Rollback excise duty on branded garments: ministry

The Textiles Ministry is seeking rollback of excise duty on branded apparel, following protest from retailers, including Shoppers Stop and Pantaloons, who have gone on strike today protesting the new levy.

"We will write a letter to the Revenue Secretary. We are requesting them, because...The prices of the finished products in the domestic retail sector (which) we are trying to develop, would indeed go up," Textiles Secretary Rita Menon said on the sidelines of a Central Cottage Industries Emporium of India function here.

She said from tax point of view some nominal levy may be imposed "but 10% is a big burden".

Major brands like Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons, Westside, Lifestyle, Madura Garments and Arvind Brands have shut their establishments today to protest against the proposal in the Budget to impose excise duty on branded garments.

According to industry experts, about 50,000 apparel brands will be impacted if the duty is imposed.

Of the total estimated Rs 1,00,000 crore apparel business in India annually, about Rs 60,000 crore comes from the branded apparels.