India is weighing dual-pronged tax cuts on induction cooktops as it looks to encourage domestic manufacturing and make electric cooking more affordable amid the severe energy market disruptions caused by the Iran war, an official said. The government is considering lowering customs duties on key components used in induction cooktops to ease input cost pressures for local manufacturers and boost production. Separately, the commerce and industry ministry has proposed reducing the goods and services tax (GST) on appliances to 5% from the current 18%.
The commerce and industry ministry recently held stakeholder consultations with the power ministry to address demand-supply challenges in the induction cooktop sector and assess immediate measures for stabilising product supply and prices, said the official.
Meanwhile, the government is moving to take a decision on relaxing quality control orders (QCO) on a case-to-case basis to ensure stable raw material supplies amid the West Asia crisis.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is reviewing the QCOs and is in talks with stakeholders, even as it has already relaxed five QCOs related to safety of household, commercial and similar electrical appliances.
The department has put in place a comprehensive suite of regulatory measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel, gas, and essential raw materials, Nidhi Kesarwani, joint secretary, DPIIT, said Wednesday. These include expedited licensing under the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO), expansion of gas infrastructure, processing 467 applications for compressed natural gas and compressed biogas, extension of QCO timelines for induction cooktops, highlighting fiscal interventions for the leather, footwear, and paint industries, and customs duty waivers.
“As per the stakeholder consultation and the request from the industries in order to meet availability of raw material, recently the government has relaxed five QCOs,” said Kesarwani.
Asked if more QCO relaxations are in the pipeline, she said, “As and when, with the consultations, as the things are evolving, as and when it comes up, yes”.
Out of the 467 cases under PESO norms, in 157 cases, final licenses were granted and 38 prior approvals were issued for construction of new CNG/ CBG dispensing stations, she said, adding that since March, 41 biogas cylinder filling and storage plants have been granted approval, and subsequently licences have been issued to 14 plants.
Source from: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/electronics/induction-cooktop-makers-may-be-enticed-with-duty-gst-cuts/articleshow/130450538.cms
