Agra
Shoe Factors Federation (ASFF), on November 29, called
off the strike, which was started to protest the 12.5
percent value added tax (VAT) proposed by the Uttar
Pradesh Government on leather footwear.
The footwear industry of Agra which renders around 80
percent of the country’s total footwear demand, was
shocked with the Governments decision to levy VAT from
December 1. According to sources from ASFF, the footwear
traders in Agra are currently paying 8 percent trade
tax.
Around
600 traders of footwear in the the region had gone on
strike on November 13, in protest against VAT which is
expected to drive a loss of about Rs1 crore each day to
the footwear business of Agra.
ASFF ended the strike when the State Government agreed
to look into the problems faced by footwear traders and
mull over on revising the unreasonable tax slabs for
leather and plastic footwear, soles and other related
accessories proposed in the present schedule.
However, the decision to go on an indefinite strike
could not be continued as traders were bearing heavy
losses every day and nearly 3,00,000 people who are
engaged with this trade are also getting affected by
this strike.
Source
: Fibre2fashion.com - Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, dated
01/12/2007
