RAI urges govt to reconsider GST hike on textiles, apparels

New Delhi: Retailers Association of India (RAI) on Tuesday urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, State governments and GST Council to reconsider the proposed hike in GST rates on several textiles and apparel items to 12 per cent from January saying it will adversely impact 85 per cent of the sector.

Stating that the apparel retail businesses are already ailing, RAI said the seven per cent hike has been proposed to address the issue of inverted duty structure in the textile industry faced by a small segment of the total textile value chain.

"However, such a steep increase in the GST rate will adversely impact 85 per cent of the industry while trying to ease the problem faced by not more than 15 per cent of the industry," the retailers' body said in a statement.

RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said, "The increase in GST rates on textiles and apparel is not in anybody's interest due to its impact.