The government is not considering any proposal to merge the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the Finance Ministry said on Monday. The said merger was one of the recommendations of the Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC), headed by Parthasarathi Shome, which submitted its report in 2016. Reacting to a media report which suggested that a merger of policy making bodies of direct and indirect taxes CBDT and CBIC is on cards, the ministry in a statement said, "The government has no proposal to merge the two Boards created under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963." The ministry said that the report of TARC was examined in detail by the government and this recommendation of TARC was not accepted by the government. "As a part on an assurance made by the government in Parliament in response to a Parliament question, the government has also placed this fact in 2018 before the Committee on Government Assurances. The action taken report on the recommendations of the TARC is placed even on the website of Department of Revenue, which clearly shows that this recommendation was not accepted," it added. The Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC) was constituted with a view to review the application of tax Policies and Laws in context of global best practices and recommend measure for reforms required in Tax Administration to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency. TARC had made 385 recommendations out of which 291 recommendations are relating to CBDT and 253 to CBIC. The ministry further said it is in the process of implementation of a number of taxpayers' friendly reforms like transition from manual assessment based on territorial jurisdiction to a completely randomized electronic faceless assessment, electronic verification or transactions and faceless appeals.
Source: Economic Times
Removing the clutter and inefficiencies in GST will help raise revenue productivity and collections. Goods and services tax (GST) collections appear to have bounced back smartly in June, with the easing of lockdown. But three years after India’s most transformative tax regime was rolled out, GST has some way to go before it can become a ‘good and simple tax’ that will yield a bounty in revenues and bump up growth substantially. The Centre policy paper by V Bhaskar and Vijay Kelkar (bit.ly/2ZIeMQJ) recommends institutional strengthening of the GST Council and for the Centre to deliver on its promise to make the compensation payout to states. This makes eminent sense. Removing the clutter and inefficiencies in GST will help raise revenue productivity and collections. Why not a white paper on GST reform?
Source: Economic Times
The Indian government is reviewing around 50 investment proposals involving Chinese companies under a new screening policy, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Under new rules announced by India in April, all investments by entities based in neighbouring countries need to be approved by the Indian government, whether for new or additional funding. China is the biggest of these investors and the rules drew criticism from Chinese investors and Beijing, which called the policy discriminatory. The new investment rules were aimed at curbing opportunistic takeovers during the coronavirus outbreak. However, industry executives say a deterioration in bilateral relations since a clash along the countries' contested border last month, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, could further delay approvals. "Various clearances are required. We are being a bit more cautious as one would imagine," said a senior Indian government official in New Delhi, when asked about the impact on investment applications since the border clash. India's industries department under the commerce ministry, which drafted the new policy, did not respond to a request for comment. The sources declined to name the companies whose investments are pending approvals, due to confidentiality concerns. The official, and two other sources, said about 40-50 applications involving funding from a Chinese investor have been filed since the rule change and are currently under review. One of the sources said that multiple Indian government agencies, including the Indian consulates in China, have been communicating with investors and their representatives to seek clarifications on the proposals. Alok Sonker, a partner at Indian law firm Krishnamurthy & Co, said at least 10 Chinese clients had sought his advice in recent weeks for investing in India, but were waiting for more clarity on the policy outlook in India. "Uncertainty in timelines for the investment approval is dissuading parties, both Indian and Chinese, from proceeding with business as usual," Sonker said. Last week India banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps including Bytedance's TikTok and Tencent's WeChat, in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since the border crisis erupted last month. The move has potentially dented big Chinese businesses' expansion plans for the South Asian market. Chinese companies' existing and planned investments in India stand at more than $26 billion, research group Brookings said in March.
Source: Reuters/ Economic Times
The departments which will now have to restrict the overall expenditure within 15% of BE Q2FY21 include commerce, industry, telecom, defence (civil), housing & urban affairs, school & higher education, water resources, drinking water, labour, MSME and skill development. The curbs on certain regular but not-so-unavoidable budgetary expenditure imposed on the central ministries for June quarter has been extended to the second quarter of this fiscal also, in a move that will let the Centre rein in overall budget spending and reduce the yawning fiscal slippage. According to official sources, many ministries and departments have been directed to keep their Q2 spending at 15-20% of the full-year outlay, against the usual pattern of around 25%. This is even as certain additional nonbudgeted spending will be undertaken by them under the fiscal stimulus package. “Considering the need to effectively manage the cash flows of the government, it has been decided to retain and continue with the same expenditure management measures in Q2, as was applicable for Q1 of FY21,” the expenditure department said in an office memorandum to ministries and departments. FE had estimated that a similar directive issued for Q1 expenditure enabled the Centre to save Rs 1.4 lakh crore. Assuming a similar savings in Q2 also, the expenditure reprioritisation will entail savings to the tune of Rs 2.8 lakh crore in H1, almost the same as the extra budgetary cost of the fiscal stimulus measures announced so far. The budget estimate of total expenditure in FY21 is Rs 30.4 lakh crore. Many have estimated that the Centre’s fiscal deficit in FY21 could be 7-8% of the gross domestic product, as against 3.5% budgeted, even for maintaining the budgeted level of expenditure. The widening of the deficit as a fraction of GDP is due to a big slippage likely of the revenues and a now-certain steep fall in nominal GDP size, compared to the budgeted level. The Centre’s fiscal deficit during the first two months of this fiscal stood at Rs 4.66 lakh crore or 58.6% of the Budget Estimate (BE) of Rs 7.96 lakh crore as against 52% of the respective annual target in the last fiscal. This was even as the year-on-year growth in the Centre’s total budgetary expenditure fell 0.2% year-on-year to Rs 5,11,841 crore in AprilMay 2020, compared with a growth of 21% in April. On the receipts side, big shortfalls occurred in both tax and non-tax inflows in April-May. Net tax receipts (after mandatory transfers to states) declined 71% to Rs 33,850 crore in the first two months of FY21 against the required growth rate (BE FY21 against FY20 actuals) of 21%. Besides extending the expenditure curbs to Q2, the Centre has also made it clear to the departments that the amounts that remained unspent in a month or quarter will not be available for automatic carry-forward to the next month or quarter and would require fresh approval of expenditure department. “In this time of acute cash stress, utmost care may be taken to avoid releases that can contribute to idle parking of funds,” the expenditure department said, adding that ministries/departments should take utmost care not to bunch up expenditures/releases in a bid to improve their pace of expenditure. The departments which will now have to restrict the overall expenditure within 15% of BE Q2FY21 include commerce, industry, telecom, defence (civil), housing & urban affairs, school & higher education, water resources, drinking water, labour, MSME and skill development. The monthly expenditure of these departments have been capped at 5% of BE. The departments which will have to contain expenditure at 20% of BE in Q2FY21 include fertilisers, posts, pension, defence services (relaxations can be given depending on emerging security concerns), financial services, revenue, roads and petroleum. Transfers to union territories such as Delhi and J&K will also face a similar cut. The monthly expenditure under these heads will be capped at 8% of BE in July and 6% each in August and September. After the revision of the Centre’s borrowing programme, its fiscal deficit for FY21 stands at 5.7% of GDP, against budgeted 3.5%. It is not clear at this stage whether the budgeted expenditure of Rs 30.4 lakh crore will actually be exceeded and by how much. It may be noted the government ended up reporting a deficit of 4.6% of GDP in FY20, sharply higher than 3.3% projected.
Source: Financial Express
The notification said that the markets would open only if they followed all the guidelines related to Covid-19. Diamond markets to be closed till July 13 and textile markets to be shut for 7 days if even one case found, as per orders released by Municipal Commissioner B N Pani on Monday. The decision was taken after a significant number of textile traders and diamond polishers tested positive. Since Unlock-1, over 250 textile traders and 600 diamond polishers have tested positive. The Limbayat zone officials had a few days ago sealed 10 textile trading shops from where positive cases were reported. Most cases among polishers were reported from Katargam zone and Varachha areas. “We have found that no proper guidelines are followed in the textile and diamond markets and factories. Permission to resume operations will be given to these units if they follow the civic body’s Covid-19 guidelines and standard operating procedures,” Pani said. Surat has been reporting 200 plus cases since June 29, and has overtaken Ahmedabad in its daily Covid-19 case count.
Source: The Indian Express
Legislation proposed to ensure fair competition, consumer protection and handling of ecommerce related data The Centre is trying to expedite work on the fresh draft of the national e-commerce policy, which proposes a regulator to deal with ‘unique’ aspects of e-commerce activities and seeks to impose strict rules on data flow in line with ones already being carved out for handling of personal data and non-personal data in the country…………….
Source: The Hindu Business Line
Measures such as e-way bills, GST collections and exports were on the rebound with lockdown ease. Big infrastructure and privatisation drives are in the works to give growth a boost with the government watching as many as 14 indicators every week to keep tabs on economic recovery, economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj told ET. The cabinet secretary has already held a meeting to get the infrastructure plan going and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman made as part of the Atmanirbhar package were being monitored closely, to the level of implementation. The government had announced a host of measures including a credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs and policy measures including removal of restrictions on sale of farm produce as part of the self-reliance programme aimed at reviving the economy and reducing dependence on imports.
Source: Economic Times
India may register its first monthly trade surplus in over 18 years in June as the pace of contraction of exports is estimated to have slowed down to around 12%, while imports are seen to have fallen almost 49% during the month. Initial estimates for June, available with the commerce department, show a trade surplus of around $786 million, with imports pegged at $21.1 billion and exports at $21.9 billion. The last time India had a positive balance on the trade account was in January 2002 when it had a surplus of $10 million with exports of $4.3 billion. On Friday, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had said that exports in June 2020 had touched 88% of June 2019 level due to unlocking of the economy and resumption of activity. The latest numbers, which will be officially released on July 15, indicated that the pace of export contraction has moderated as industries opened up Policy makers, however, said that the overall pace will pick up as there is greater unlocking. Even now, given the fast growth in the number of Covid-19 cases, businesses are not fully open and discretionary spending has remained weak due to the adverse sentiment. Several sectors, including iron ore, which may have gone to China, food products such as rice, other cereals, fruits and vegetables and oil seeds reported healthy growth, the initial data shared by customs authorities showed. But imports remain an area of concern, as it is a barometer of overall economic activity. The initial numbers suggest that the sharp decline in imports was led by gold, silver and precious & semi-precious stones, which are also linked to exports. During crises, demand for jewellery drops significantly as people look to conserve cash. Similarly, the value of oil imports was down over 55% due to a fall in global crude prices. Imports related to the textiles sector — including cotton, fabric and made-ups — are also down sharply along with transport equipment, chemicals, iron & steel, machine tools and electronics, indicating a slump in economic activity. Some of it may also have had to do with customs going slow on clearances at ports towards the end of the month.
Source: Times of India
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a 4.9% contraction for 2020 global GDP, warning that the Covid-19 outbreak has plunged the global economy into its worst recession since the Great Depression in 1930s. Growth of India’s exports from labour-intensive sectors has been slowing at a faster pace in recent years than overall outbound shipments, according to official data. While exports of merchandise dropped by 5.1% in FY20 to $313 billion, those from job-sensitive sectors — such as textiles & garments, farm, plantation, marine, gems & jewellery, leather, stone, cement, ceramic and some other allied segments — slid by 8.4% to $114.2 billion. Consequently, the share of such sectors in merchandise exports came down to just 36.5% in FY20 from close to 43.7% in FY17, according to the official data. This also partly explains why not enough jobs are being seen to have been created. The faster decline in exports from job-intensive sectors also indicates the loss of jobs in the formal and informal sectors, which are corroborated by surveys and analysis of the job market. First-time jobs, as reflected in EPF and New Pension System (NPS) payroll data, showed a significant decline on year in FY20 itself, according to an analysis by SBI Ecowrap. New EPF payroll or ‘first jobs’ in FY20 were 60.8 lakh, down 28.9 lakh from the previous year. The slowdown in job-intensive exports is set to accentuate further in the current fiscal, with vast swathes of key markets — the US and the EU — badly bruised by the pandemic and scared migrant workers back home in the wake of a nation-wide lockdown. Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, policy-makers were grappling with options to contain the fallout of an escalating global trade war. Although a weak rupee is expected to offer some cushion, the domestic currency is still “over-valued” by over 17% vis-à-vis a basket of 36 export-sensitive currencies, despite its depreciation in recent months, according to the RBI’s real effective exchange rate (REER) index. The domestic currency had remained “overvalued” by just over 16% in FY19 and close to 20% in FY20, according to the index. Also, currencies of some of India’s competitors, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Pakistani, too, have weakened, blunting the advantage for New Delhi. Analysts have pointed out that with hefty hikes in the minimum support prices of a range of commodities in recent years to ensure farmers get a 50% premium over costs, our farm and allied sector exports have lost competitive edge in many commodities as well as finished goods. More importantly, thanks to its handicap in several segments—elevated expenses on logistics (as much as 15-16% of consignment value) and elevated costs of raw materials and labour — India has been beaten by countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam in segments like textiles and garments where China has been trimming its dominant exposure. In an earlier interview to FE, Pronab Sen, former chairman of the National Statistical Commission, had said the note ban continued to haunt employment-sensitive sectors. “Most of these sectors have a fairly large component of non-corporate sector in production. I suspect, a lot of it (drop in exports) could be due to the supply problem— that such units are simply not able to produce much,” he had said. “All these sectors are very sensitive to the informal financial sector that was badly bruised by demonetisation. And the banking sector — which could have possibly replaced it (in terms of lending) — is struggling with a balance-sheet problem. So these sectors are squeezed from both sides,” he had added. Apart from the note ban, the export sector has also been affected by a hasty GST roll-out, trade finance pangs and subdued global growth prospects. While overall non-food credit grew 6.8% as of May 22 from a year earlier, loans to MSMEs rose just 1.7%. Of course, with the implementation of the Rs 3-lakh-crore guaranteed loan scheme from June 1, credit flow to these businesses is expected to rise. Also, as pointed out in a 2016 report by HSBC, India’s domestic bottlenecks explain 50% of the recent slowdown in overall exports (remaining the biggest threat to its outbound shipments), followed by world growth (33%) and the exchange rate (just 17%). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted a 4.9% contraction for 2020 global GDP, warning that the Covid-19 outbreak has plunged the global economy into its worst recession since the Great Depression in 1930s. The WTO, too, has warned that global trade volume growth could crash by 13% in 2020. These would weigh on the Indian exports as well.
Source: Financial Express
The opening up of India's economy post lockdown and implementation of the economic package unveiled by the government have started showing results on the ground with initial signs of improvement in the performance of businesses now visible, says a survey. The Ficci-Dhruva Advisors industry survey was conducted in June 2020 and saw participation of over 100 top corporate executives (CxOs) from across sectors. "While the green shoots of recovery are being seen, it is important to emphasise that sustaining this improvement in the operational parameters of businesses will require continuous support from the government. "The support is particularly needed in the realm of strengthening market demand in the absence of which this initial recovery may fizzle out," Ficci emphasised. The results of the survey show that presently close to 30 per cent of the firms are operating at 70 per cent plus capacity utilisation, while nearly 45 per cent expect capacity utilisation to be above 70 per cent in the near term. In terms of the challenges that firms foresee they will continue to face even during the unlocking phase, managing costs, weak demand and financial liquidity remain the top three items with 60 per cent, 59 per cent and 57 per cent reporting the same. "Some of the survey respondents have also alluded to the second wave of COVID-19 as a challenge they foresee that could affect businesses going ahead. A sudden stop on the imports from China, given the most recent developments, also figured in the feedback received as part of the survey on challenges that could impact businesses," said Ficci on the survey. On the jobs front, nearly 32 per cent of the firms have reported that they see a job loss of over 10 per cent from their company's perspective. In April edition of this survey, this figure was close to 40 per cent. Unlocking of the economy is starting to have a positive impact on exports, cash flows, order books and supply chains, it observed. It revealed that 22 per cent of the respondents have said that exports have improved in recent times. 25 per cent have reported a positive impact of unlocking of the economy on order books and 21 per cent have confirmed improvement in cash flows. Nearly 30 per cent of the firms are seeing their supply chains getting back on track. Notably, in the April edition of the survey only 5 per cent of the companies were expecting an increase in exports, 7 per cent had reported increase in order books and 10 per cent expected an improvement in cash flows. However, the survey results further show that on strategic issues like M&A and FDI, majority of the firms still plan to wait for 6-12 months before decision making. In the April edition of the survey, 54 per cent of the companies had reported that they would look at M&A in the long term. In June this figure has moved to 75 per cent - a reflection of the recessionary conditions and fast changing business dynamics. On the economic package related questions, only 1 in 5 companies said that the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme has started yielding results. The interest rate reduction by banks has also benefitted just about a quarter of the firms with the gains being modest for most and in the range of 25-50 basis points. Regarding the questions related to migrant workers, while a majority (53 per cent) of the respondents believe migrant workers will come back as businesses have restarted, industry is requesting for provision of concessional transportation, availability of low rental housing near work-sites, adequate healthcare and medical facilities and subsidised meal programmes to be provided by the government to encourage workers to return. Further, like MNREGA in rural areas, large scale public works programme for city cleaning, sanitation and plantation of trees can be initiated in urban areas as these would generate jobs for the informal sector workers, according to the survey participants. On income tax refunds, nearly 36 per cent of the respondents said that they have started receiving income tax refunds from the government. Almost an equal proportion are saying that the measures taken towards ease of doing business have started yielding results. On the demand generation side, companies have suggested enhanced cash transfers to the vulnerable sections of society, reduction in GST rates on a temporary basis, widening of the income tax slabs to leave more money in the hands of the people, greater impetus to housing, infrastructure and auto sectors and support to state governments for purchase of buses for city transportation amongst other areas. Ficci President Sangita Reddy said, "These numbers are on expected lines and underscore the nascent recovery that is currently underway. Given the deep impact on the economy and industry, any improvement will be gradual and with time we hope to see these results improving. Given the evolving situation, it is important that we continue to take measures that are supportive of businesses enabling them to tide over the current crisis as well as prepare well for the long-term opportunities." Dinesh Kanabar, CEO, Dhruva Advisors said, "The survey results show an improvement in sentiments with the unlocking and the implementation of the stimulus package; while this is very welcome, more radical steps need to be undertaken by the government to get the economy back on the growth trajectory, particularly for the sectors which are deeply impacted."
Source: Economic Times
MAUD Minister says government will provide assistance to companies ready to invest in the State Telangana’s Textile Policy is the best in the country and the government will provide assistance to companies if they come forward to invest in the State, said IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao.Rama Rao, who was participating along with Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani in a webinar, hosted by Invest India Exclusive Investment Forum under the title ‘Textile and Apparel Sector Edition’, on Monday, mentioned about Telangana’s Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and said that it was the largest textile park in India. He also said that the government was providing round-the-clock power and water supply to companies in the State. He said under the Mission Bhagiratha, 10 per cent of the water was allocated to the industries. He said there were 60 lakh acres of cotton plantation in the State and the Southern India Mills Association had declared that the cotton quality of Telangana was the best not only in India but across the world. He gave an overview of the industrial policies and singlewindow clearance system under TSiPASS. Rama Rao also mentioned that industrial parks are coming up in the Textile sector in Telangana. During the session, Welspun CEO Dipali Goenka appreciated the Telangana government and stated that Telangana was the best destination for industries. Telangana has a visionary leadership and hence offers the best industrial policies, suitable for business, Goenka added.Union Minister Smriti Irani said Telangana had been successful in attracting major investments in last six years with its unique policies. She appreciated the thoughts and inputs given by Rama Rao during the session. 24,000 PPE kits for GHMC staff soon As the number of Covid cases are rising in the city, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister KT Rama Rao distributed PPE safety kits to frontline workers of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) at the Animal Care Centre in Fathullaguda near Nagole, on Monday. The GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar said,”As many as, 24,500 safety kits would be distributed among the workers within the next three weeks.” The kits will be distributed among sanitation, entomology and veterinary staff of GHMC. Lokesh Kumar said so far, 1,80,000 cloth masks, 27,000 pairs of hand gloves and 25,000 litres of hand sanitisers had been distributed to the GHMC workers. The Minister thanked Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation workers for keeping the city clean and in controlling the spread of Covid-19. “It is also your responsibility to look after your family members and keep them safe,” Rama Rao said.
Source: The New Indian Express
Assam industry minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that Assam has a good textile policy and assured customized support to textile investors for setting up business ventures in Assam. The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India in collaboration with Invest India organized an ‘Exclusive Investment Forum’ webinar. As part of the series, today’s edition focused on textiles and apparel sector. Only five states were invited, Assam being one of them. Other states included Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. The webinar saw discussion on domestic manufacturers, state clusters, scope of apparels, textile machineries, yarn, supply chain and man-made fibres (MMF). Participating from Assam, Patowary said, ‘As per the 4th All India Handloom Census, Assam has the highest number of looms and weavers in India. With 10.9 lakh weaver households and 10.19 lakh looms, the cottage industry provides huge employment opportunities to the people.’ Citing that Assam has a good textile and export policy, Minister Patowary invited the textile investors to Assam and assured customized support to their business ventures in Assam. Patowary said, ‘Assam has a textile park and is soon contemplating to set up another mega textile park. Assam offers the advantage of seamless connectivity to East Asia. With the advancement of the Act East policy, Assam is now the Centre of South East Asia with access to 80 million people.’ Ravi Capoor, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, highlighted the ecosystem for textile sector in India and presented the latest initiatives and schemes of Government of India for promotion of textile industries in India. Dr KK Dwivedi, Commissioner and Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department made a brief presentation on the state’s advantages for textile majors. He added that the State produces 4650 MT of eri, 156.96 MT of muga, 59.50 MT of mulberry per year. Gautam Nair, Chairman, CII Task Force; Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and over 100 business leaders from various parts of the country participated in the webinar.
Source: Economic Times
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
788.93 |
USD/Ton |
-0.89% |
07-07-2020 |
|
VSF |
1240.97 |
USD/Ton |
-0.57% |
07-07-2020 |
|
ASF |
1678.79 |
USD/Ton |
0.43% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
724.97 |
USD/Ton |
-1.92% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2039.85 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
3980.20 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
5188.48 |
USD/Ton |
-0.82% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
952.41 |
USD/Ton |
-1.47% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1904.81 |
USD/Ton |
-0.74% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1847.95 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
902.65 |
USD/Ton |
-3.05% |
07-07-2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
2295.72 |
USD/Ton |
-1.52% |
07-07-2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
1731.39 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1393.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2182.00 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1890.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1663.16 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1563.65 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2032.75 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.12 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.92 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.48 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
07-07-2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14215 USD dtd. 07/07/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
After the EU Council adopted a decision on the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Vietnam, almost complete (99%) elimination of customs duties between the two blocks will come into force. The FTA will also lessen many of the current non-tariff barriers to trade with Vietnam and open up Vietnamese services and public procurement markets to European Union companies. This new gateway of opportunity will bear fruit for the Vietnam apparel industry among other manufacturing industries. The country will join its other neighboring apparel manufacturing countries i.e. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Pakistan – currently ship apparel to the EU at zero duty, as they continue to get preferential treatment. While India (9.6%) and China (12%) will be taxed. Though Chinese apparel tariff % is higher than India, but China unquestionably remains far more viable than New Delhi and offers a remarkable range of fashion apparel.
Country-wise-apparel-export-growth-EU
Not to mention, India’s readymade garment (RMG) exports dropped sharply to 4.31 billion euros from 4.47 billion euros. While according to the European Commission data, Bangladesh’s rose from 12.62 billion euros to 15 billion euros, Cambodia’s export rose to 3.30 billion euros in 2019 from 2.71 billion euros in 2016 and Pakistan’s increased from 2.23 billion euros to 2.70 billion euros, and Vietnam’s garment exports to the EU went up from 2.61 billion euros to 3.29 billion euros. Whereas China’s RMG exports to the EU fallen slightly from 25.21 billion euros to 25.03 billion euros. In contrast, India’s apparel export drop was harsher. This advocates that while China has been gradually shifting from labour-intensive industries to capital-intensive and high-tech ones. “The clear tariff differential in the EU market will add to our already-stark disadvantages in other areas (logistics costs, etc.) and further erode our competitiveness vis-à-vis Vietnam,” said Gautam Nair, Managing Director at Matrix Clothing, one of the country’s largest apparel exporters. “Vietnam’s FTA with the EU will be another blow to the Indian garment exporters. What we need is no quick-fixes but a long-term vision. Promoting garment clusters, initiating structural reforms and tailoring policy interventions accordingly will be a way forward,” said Raja M Shanmugham, President of the Tirupur Exporters’ Association. Beside tariff, industry experts have identified India’s higher logistics costs as one of the main obstacles. On top of it, the Covid-19 pandemic has already wreaked havoc in the Indian textile and garment industry.
Source: Textile Today
The country’s apparel exporters have urged the government to allow 4 per cent cash incentive to the knitwear exporters against their repatriation of export proceeds instead of value addition. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association and Exporters Association of Bangladesh on Sunday sent a joint letter to the finance ministry, demanding the issuance of a master circular on the cash incentive as the exporters were being harassed due to the ambiguity in the existing finance ministry’s circular in this regard. Currently, knitwear manufacturers and exporters get 4 per cent alternative cash incentive against value addition to their products produced in the country using local yarn. In the letter, the trade bodies said currently the cash incentive was being calculated on 80 per cent of their repatriated export proceeds, which meant they were getting maximum 3.2 per cent incentive. ‘All other export sectors in the country are getting cash incentive against their repatriation of export proceeds while the incentive for apparel sector is calculated on value addition (80 per cent of proceeds repatriation),’ the letter said. They claimed that the calculation of cash incentive on value addition made the process cumbersome. The trade bodies said that the Bangladesh Bank issued a number of circulars several times in this regard and all the circulars created new ambiguity with using complex words. Exporters said that cash incentives could be given against freight on board instead of value addition as there was no realistic methodology for determining value addition to products. ‘Different methodology is used in determining products’ prices based on the variation of design and quality of fabric. And the issue is very much technical as the charges for knitting and dying are variable,’ the letter said. BGMEA president Rubana Huq, BKMEA president AKM Salim Osman, BTMA president Mohammad Ali Khokon and EAB president Abdus Salam Murshedy signed the letter. In 2017, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission had suggested that the government give cash incentive to the knitwear exporters against their export proceeds instead of value addition as there was no realistic methodology for determining value addition to products. In a letter to the commerce ministry, the commission also suggested resetting the rate of the cash incentive from 4 per cent keeping the government allocation for the purpose unchanged. The then BB deputy director, Mohammad Arafat Ali, had said that the proposal for cash incentive against the FOB price could be accepted if the measure did not result in any additional government spending.
Source: New Age Business
Shortly after Meadows's televised remarks, Trump tweeted, "China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the World!" President Donald Trump is preparing to issue a series of executive orders on a range of subjects, including China, manufacturing, immigration and prescription drug prices, his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said Monday. Meadows, speaking on Fox News, teased the coming orders while criticizing Joe Biden’s record as a lawmaker and the current Congress for proceeding with a scheduled break, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve got a number of executive orders,” Meadows told Fox. “We’re looking at how we make sure that China is addressed, how we bring manufacturing back from overseas to make sure the American worker is supported. We’re also going to look at a number of issues as it relates to immigration, we’re going to look at a number of issues as it relates to prescription drug prices -- and we’re going to get them done when Congress couldn’t get them done.” Shortly after Meadows’s televised remarks, Trump tweeted, “China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the World!” Meadows didn’t specify when the orders would be issued, or offer any further detail on their scope. Speaking to reporters afterward at the White House, Meadows signaled that manufacturing incentives are a priority for Trump in talks over the next round of coronavirus aid, which are set to ramp up in Congress later this month. It’s important for Trump to “provide incentives for American manufacturing to be brought back from abroad,” he told reporters. Trump also still favors a payroll tax, calling it and the manufacturing incentive “critical components” of the White House’s position.
Source: Bloomberg/ Business Standard
