Bangalore: The Confederation of Indian Industry has appealed to the State Government to provide VAT (value added tax) exemption and tax concessions for textile exports till 2011.

At a meeting organised recently, the CII said the Government should bring textile and garment accessories under a uniform VAT rate of four per cent instead of 12.5 per cent. It suggested that levy of entry tax on diesel oil and furnace oil be stopped. Entry tax on capital goods, raw materials and packaging material should be removed, the CII said. Waiver of stamp duty on land registration and registration of rental deeds by the garment industry should be considered. The CII said there were a large number of units in the unorganised sector, and there was scope of increasing employment opportunities. The quality of labour could be improved through skill development programmes, it said.

On labour reforms, the CII said the Essential Services Maintenance Act and the Contract Labour Exit Clause should be made applicable to the garment industry. The minimum working hours should be raised to 60 hours a week, including 12 hours of overtime. A law to allow women workers to work beyond 10 p.m. in garment units should be adopted, it said.

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