Madurai MP urges Nirmala Sitharaman to withdraw GST on Sungudi saris

MADURAI: Madurai MP Su Venkatesan made a representation to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in person to withdraw the 12% GST on Sungudi saris.
Venkatesan said increasing the GST from the existing 5% would impact the cottage industry that is popular in Madurai region. The MP explained that traditional Sungudi sari is handmade without machines.
Venkatesan said nearly 10,000 families from the minority Saurashtra community are engaged in making Sungudi saris. These low cost saris are predominantly worn by women from the lower strata of the society, according to him.
He pointed out that the Tamil Nadu government exempted Sungudi saris from sales tax on August 22, 1955.
The MP added Sungudi saris also got the geographic identification tag from the Union government on January 1, 2005, as recognition for its uniqueness. “In 2017, the government of India levied a 5% GST on Sungudi saris. This was a big blow to this cottage industry, turning it into a sick industry and pushing the poor weavers below poverty,” he said.
He added that the Covid-19 pandemic put the industry in doldrums, pushing weavers into abyss. Now to their utter shock and dismay, the government of India in November increased the GST on Sungudi saris from 5% to 12%, virtually throwing the cottage industry out of gear, he said.
“I earnestly request withdrawal of GST for Sungudi saris and save the industry from the brink of destruction and save the 10,000 poor weaver families,” he said.
Talking to TOI, Venkatesan quoted Nirmala Sitharaman as saying that the process of returns for GST was getting delayed earlier and that it has been expedited. “The minister also said that revising the GST rates is the decision of the GST Council and not the government,” he said.