Increasing GST on textiles will lead to 1.5 million job cuts : Amit Mitra
The Hindu
Entire textile sector’s value chain will be hit, says former West Bengal Finance Minister, urging a rollback
Principal Chief Advisor to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the State’s former Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Friday described the Centre’s decision to increase GST in the textile sector as “very dangerous”. He said that the decision would result in the closure of about one lakh textile units and result in 15 lakh job losses in the textile and ancillary sectors. A decision to increase the GST on textile products from 5% to 12% was taken at the 45th meeting of the GST Council held on September 17. The new rates will come into effect from January 1, 2022.
Mr. Mitra, who was West Bengal’s Finance Minister for almost a decade, urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to call an urgent meeting of the GST Council and reverse the decision.