The government bowing down to pressure from the textile sector, has scrapped the import duty on imports of textile machinery, which was a primary demand of the industry.
Earlier imports of textile machinery and related equipment, attracted a customs duty of 5 percent, and with other surcharges, it actually went up much higher.
The Finance Ministry had estimated that, the exchequer would bear a lose of around Rs 10 billion in revenue if the duty was withdrawn, which was considered exaggerated by the sector.
The announcement for withdrawing the import duty was made in the Textile Policy, but was to be implemented from the next fiscal year, in view of the revenue shortfall.
The textile ministry had proposed the finance ministry to remove the import duty from the current fiscal, which was accepted after a lot of persuasion.
The waiver of customs duty on the import of textile machinery and equipment is expected to boost the fortunes of a sector, which is going through a depressing period.