Apparel exporters body AEPC on Saturday urged the government to announce tax incentives, including removal of a provision requiring payments to MSMEs within 45 days to claim deductions and customs duty exemption on garment machinery imports. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has also requested that an interest equalization rate of 5 per cent be announced in the Budget, scheduled to be unveiled on February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
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Other demands include extension of concessional tax rate for new manufacturing units to encourage setting up of new garment units; simplification in the procedure of imports of trims and embellishments under IGCR (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate); and liberalizing e-commerce export procedures.
«Ready Made Garments (RMG) industry has also demanded removal of Sec43B (H) of IT Act in the ensuing Budget which pertains to payment to any MSME companies within a maximum 45 days' time to claim any deduction in tax. This has increased tax liabilities and has disrupted the cash flow of exporters,» it said in a statement.
It added that the cap per consignment of export value under e-commerce should be increased to minimum Rs 25 lakh and export realization period should be extended to 12 months.
India's garment export sector relies heavily on imported