Budget 2015: Sub-Rs 1,000 leather shoes to be 2-3% cheaper

NEW DELHI: Thanks to the reduction in excise on leather footwear items, leather shoes priced between Rs 500-1,000 will get 2-3% cheaper.

The lower price points will be mainly for ladies and kids shoes, because mainly these are priced under Rs 1,000, say shoe manufacturers.

“The impact isn’t too much for the consumer, but still it is a progressive announcement which would give boost to the sector,” Adarsh Gupta, MD of Liberty Shoes said.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley halved excise duty on leather shoes priced in the range of Rs 500-1,000 from 12% to 6%.

India footwear market is around Rs 30,000 crore growing at around 15% annually. However, the budget announcement may not cheer men folk as footwear for gents mainly are priced above Rs 1,500.

Harkikart Singh, MD of Woodland India, says the company will reduce consumer prices of sub-Rs 1,000 shoes.

“Excise is a direct cost and any benefit in that will be definitely passed onto the consumers,” he said.