Import duty will wipe out leather industry, say AAP leaders

Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, February 2

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Tuesday said the Union Budget proved that the Centre had no concern for small businesses and the general public and was only concerned about a few corporate houses.

In a joint statement, party’s urban district president Rajwinder Kaur and rural district president Prem Kumar termed the Budget as anti-people. The AAP leaders said the local industry had high hopes from the Budget owing to the economic burden caused during the pandemic, but the government instead turned a blind eye to small scale industries. They said the local leather industry would suffer.

They said the leather and sports goods manufacturing industries would not get any relief. They said it would be nothing but a burden for the industry which was facing a severe crisis. The leaders said the footwear industry was 90 per cent dependent on imports for leather and the Budget had imposed 10 per cent duty on wet blue leather, adding that earlier there was no import duty on wet blue leather. They said the import duty will wipe out the leather industry. They said such neglect of small scale industries would not only burden the industries, but also endanger the jobs of employees.