The Confederation of All India Traders today said that to boost the Govt’s revenues and fill the empty coffers of the Govt which is in a distressed situation due to lack of economic activity, a Covid Cess should be levied on Chinese Products which have alternatives and substitutes in India. The revenue from this cess should be utilised wholely and solely for the upliftment and growth of Indian traders who are in a distressed situation and need strong handholding of both Centre and respective State Governments.
CAIT National President Mr. B.C.Bhartia & Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal said that it is high time the Govt finds ways and means to boost its revenue and at the same time provide support to domestic small industries and trade to recreate a strong India story post the Covid Global Pandemic.They said that the world is ready for a whole new paradigm shift and now it is the best opportunity for India to leverage from this tectonic change in mindset of Global players, corporations, traders and consumers who are extremely weary of dealing or consuming Chinese products and are conspicuously looking to move away from China for all their needs. India needs to prepare an effective pitch to attract investments from all around the globe and show to the world that India can be a real alternative to China’s manufacturing prowess.
Both Mr. Bhartia & Mr. Khandelwal said that there is a strong need to curb unnecessary imports from China which is flooding Indian domestic markets with their low cost and low quality products. If the Government will not leverage from this current situation then it will be impossible in future to support domestic trade and Industry. They further stated that Indian manufacturers have the world class capacity and mindset to produce top quality products to cater not only to Indian as well global demand. Various sectors such as Toys, mobile phones, garments, furniture, home appliances, agro machinery, fmcs products, consumer durables, festival goods, builders hardware, electrical & electronics, watches, gift articles, footwear, readymade garments, cloth & fabric etc. are self sufficient but due to lack of appropriate support from the Government, are not able to scale up their business and therefore lose the competitive advantage in pricing. Traders are forced to import from China because the consumers want low price products. In reality the Indian trader is much more happy to sell Indian made products if there is a proper well established supply chain of indigenous goods.
Both leaders maintained that Indian traders are going through their worst phase of economic downturn post the Covid pandemic and so far the Government has not announced any relief measure to boost the morale and business of seven crore Indian traders. Indian traders are the backbone of the economy and it is high time the Government finds ways and means to support the sector which provides employment to 40 crore Indians and having the core potential to scale up the trade & industry.
