According to reports, the woes of India’s rubber sector have not been addressed accordingly at the Union Budget, thus, it continues to struggle under drooping prices. The finished rubber products segment, including tyre companies, were seeking duty reliefs to face the increasing threat of importing products, especially from China.
Natural rubber producers bats for hike in the import duty, from the present 20%, in the Budget. Last year, natural rubber imports reached 3,25,190 tonne and this year, till the end of January, the imports have shown a 14%-increase and is likely to reach 400,000 tonne by the year-end.
C Vinayaraghavan, Chief Executive of Harrisons Malayalam and Chairman of the Association of Planters of Kerala, said that the 2%-surcharge will take a toll on the profucers this year amid the price crisis. The relief from phased reduction of corporate tax reduction will happen only from next year. Moreover, the producers are getting much less than the official rates published by the Rubber Board, around Rs 140 per kg.
The United Planters’ Association of Southern India president Vijayan Rajes added that they expect corrective measures will be incorporated to safeguard the rubber growers before the Budget is passed. Though the tyre industry expresses content over the measures to expand roads, its demand for increasing import duty on tyres has not been considered. The sector had argued against demand of rubber producers to increase duty on rubber saying it should be brought down further to help the industry.
Raghupati Singhania, Chairman of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA), said, “Given the government’s emphasis on manufacturing, we were confident of correction in inverted duty structure. We hope the government will consider our submission for correction in inverted duty by either reducing import duty on natural rubber or by increasing duty on tyres.”