Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the Union Budget for the financial year 2023-24.
Plastindia Foundation has urged the government to lower the import of polymer and increase the custom duty on finished plastic products in Union Budget 2023-24 to support the domestic plastic industry. It has also the minister to frame the budget keeping in mind the overall growth and development of the entire plastic industry – from raw materials, and converter to machinery manufacturers.
“Plastindia Foundation’s motto is to put the Indian plastic industry on a high growth path – from USD 5 trillion in 2025 to an ambitious USD 25 trillion by 2045. To drive this growth and to make India the global sourcing hub for plastic, Plastindia Foundation wholeheartedly supports the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. However, we need support from the government to make this a reality,” said Jigish Doshi, president, Plastindia Foundation.
“The import duty on polymer should be between 5-7.5 %. India does not produce enough polymer and import is inevitable. Import duty on polymer needs to be lowered to make the Indian plastic industry more competitive,” added Doshi. “The government is focusing on renewable energy, and this presents an opportunity for the plastic industry. However, at present 90% of the components for solar panels and windmills are imported and the products are only assembled in India. To encourage the local manufacturers, the custom duty on the import of components like EVA, back sheet, metal frame, solar glass, etc., should be at least 20%. The plastic industry can play an important role in manufacturing EVA and back sheets.”
The custom duty on the finished plastic product should be a minimum of 20% or more to support the domestic plastic processing industry, Doshi said. To promote industrialization in India, Doshi requested the minister to make available uninterrupted power at less than Rs 5 per unit. “This rate is at par with neighboring countries that make uninterrupted power available to industries at a low cost,” Doshi said.
Doshi also suggested that India should have a free labor law while simultaneously saying that the wages should not be so high that it makes the manufacturing industry globally noncompetitive. “Labor law should come under the purview of the central government and wages across the country – in tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 cities, should be uniform,” he said.
Doshi also requested the government to make land acquisition easy by identifying zones of land that are non-agricultural. He said, “Land from those zones should be made available easily without industries having to go through the formality of converting agricultural land to non-agricultural land. Also, the Government should start a new formula wherein developed land should be made available to industries on long-term leases. This will significantly lower the investment in land and make Indian industries globally competitive. Currently, the price of land is so high that project costs skyrocketed. China is using this formula for a very long time.”
Speaking about compliance, he said, “Compliance should be kept minimum. Also, if there are any technical errors in following the compliance, then it should be handled by a separate court. It should not be treated as criminal activity.”
Doshi further suggested that GST should not be higher than 12% across product categories. Also, easy finance at reasonable interest rates from both banks and NBFCs should be made available to the industry, he said.
