New Delhi, Feb 10 (FN Agency) Defending move to raise duty on import of umbrellas, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that the increase in duty is aimed at protecting the domestic industry especially smaller firms in the MSME sector. Sitharaman said that almost 25 million umbrellas come to the country every year and gets imported from only one country (obvious reference to China). Replying to members on the general discussion on Union Budget in Lok Sabha, the Minister said that umbrellas attracted a basic custom duty (BCD) of 10% prior to the Budget whereas parts of umbrella attracted only 5% BCD.
“Members of the MSME umbrella industrial association are running small businesses. They told us during pre-budget consultation that what is this? Should we not be protected under Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). So, this was harming the local industry. Because they were hurting small umbrella manufacturers, we have raised the duty from 10% to 20%,” Sitharaman said. The proposal in the Budget to raise the duty on umbrellas on February 1 had attracted a barrage of reactions on social media from netizens. Sitharaman said that there was a lot of concern raised around the hike in duty especially in Kerala even as it was a small issue and aimed at protecting small businesses. She said that umbrella is not used by people only in Kerala but by everyone and everywhere.