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Customs duty reduction welcomed
Business chambers welcomed Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha's decision to reduce additional customs duty from 8 per cent as announced in the budget for 1998-99 to 4 per cent. CII president Rajesh V Shah said the special additional duty had completely thrown the entire industrial activity out of gear at a time when the industry was already reeling under a massive slowdown. He expressed concern that the several exemptions continue and particularly the exemption to the trader. He felt that there was no rationale in the manner in which these exemptions had been applied and hoped that an exercise would be undertaken soon to study the impact and the necessary rationalisation would be effected at the earliest. The CII president was also weary of the fact that the hike in the urea prices had been rolled back and called it a step in the reverse direction. CII has advocated phasing out of subsidies over a period of time. CII hopes that the finance minister would be able to take up this later as a part of his overall reform process to reduce subsidies, Shah said. CII would extend full support to make this happen. CII urged the finance minister to urgently address other key issues such as restoration of 100 per cent modvat credit on inputs
with a 5per cent (modvatable) surcharge on excise duty payable, restoration of the exemption from withholding tax on interest payments, revival of depressed capital market and other recommendations which the CII had submitted to the finance ministry.