a blanket allegation that all these firms claim GST on bogus invoices, the CBIC officials subject them to harassment by physical checking of the consignments at the ports. It results in the soiling and crumpling of the garments which in turn could end up in rejection of the goods at the foreign buyers’ end. Further contracts could also get affected,” he pointed out.
He further noted that the IGST claims of the nearly 250 exporters from Tirupur came to a whopping Rs. 500 crore. “The assurance given to release the amount after verification of input tax credit within a maximum of 30 days was not kept up. Non-refund of duty drawback, IGST, and release of Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) benefits, had resulted in a complete erosion of working capital and caused capital crunch”.
However, the MP agrees that bogus invoices need to be checked. “Actual culprits should be caught. But at the same time, everyone should not be painted black”.
Seeks housing for migrant labours
Subbarayan reiterated the need for budgetary allocation to introduce a scheme for low-cost housing for the predominant migrant workers in Tirupur knitwear cluster. Making Tirupur an attractive destination for employment would act as a booster to augment productivity from the cluster.
Green energy generation needs incentives
Besides, there should be initiatives announced in the coming budget to incentivise solar and wind energy generation, and setting up of a mega textile park.
