Budget 2021: Zero import duty on coking coal should aid domestic steel industry, says Seshagiri Rao

Budget 2021 is around the corner and Seshagiri Rao, Joint MD and Group CFO at JSW Steel shared his expectations in an interview with CNBC-TV118.

“For metal sector, what we are looking in the budget is that whatever is available in India for steelmaking or for metal value addition should be preserved in India rather than allowing it to be exported,” he said.

“Also, whatever is not available in India like coking coal or limestone or any other refractories which we have to import from overseas, they are not available in India – wherever duties are applicable, if we have to compete with the countries where duties are negligible in those countries for import of those raw materials, these duties should be made to zero,” he said.

“There are so many taxes which the Indian manufacturing sector has been paying to either local authorities or state governments. These taxes have to be imposed on imports, the government will get more revenue, that revenue can be used for reimbursing to exports then government is not at a loss and the Indian manufacturing industry’s competitiveness will go up,” Rao said.

The production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme that has been announced for various sectors is a great step, he said.

“I feel that it will stimulate investment. The announcement of guidelines on the PLI scheme is very much essential,” he said.

“On the private consumption side we are seeing decline year after year. So I don’t think government should tinker about the tax rates. At the same time, they should reduce the individual taxation,” he said.