Footwear units in Agra resist MRP labelling
Vishal Sharma
New Delhi/ Agra. Following the recent directions of the central excise department to the Agra shoe manufacturers to indicate maximum retail price (MRP) mandatory on shoe packets, before they were made available to retailers, small-scale footwear manufacturers have decided to oppose this, even if that means shutting down their business.
On Thursday, the Agra Shoe Factors Federation was on a strike, comprising footwear manufacturers and retailers of the town, against the directives and later held a meeting where it was indicated that the footwear manufacturers may take legal action.
Later, talking to media persons, Raj Kumar Sama, president, Agra Shoe Factors Federation, said the MRP issue would have negligible effect on the large footwear manufactures of the town as most of them manufactured footwear for export, and the order was applicable only for footwear meant for domestic sales, either through retail shops or bulk sales.
According to Sama, most of the footwear sold in the domestic market was manufactured in small-scale factories or in cottage units, which had so far been free from any type of trade tax or excise.
But now, when these units sold their products in the market, they were asked to affix the MRP stamp on the products, without which, the footwear was confiscated by the excise department and only released after charging an additional duty of 40 per cent on the footwear.
He said the footwear retailer was the weakest link in the domestic footwear industry and the local footwear manufacturers offered as much as 50 per cent sales commission on their products.
But if the MRP was indicated on the footwear packets, it would limit the profit margin of the dealers and retailers drastically, and, as a result, only the units that were able to keep their production costs at the minimum would survive, considering the rising costs of raw materials like leather and other accessories used in footwear manufacture.
He said that the footwear manufacturers were already seeking legal opinion against the decision of the central excise department and if the need was felt, they will even move to the court to get this order quashed.
On the other hand, Yashovardhan Pathak, Asst. Commissioner, Central Excise, Agra region said that the footwear manufacturers had no need to worry about the order relating to MRP as the cottage units had been kept out of the jurisdiction of the order and if there was some confusion regarding this matter, he was prepared to explain this issue to the footwear manufacturers again.
On Thursday, the Agra Shoe Factors Federation was on a strike, comprising footwear manufacturers and retailers of the town, against the directives and later held a meeting where it was indicated that the footwear manufacturers may take legal action.
Later, talking to media persons, Raj Kumar Sama, president, Agra Shoe Factors Federation, said the MRP issue would have negligible effect on the large footwear manufactures of the town as most of them manufactured footwear for export, and the order was applicable only for footwear meant for domestic sales, either through retail shops or bulk sales.
According to Sama, most of the footwear sold in the domestic market was manufactured in small-scale factories or in cottage units, which had so far been free from any type of trade tax or excise.
But now, when these units sold their products in the market, they were asked to affix the MRP stamp on the products, without which, the footwear was confiscated by the excise department and only released after charging an additional duty of 40 per cent on the footwear.
He said the footwear retailer was the weakest link in the domestic footwear industry and the local footwear manufacturers offered as much as 50 per cent sales commission on their products.
But if the MRP was indicated on the footwear packets, it would limit the profit margin of the dealers and retailers drastically, and, as a result, only the units that were able to keep their production costs at the minimum would survive, considering the rising costs of raw materials like leather and other accessories used in footwear manufacture.
He said that the footwear manufacturers were already seeking legal opinion against the decision of the central excise department and if the need was felt, they will even move to the court to get this order quashed.
On the other hand, Yashovardhan Pathak, Asst. Commissioner, Central Excise, Agra region said that the footwear manufacturers had no need to worry about the order relating to MRP as the cottage units had been kept out of the jurisdiction of the order and if there was some confusion regarding this matter, he was prepared to explain this issue to the footwear manufacturers again.
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