Rs 12K-crore ailing bicycle industry pins hope on tax relief
The ailing Rs 12,000-crore bicycle industry, the country’s biggest and largest in Ludhiana, has pinned hopes of revival and growth following the Union Government’s assurance of tax relief to promote the trade.
The Centre’s statement that it has begun deliberations to cut GST and rationalise levy on bicycles and their parts has brought cheer to the industry, which has been raising this major demand since long.
Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary has recently informed Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora that the issue of reduction of GST on bicycles and their parts had been deliberated by the GST Council in its 31st and 37th meetings. The minister also assured Arora that GST on bicycles and their parts, along with rate rationalisation in this sector, was being examined by the group of ministers on rate rationalisation, constituted by the council.
Arora, the ruling AAP member in the Upper House of Parliament from Punjab, had on November 29 last written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking rationalisation of GST on bicycles and parts from 12 per cent to 5 per cent with ITC benefits.
MP Arora had highlighted several points, urging the Centre to consider these recommendations in the upcoming GST Council meeting.
