Reduce duty on coking coal, met coke: CII

KOLKATA: Government should remove customs duty on coking coal to mil from the present level of 2.5 per cent, lower duty on met coke to 2.5 per cent from 5 per cent and cut down customs duty from 5 per cent to nil on LNG (liqueified natural gas) when imported by gas based steel plants to boost the domestic steel sector. These are part of the recommendations by

T V Narendran chairman, CII Eastern Region in the run up to the union budget to be presented on Wednesday (Feb 1).

Mr Narendran, who is managing director of Tata Steel India & S E Asia, said the government should also insert a note in chapter 72 of Excise Tariff to provide that cutting and slitting of steel coils/sheets shall amount to manufacture.

According to him, CII has broadly identified the areas that the government needs to look into.

First, government capital expenditure should increase substantially, a move that will lead to crowding-in of private investment. Substantial investment in public infrastructure will not only give a boost to growth but will also serve as an enabling agent for private investment in other sectors, he reasoned.

Overhauling the tax structure is another area that merits attention. CII strongly recommends that we make departure from a high tax, high incentive regime to a single corporate tax rate of 18 per cent, including all surcharges and cess, removing all incentives and concessions at the same time, Mr Narendran said.

He also underscored the need for technological innovation to help catalyse growth, improve productivity and create more jobs. At a time when the Make in India has captured investors’ imagination worldwide, India will be expected to script a growth story which is largely innovation-led, he said.

He also urged the government to step up public investment in research in higher education from the present 0.04 per cent of GDP to a global average of 0.4 per cent and removal of the distinction between plan and non-plan expenditure in Budget 2017-18.