Himachal sops may take away more Goa units

Himachal Pradesh' sales tax and income tax holidays may be attracting companies in Goa to shift there, going by the example of one company.

Shanu Pai Panandiker, managing director of Marpol Pvt Ltd, a Rs 40 crore company which produces powder coatings, recently acquired land in Himachal Pradesh and invested an initial Rs 1.5 crore to build facilities in the state, even though the company has a unit at a Goa industrial estate.

Panandiker admits that his company is planning to set up small units at places closer to mature markets like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka rather than continuing to export goods from Goa.

"We will definitely try to keep the Goa unit afloat, but if efficiency drops and if problems crop up owing to the limited container transport facilities, anything can happen. We will have to cut down on using this unit. The company has just started exporting to the Middle East, Egypt and to African countries. So it is profitable in every way to be at a place where we can get the best tax facility, even it is a little away from the port," he said.

Panandiker said, "The Goa government has failed to take initiatives to boost industry. It did not revive the tax holidays that industry had been enjoying till 2004. These should have been extended for another five years at least. The tax holidays ended just as biggies like Hindustan Levers and other IT related companies started taking an interest in investing in the state.''

Even for traditional companies like us, which never thought of leaving Goa, need to be competitive in the world market. With the WTO deadlines closing in, only companies with the lowest cost of production will survive. So there is no time to think of tradition, he added.