The Hindu : MAIT welcomes excise cut

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 09, 2004

Business

Business

MAIT welcomes excise cut

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JAN. 8. The Manufacturers Association for IT, a trade body representing several computer and IT hardware manufacturers, has welcomed the Centre's decision to cut excise duty from 16 per cent to 8 per cent and scrap across the board, the 4 per cent special additional duty (SAD).

Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, MAIT, said the decision addressed a "long standing demand of the IT manufacturing industry". This was a `significant measure' to help the domestic IT industry become globally competitive, he said.

The cut in excise duty and zero SAD would make the organised sector price competitive vis-a-vis the grey market and lead to higher PC penetration, he said.

The reduction in excise duty also means that the countervailing duty which manufacturers were charged under finished good category in lieu of the excise duty will also be 8 per cent. S. Rajendran, who heads Acer India's consumer products division, said, "To that extent the margin for play has been reduced for the grey market".

Acer would `pass on the benefits to the customers' after taking into account the `weighted nature' of the duty, he said.

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