Textile industry seeks relief from centre over key issues:Govt to announce new textile scheme in 3 months; industry seeks ₹10,000 GST slab limit for garments

Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh has announced that the Centre will introduce a comprehensive scheme for the textile industry within the next three months. The announcement came during his visit to Surat, where metallic zari manufacturers and textile industry representatives raised concerns over GST-related issues, stalled input tax credit (ITC) refunds and rising yarn prices. Zari Manufacturers Face ₹7 Per Kg Loss Despite GST Cut Metallic zari manufacturers told the minister that the GST rate on their products had been reduced from 12% to 5%, but ITC refunds had stopped. Since manufacturers pay higher GST on raw materials while the finished product attracts a lower rate, the non-refund of excess tax is causing them a loss of ₹7 per kg, they said. Industry representatives expressed concern that despite repeated representations to local authorities and the state secretariat, the issue had not been taken up by the GST Council. Industrialists Seek Monitoring of Yarn Prices Textile industry representatives also flagged what they described as arbitrary increases in yarn prices by spinners. They said frequent price hikes were putting weavers and textile processors under financial pressure. They urged the government to monitor yarn prices regularly to ensure that manufacturers could procure raw materials at reasonable rates. Giriraj Singh assured the industry representatives that their concerns would be addressed promptly. Industry Seeks Higher Threshold for 18% GST on Garments At a meeting held at the Federation of Surat Textile Traders’ Associations (FOSTTA) office, industry representatives also raised concerns over the GST slab for readymade garments. Garments priced above ₹2,500 currently attract 18% GST. The industry representatives demanded that the threshold be increased to ₹10,000.