Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present the Union Budget for the financial year 2023-24.Plastindia Foundation is hopeful that the hon’ble Finance Minister will frame the budget keeping in mind the overall growth and development of the entire plastic industry – from raw materials, and converter to machinery manufacturers. Plastindia Foundation’s motto is to put the Indian plastic industry on a high growth path – from USD 5 trillion in 2025 to an ambitious USD 25 trillionby 2045.
To drive this growth and to make India the global sourcing hub for plastic, Plastindia Foundation wholeheartedly supports the Make in India andAatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. However, we need support from the government to make this a reality:
The import duty on polymer should be between 5 – 7.5 %. India does not produce enough polymer and import is inevitable. Import duty on polymer needs to be lowered to make the Indian plastic industry more competitive
Custom duty on the finished plastic product should bea minimum of 20% or moreto support the domestic plastic processing industry
The government is focusing on renewable energy, and this presents an opportunity for the plastic industry. However, at present90% of the components for solar panels and windmills are imported and the products are only assembled in India. To encourage the local manufacturers, the custom duty on the import of components like EVA, back sheet, metal frame, solar glass etc., should be at least20%.The plastic industry can play an important role in manufacturing EVA and back sheets
To promote industrialization in India, I would also request the hon’ble Finance Minister to
consider the following:
Make uninterrupted power available at less than Rs 5 per unit. India has a high electricity rate and power fluctuation is also very high. This rate is at par with neighbouring countries that makes uninterrupted power available to industries at a low cost
India should have a free labour law however the wages should not be so high that it makes the manufacturing industry globally uncompetitive. Labour law should come under the purview of the Central government and wages across the country – in tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 cities, should be uniform
GST should not be higher than 12% across product categories
Government should make land acquisition easy by identifying zones of land that are
non-agricultural.Land from those zones should be made available easily without
industries having to go through the formality of converting agricultural land to non-
agricultural land. Also, the Government should start a new formula wherein developed
land should be made available to industries on long-termleases. This will significantly
lower the investment on land and make Indian industries globally competitive. Currently,
the price of land is so high that project costsskyrocketed.China is using this formula for a
very long time
Easy financeat reasonable interest rates from both banks and NBFCs should be made
available to the industry
Compliances should be kept minimum. Also, if there areany technical errorsin
following these compliances then it should be handled by a separate court. It should not
be treated as criminal activity
Overall, we are expecting a budget that is industry-friendly and makes the domestic plastic
industry more dynamic and globally competitive
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