MAIT SEEKS STABLE POLICY REGIME

Favouring a stable policy regime for the IT hardware industry, the Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) has said that any changes in the excise duty structure should be proposed only once the Government has finalised a long-term fiscal framework. “The Government policies, in the last two years, have been by and large favourable to market growth and to attracting investments for IT and electronics manufacturing. We hope for a long-term growth-oriented policy now,” the MAIT Executive Director, Mr Vinnie Mehta, said. Stating that computers are currently classified as capital goods under the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004 (whereby the credit is available only if the computer is used in the factory of the manufacturer of the final products), MAIT said the scope of availing the credit of countervailing duty/excise duty paid on the PC should be widened to include any use within the business, whether in the factory or in the office of the manufacturer.-www.thehindubusinessline.com