Hindusthan National Glass“ (HNG) joint managing director, Mukul Somany, has communicated his budget expectations for the packaging industry. According to Somany, the Indian packaging industry is valu…
Hindusthan National Glass“ (HNG) joint managing director, Mukul Somany, has communicated his budget expectations for the packaging industry. According to Somany, the Indian packaging industry is valued at approximately INR 650 billion, with annual growth of 15%, almost double that of the global packaging industry, reflecting the important potential of this segment in India. To boost the Indian packaging segment further, especially with regards to the untapped glass packaging sector, HNG said it expects the central government to continue lowering excise duty on various commodities, as it did in FY 09-10. The company also looks forward to the removal of soda ash customs duty, which accounts for 10 to 12% of cost of production of the glass products, while, according to the company, the import duty on packaging machinery should also be entirely removed. HNG“s suggestions are as follows: o removal of customs duty (10-12% of production costs) on soda ash; o total removal of import duty on packaging machinery; o continue in decrease of excise duty on glass packaging to boost employment; o decrease in input costs on capital goods, infrastructure development, new technology, etc. for the domestic packaging industry, where most FMCG companies have expectations from this year“s budget. These reductions in excise duties and inputs costs for packaging companies, combined with the removal of customs duty on soda ash would, according to HNG, drive the growth in the processed foods sector for domestic consumption, as well as exports.