Varinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 12

While the Punjab sports manufacturing industry is fuming over increased tax component due to the imposition of GST, Union Minister of State for Finance Arjun Meghwal has assured the industry to come out with a solution within a time frame of one and half months.

In Punjab, Jalandhar is the hub of sports goods manufacturing where more than 1.5 lakh workers are employed by the industry directly or indirectly followed by Malerkotla. Apart from Jalandhar, Jammu and Meerut are home to the sports goods manufacturing units.

While there was no tax levied on the industry in the states of J&K and UP, the sports manufacturing industry of Punjab was paying maximum tax component of up to 8% prior to the implementation of GST. Now, with the implementation of GST, the tax component on sports industry has been increased from 8% to 12, 18 and 28%.

“As many as 90% of units based in Punjab were not in the purview of even excise duty as their total annual turnover was less than Rs 1.5 crore prior to the implementation of GST. But, now almost everyone has to shell out high rate of taxes, which will reduce the sale, thus wiping out the industry from Punjab and UP,” said Ravinder Dhir, president of the Khel Udhami Vyapaar Sena, Punjab, who led a delegation of Punjab sports goods manufacturers to the minister. Former Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary KD Bhandari also accompanied the delegation.

“We told the minister that the Punjab sports goods manufacturing industry was already under pressure because of increasing competition from China and tax sops provided to the industry based in other states like J&K. How will we compete with China and others? We will be forced to close down our units and thousands of workers would lose their jobs in Punjab and elsewhere,” said Dhir.

He said the minister has assured that they would come out with a viable solution soon. “He has promised to take up the issue with the GST Council at the earliest,” said Dhir. Sena general secretary Vipin Prinja said even safety items like bicycle helmets were not spared and have been put under the highest tax slab of 28%.