Date:27/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/27/stories/2008122753030300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Appeal on levying 16 per cent excise duty

Staff Reporter

Federation submits memorandum to Development Commissioner

SATTUR: The Federation of Kamarajar District Chamber of Commerce and Industries has urged the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to levy 16 per cent excise duty on fully mechanised match units to protect the small scale sector.

In a memorandum to the Development Commissioner (MSME), the federation president, A. Rajendran, said that a difference of four per cent in excised duty helped semi-mechanised sectors to withstand the competition from the fully-mechanised sector.

However, the Government brought down the duty for fully-mechanised units to 12 per cent on a par with semi-mechanised units in 2006.

One of the marketing giants started buying matches from semi-mechanised units and marketed them in its brand name. Alleging that the giant was influencing the market by forcing all its distributors to buy its matches to get its popular brands of cigarettes, Mr. Rajendran said this marketing strategy had affected the hand-made and semi-mechanised sector that employed around 5 lakh workers in the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.