Scientific apparatus makers unhappy with GST rates

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, May 22

The Scientific Apparatus Manufacturers and Exporters (SAME) of Ambala have raised concerns about the GST rates for scientific equipment.

The manufacturers and exporters believe that the rates decided by the Goods and Services Tax Council will adversely affect the local business, which was already fighting for survival.

Arun P Bansal, president of SAME, said here today, “The GST council has finalised four tax rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent to apply on services. As per the finalised rate, we have to pay 18 per cent and 28 per cent GST, which is much higher than the taxes of 5.25 per cent that we have been paying earlier. The local industry is supplying its educational and testing equipment throughout India and in the international market. The industry has been facing a tough competition from China. After the GST, it will be very difficult for us to compete with China.”

“There are nearly 4,000 units in Ambala, of which only over 2,000 are registered and the remaining are unregistered and doing business on a very small scale. The industry in Ambala has a turnover of nearly Rs 1,500 crore,” he claims.

Exporters said initially, only Ambala was making educational and research lab related products, but now China had captured a big share in the market. For the survival and growth of the micro industries, the government should come up with decisions according to the current market scenario.

After imposing the tax on this rate, the prices of products would go up and the schools would ultimately charge it from the students. On the one hand, the government had been seeking the credit of exempting education from the GST, but on the other, it had increased the cost of products which were used in schools, they claimed.

Bansal said, “Due to higher taxes, the operational costs will go up by nearly 25 to 30 per cent. The industry has been providing jobs to thousands of people and in this situation, small scale manufacturers will be forced to shut their units, leaving a large number of employees unemployed.”

“The MSME is holding an event in Panchkula on May 30, in which we will submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister and seek support for the industry. We will also request Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to place the scientific equipment in the 5 per cent rate category,” Bansal said.