SGCCI team to meet Vaghela seeking Cenvat abolition

A delegation of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) will leave for New Delhi on June 10 to meet Union textiles minister Shankarsinh Vaghela and make a representation seeking abolition of Cenvat (Central value-added tax).

The chamber president Dinesh Mandalaywala said, "Cenvat has not led to any increase in the government's revenue. It has only increased problems for the weavers. Cenvat's accounting system is too complicated and especially in Surat, where most of the weavers are not very educated, the system is extremely difficult to understand and follow."

"Local weavers are already facing problems such as recession and high electricity tariff. Cenvat has only made matters worse. The government has nothing to lose if Cenvat is abolished, but it will be a major relief for weavers," Mandalaywala said.

The chamber president said, "We are going to Delhi on June 10 to meet Union textiles minister Shankarsinh Vaghela. We will apprise him of the situation and in the interest of the weaving industry, request him to take steps for abolishing Cenvat at the earliest."

The chamber delegation also plans to raise the issue of Surat Airport during its visit.

Mandalaywala said, "The airport has become a basic necessity for Surat. It is very essential for the progress of the local trade and industry. All through these years, we have been given assurances that the airport would start functioning shortly, but nothing much has happened."

"We also plan to meet civil aviation minister Prafull Patel and urge him to start work on Surat airport. We will also try to meet Union finance minister P Chidambaram and see if we can secure some concessions for the textile and diamond industries," the chamber president said.

Other than Mandalaywala, chamber vice president Dilip Chasmawala, former presidents Ashok Shah, Arun Jariwala and Mahendra Kajiwala are likely to be part of the delegation.

A meeting of the textiles industry in Surat had recently discussed problems faced by the units.