The Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) has asked the Centre to reduce the GST to 5% from current 18% on pesticides in line with other farm inputs such as seeds & fertilisers in the upcoming Budget.
In a statement, PMFAI said the Centre should hike duty drawback (export benefits) of pesticides from the present 2% to 13% besides increasing import duty on technical as well as finished pesticides to 20 to 30% to safeguard the domestic agro-chemicals industry.
The association also asked the government to extend a financial support and other development assistance to develop technologies for intermediates & technical grade pesticides indigenously under the ''Make in India'' programme.
It said these were four main demands the Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India, which represents more than 200 small, medium & large-scale Indian pesticide manufacturers, formulators & traders - made in a representation forwarded to the Fertiliser and Chemicals Ministry.
President of PMFAI Pradip Dave said, "The GST reduction will help bring three-fourth of the total farmers in the country, who are outside the ambit now, protect their crops without causing any substantial loss to the central exchequer. This will help farmers harvest crops with minimal loss & secure better returns too”.
He said agriculture is the only sector that has shown resilience and grown 3.5 to 4% in the last quarter. Taking into account the prevailing economic scenario, it calls for special focus & support for sustainable growth of Indian agriculture.
It must be noted that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2021-22 on February 1.
