India Seeks to Halt Duty Hikes in European Textiles
January 2, 2009
MUMBAI, India - Concerned over the European Union's proposal to increase the counter-veiling duty (CVD) on cotton-type bed linen, India has urged Belgium to engage with the European Commission to resolve the issue.
India exports a large quantity of bed linen to Europe and America. European exporters remain harassed as reaching furnishing fabrics to India is becoming painful. Thus, European exporters have taken up the matter with the European Textile Committee and further, the European Textile Committee is taking up the case to interact with the World Trade Organization. India levies import duties and adding the levies, taxes and service charges adds up to 40 percent or more to the product price. The paperwork required after providing the HST tax codes is outlandish. (HST or Harmonized Sales Tax combines the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Provincial Sales Tax (PST) into a single sales tax.)
Each import company of fabrics is allowed to import samples worth 150 euro per year, duty free. The importers need to pay actual duty on all the rest of the samples. The Indian customs has a rule that all fabric coming into the country should be tested to prove the composition. The minimum billing for this process – starting at 40 euro per roll – is billed to the importer. The importers can also cut up to 40 percent of the fabric for testing. The process for testing each product takes two to five days and customs starts charging demurrage after 72 hours from the landing of the shipment.
Gebrüder Munzert GmbH & Co, Germany, manufacturers of upholstery fabrics and drapes, which exports 50 percent of its production through out the world is finding that exporting to India is not easy. "Indian buyers who like to import fabrics from Europe face cumbersome procedures as the world is moving toward borderless trade and India exports billions worth of textiles to Europe and elsewhere," said Swapan Kataria, president of Wow Textiles (an importer of Gebrüder Munzert, Germany), India.
The company also imports furnishing lines from the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Japan and Spain and informed that its European principals are unable to understand the logic of India's regulations and its European suppliers find it difficult to assimilate why importing from India to Europe is smooth and exporting to India is a "pain."
For the complete story, please look forward to the upcoming issue of Heimtextil News, to be released in Germany on Jan. 14.
India exports a large quantity of bed linen to Europe and America. European exporters remain harassed as reaching furnishing fabrics to India is becoming painful. Thus, European exporters have taken up the matter with the European Textile Committee and further, the European Textile Committee is taking up the case to interact with the World Trade Organization. India levies import duties and adding the levies, taxes and service charges adds up to 40 percent or more to the product price. The paperwork required after providing the HST tax codes is outlandish. (HST or Harmonized Sales Tax combines the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Provincial Sales Tax (PST) into a single sales tax.)
Each import company of fabrics is allowed to import samples worth 150 euro per year, duty free. The importers need to pay actual duty on all the rest of the samples. The Indian customs has a rule that all fabric coming into the country should be tested to prove the composition. The minimum billing for this process – starting at 40 euro per roll – is billed to the importer. The importers can also cut up to 40 percent of the fabric for testing. The process for testing each product takes two to five days and customs starts charging demurrage after 72 hours from the landing of the shipment.
Gebrüder Munzert GmbH & Co, Germany, manufacturers of upholstery fabrics and drapes, which exports 50 percent of its production through out the world is finding that exporting to India is not easy. "Indian buyers who like to import fabrics from Europe face cumbersome procedures as the world is moving toward borderless trade and India exports billions worth of textiles to Europe and elsewhere," said Swapan Kataria, president of Wow Textiles (an importer of Gebrüder Munzert, Germany), India.
The company also imports furnishing lines from the United States, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Japan and Spain and informed that its European principals are unable to understand the logic of India's regulations and its European suppliers find it difficult to assimilate why importing from India to Europe is smooth and exporting to India is a "pain."
For the complete story, please look forward to the upcoming issue of Heimtextil News, to be released in Germany on Jan. 14.