Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s textile cluster, which includes Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, Salem, Namakkal and Karur, is discontented over the goods and services tax (GST) rate of between 5 and 18% imposed on textile manufacturers, including job workers who were so far exempted from any form of tax. While the principal manufacturers are to pay GST at 18%, job workers will have to pay 5%. The GST council had initially clamped 18% tax on job work too but reduced it to 5% following protests. P. Eswarmoorthy, secretary of the Chennimalai Powerloom Association, said the powerloom sector will be badly hit by GST. The textile industry in Tamil Nadu which had joined the other states on a three-day strike against GST rates, also demanded that the state government remove certain municipal taxes, which will be a burden in addition to GST.

Source: Mint July 03, 2017 13:41 UTC