The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has urged the government for a gradual and controlled reduction in import duty. The apex body feels that not doing so will leave a disasterous impact on the industry.
The Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had last month proposed a bilateral free-trade agreement, stating that India is open to discussing import of scotch whiskey from the UK in a larger measure. The CIABC, in a letter to the minister, requested the government not to go ahead with any proposal to reduce customs duty (BCD) on alcoholic beverages imported from the United Kingdom. “India is considering reduction in the BCD on alcoholic beverages as part of its negotiation with the UK. Any reduction in BCD must be gradual in a controlled manner in order to provide reasonable protection to Indian companies against predatory imports, give level-playing field against western firms, and help Indian products achieve global scale and success,” the confederation said. It pointed out that not doing so will have a disastrous impact on the industry and would lead to a great loss to Indian farmers and cause massive unemployment.
Vinod Giri, CIABC Director General, stressed that the Indian alcoholic industry was not against reduction in BCD, but wanted the government to ensure a level-playing field. He highlighted that any reduction in BCD should be done in a phased manner to allow Indian companies time to prepare and build their own competitiveness. Giri demanded that the duty should only be reduced to a level in line with average prevailing duties in ASEAN countries. “Indian industry needs support from the government to help grow into a globally competitive force. We need protection against dumping and time to prepare itself against the unfair competitive structural advantages that large Western firms enjoy,” he said.
To prevent dumping and predatory pricing against mainstream Indian products, the confederation said that products below a certain import price should be taxed at the threshold import price rate only irrespective of actual import price.
