White goods sector wants cut in GST rate

Stakeholders are optimistic that lower tax will not only give a boost to sales and manufacturing but also lead to an upgradation of consumers’ choice of consumer appliances.

“We have been recommending that GST rates should go down from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, further brought down to may be 12 per cent for energy-efficient products,” said Kamal Nandi, VP of the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA). 

Nandi said incentives should be given to people to move into energy-efficient four-star or five-starrated products category, which in turn will help the government to save energy. 

“A move from 28 pc to a lower tax slab will be a welcome move and we definitely look forward to this as early as possible. The industry desperately needs this correction in the GST slab,” he added. “The industry over the last four quarters is in a single-digit growth or almost flat, except for one month of June where we saw a huge spike in demand on pre-GST sales. Other than that, the industry is not growing,” Nandi said.