IPMA seeks uniform excise duty of 8%

The Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) has called for immediate government action in the forthcoming Union Budget to disband the present multi-tier excise structure that is hindering the growth of the paper industry and replace it with a uniform excise duty of eight per cent.

Rajeev Vederah, president of the association said that currently there is no uniform excise duty structure for Indian paper industry and is linked to disparate criteria.

"When Indian manufacturing as a whole is priming itself to be globally competitive, it is unfortunate that the Indian Paper industry, which is worth more than 17,000 crore, should still be grappling on its own to resolve impediments to its growth. We propose that instead of a multi-tier excise structure that ranges from eight to 16 per cent, the government should have a uniform excise duty of eight per cent for the entire paper industry," said Vederah.

He also said that India is a part of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and has also signed various free trade agreements and regional trade agreements.

"It is essential that current basic custom duty of 15 per cent applicable on paper or paperboard is maintained till enabling policies required to help the industry achieve global competitiveness are put in place," Vederah added.

Pradeep Dhobale, vice-president of IPMA said, "The paper industry needs enables from the government to develop an indigenous raw material base and also generate employment by facilitating farm forestry on a bigger scale. This can only happen when a paradigm shift from conservation-cantered management to production-cantered management of the forests at the policy level. The paper industry needs 1.2-1.5 million hectare of plantation area which is only three percent of India's total degraded forestland."