Tyre industry has asked for increasing import duties on tyres to bring them at par with rubber, the principal raw material so as to provide a level playing field to the domestic manufacturing.
In its pre-budget submission, Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) stated that the import duty on rubber currently is 20 per cent while tyres can be imported at a rate of 5 per cent or even nil rate of duty under various trade agreements.
For successful implementation of Make-in-India campaign and to promote domestic manufacturing, it is important that import of finished products attract duties at least as much, if not more, than what is levied on raw materials, said Raghupati Singhania, Chairman ATMA.
Although tyres (finished product) can be imported into India at preferential / concessional duties under various trade agreements, the corresponding concessional duties for rubber not exist since it falls in the negative list. Tyre is perhaps the only finished product on which ‘duty inversion’ not only continues but has actually aggravated in recent years. This needs to be addressed and corrected on priority, states ATMA.
ATMA therefore asked for increase in customs duty on tyres from basic rate of 10 per cent at present to 20 per cent and putting imports of tyres under negative list in all trade agreements where rubber is also in the negative list.
– The Hindu
