FICCI seeks excise cut for investment promotion

Steel, cement, petro products, automobiles and auto components top the list of corporate India’s Budget-eve wish list for excise duty c...

Steel, cement, petro products, automobiles and auto components top the list of corporate India’s Budget-eve wish list for excise duty cuts, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) said on Sunday. A more favourable excise regime in these five sectors will boost demand and bring fresh investments into the economy.

Ficci said the fiscal trigger on these five sectors, will have a multiple effect, ‘‘working itself out through the economy resulting in a boost to GDP growth.’’ The survey added that every rupee invested would result in a four-time value enhancement.

Releasing the survey, Ficci President Onkar S. Kanwar said, ‘‘Feedback from our member companies shows that steel tops the list of products on which excise duty needs to be reduced to boost fresh investments. This is followed by cement, petro products, automobiles and auto components.’’

Ficci said feedback from members revealed that a third (31 pc) want an excise duty cut on steel, followed by cement (25 pc), petroleum products (24 pc), and automobiles and automotive components (21 pc each). The investment rate picked up by 1.5 percentage points to 26.3 per cent of GDP in 2000-4, Ficci pointed out. ‘‘Real investment levels went up by 12.5 pc in agriculture-related activities, 19.9 pc in industry and 21.8 pc in services,’’ the survey stated.

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