Holi colour industry seeks tax relief
Vishal Sharma
New Delhi/ Agra. Holi is round the corner and industry too is bracing itself for the festival. A small town at 65 km from Agra, Hathras, is known for cold storages and its perfume industry. It also boasts of numerous large and small industrial units manufacturing synthetic dye-based colours and Gulal.
Production in these units begins from Diwali and almost a week before the festival the town ships tonnes of colours to different parts of the country.
From just three small-scale units about 60 years back, the Holi colours industry of Hathras has become one of the largest producers of synthetic dye-based Holi colours in the country. Today it has 70 units engaged in the production of colours.
Deepak Goyal, a partner in Shakti Enterprises, a mid-sized manufacturer of Gulal, told Business Standard that Holi colours of Hathras were marketed all over the country under various brand names.
He said that the colours manufactured in Hathras were purely chemical dye-based and only recently had the colour manufacturers shown inclination towards herbal colours that are environment-friendly.
Recently, he said, this booming business of colours had begun facing tough competition from the colour manufacturers based in South India.
Hathras has almost lost the southern India market to these companies and it had become imperative that the 4 per cent VAT should be removed for the survival of this industry, which was inherently comprised of numerous small-scale enterprises that could not survive otherwise, in this competitive market.
This year, the colour manufacturers of Hathras have introduced new variants of chemical dyes that are relatively less toxic than the stuff sold earlier.
According to Sanjay Agarwal, director, Ambey Chemical Industries, the chemicals used in the manufacture of Holi colours include Auramine, Malachite, Rodamine, Methylene.
Besides manufacturing the usual powder colours, the dye industry of Hathras is always innovating.
The latest addition this year is a perfumed colour spray in a ready-to-use can.
Production in these units begins from Diwali and almost a week before the festival the town ships tonnes of colours to different parts of the country.
From just three small-scale units about 60 years back, the Holi colours industry of Hathras has become one of the largest producers of synthetic dye-based Holi colours in the country. Today it has 70 units engaged in the production of colours.
Deepak Goyal, a partner in Shakti Enterprises, a mid-sized manufacturer of Gulal, told Business Standard that Holi colours of Hathras were marketed all over the country under various brand names.
He said that the colours manufactured in Hathras were purely chemical dye-based and only recently had the colour manufacturers shown inclination towards herbal colours that are environment-friendly.
Recently, he said, this booming business of colours had begun facing tough competition from the colour manufacturers based in South India.
Hathras has almost lost the southern India market to these companies and it had become imperative that the 4 per cent VAT should be removed for the survival of this industry, which was inherently comprised of numerous small-scale enterprises that could not survive otherwise, in this competitive market.
This year, the colour manufacturers of Hathras have introduced new variants of chemical dyes that are relatively less toxic than the stuff sold earlier.
According to Sanjay Agarwal, director, Ambey Chemical Industries, the chemicals used in the manufacture of Holi colours include Auramine, Malachite, Rodamine, Methylene.
Besides manufacturing the usual powder colours, the dye industry of Hathras is always innovating.
The latest addition this year is a perfumed colour spray in a ready-to-use can.
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