• Notification Date: 19-02-2022
• Notification No: N/A

Footwear Prices Increases by 20-50% within a Year

According to the statement of a senior official of the Confederation of Indian Footwear Industries (CIFI), there will be a 20-50% hike in the price of the finished footwear. The rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) for products under Rs.1,000 has been enhanced to a great extent. Besides, the cost of the raw materials used for manufacturing footwear has also increased considerably. These factors have prompted the hike in the price of the finished footwear within the last one year.

The rate of GST on footwear items ranging below Rs.1,000 has been enhanced to 12 per cent in the last year. Earlier, the rate of GST was only 5%. The rate of GST on the products which costs above Rs.1,000 has remained 18% as before. The managing director of Walkaroo and the Vice-president of CIFI, V Noushad, has reported to Business Standard that the price of the raw materials used for manufacturing footwear has gone up by 50%. The cost of the Hawai or Rubber footwear has increased from Rs.100 to Rs.200.

Some of the wholesalers have raised protests and strikes against this enhancement of prices and they are facing additional pressure for this hike. They are not being able to collect products due to the strikes.

Noushad has appealed to the government for adopting necessary steps to improve the current situation. The government must take immediate actions to boost the local manufacturing of components, machines, and designs. Products should be manufactured locally in the non-leather category to reduce the dependence on importing products from foreign countries like China. India is highly dependent on China for availing of sports shoes and value-added footwear. According to him, products should be imported from the manufacturers of Taiwan and Korea. 85 per cent of the sales in the Footwear industry is generated from the non-leather segment. The new Bureau of Indian Standards is highly disadvantageous for the industry. It will be harmful to about 3 million independent businessmen who are involved with the footwear industry.