Title: Need to roll back excise duty on clay roofing tiles.
(UDUPI): Sir, the hon. Minister of Finance in a hurry to raise tax revenue has imposed 4 per cent excise duty on clay roofing tiles, which provide shelter to the rural poor masses in the South, especially in my region.
Roofing tile is a small scale, rural based and labour oriented industry. It is already beset with numerous problems like increase in fuel prices, wages and raw material.
Not only the roofing tile industry will be crippled due to imposition of excise duty, but it will have cascading effect on the rural poor who depend on clay roofing tiles to keep their shelter in good repair.
I would, therefore, urge the hon. Minister of Finance to roll back the duty on clay roofing tiles.