New Delhi: A delegation of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) led by its President Javid Ahmad Tenga held a meeting with GoI minister of Industry and Commerce Piyush Goyal.
He was briefed about problems being faced by the handicrafts sector in general and shawl and carpet industry in particular.
The trade body apprised the minister about the huge export potential of pashmina and other valuable items which if given due patronage is estimated to cross the export figure of Rs 2,000 crore in the next 3-4 years, the KCCI said in a statement.
Goyal was specifically apprised about the problems faced by pashmina shawl exporters at customs who confuse pashmina guard hair with shreds of shahtoosh as a result of which export consignments are being stopped and legal action is being taken against them.
The commerce minister’s attention was drawn to the fact that only two testing centers at Dehradun and Kolkata are available at present which take an indefinite time to test whether the pashmina shawl has a mix of any banned content. The delay causes the cancellation of export orders as a result of which exporters are subjected to huge losses.
It was brought to Goyal’s notice that the reports from Dehradun and Kolkata testing labs differ and creates confusion. It was therefore suggested by KCCI that in case of an “inconclusive report”, the seized consignments should be cleared and any action taken against the exporters withdrawn forthwith.
The trade body has sought the establishment of pre-export pashmina testing Lab at Srinagar where over 95% pashmina is being manufactured and the certification done at the proposed Lab be made mandatory for the customs to accept for clearance of export consignment to avoid seizure and delay.
The GoI minister was apprised about the anomaly of pashmina and other handcrafted shawls, stoles, rumals etc having been included under HSN code 6214 which is capped at Rs 438 for drawback at Rs 438 per piece and qualifies for drawback of Rs 35 per piece only even if the value of the shawl is one lakh or more. The irony is that it takes a value added shawl anywhere from 6-12 months to produce but the incentive is negligible, the statement said.
