Indian man-made fabric (MMF) manufactured in Surat, which made saris and dress material is targeting mainly the poor and lower middle class consumers supplied its products throughout the country.
If the central government implements 12 percent GST on fabrics made of MMF and 18 percent on branded textiles, the cheapest sari sold at Rs 200 will become costlier by Rs 95 for the end consumers.
At present, the MMF centre in the city manufactures around four crore metres of fabric per day on more than 6.5 lakh powerlooms. There are around 165 textile markets housing over 65,000 wholesale textile shops, having daily turnover exceeding Rs 120 crore.
According to Industry experts, an average of one kilogram of yarn can manufacture three saris of 5.50 metres each, which are sold not less than Rs.200 per sari. The higher range of saris cost more than Rs 1,000 and beyond, which generally has value addition in the form of embroidery, etc.
However, if the GST slab of 12 percent on fabrics and 18 percent on branded textile is fixed then the wholesale sari valued at Rs 200 will attract GST of Rs 95 and it will be passed to the end consumer, making the cheapest sari costlier.
– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel
