With just a few more days for the Union budget, industries in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts have submitted their demands to the government.
The Southern India Mills' Association has sought allocation of ₹9,000 crore for the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme. Of this, nearly ₹6000 crore is needed to meet the committed liabilities under earlier versions of the scheme. "Since the industry is on path to recovery, necessary fund allocation and speedy disbursal of the subsidy will not only support the industry but will also help the Indian economy to grow at a faster rate," it said.
It also sought working capital for the mills to buy cotton and creation of a National Textiles Fund. This will help meet the financial needs of textile units for infrastructure creation and technology adoption.
The association pointed out that bamboo fibres can be basically compared with viscose fibres as the source of raw material is nearly the same. Bamboo fibre is made of bamboo pulp and viscose is made of wood or eucalyptus pulp. Based on this factual criteria, the imported bamboo fibre has been classified by the Customs Department under Tariff Headings 5504 9090 or 5504 1000. Due to the absence of a specific entry for the Bamboo Fibre in the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, the importers were directed to clear the product as artificial staple fibre. Hence, a specific code is needed for bamboo fibre, it said.
The Tiruppur Exporters Association has appealed to the government to support development of housing facilities for workers.
If the industries invest in developing housing for the workers, it should be treated as allowable business expenditure similar to Section 37 of the Income Tax Act. Since research and development is essential for Tiruppur to develop further, the government should set up a research and development centre and incentivise such efforts of individual units.
All units should benefit under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee scheme, irrespective of the size of the unit.
The Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) has asked the government to come out with an MSME policy, treating the units as priority sector. The main challenge for the MSMEs is prices of raw materials and hence the government should take steps to bring the prices to pre-COVID levels. The NSIC warehouses should be open to MSMEs to store the finished products.
The Southern India Engineering Manufacturers Association (SIEMA) said pumpsets should be classified as essential agricultural machinery as these are used on agricultural lands for irrigation.
The deductions permitted on scientific expenditure has been reduced to 100% from 200%. It should be restored to 200 % and the process simplified so that the units get the DSIR approval easily.
The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme should be revised to provide loans upto 40 % of the sanctioned limit and the interest rate should be 7.5%.
