Munjal: value-chain depends on two-wheelers

Hero MotoCorp, which sold a record eight million two-wheelers to meet the common man transportation need in the Indian market last year, wants Goods and Services Tax reduced to 18% from the luxury slab of 28%.

“Given that two-wheelers provide basic mobility to the masses, there is an urgent need to reduce the GST rate on two-wheelers from the 28% bracket of luxury goods to that of 18% for mass usage items,” Hero MotoCorp Chairman Pawan Munjal said in a statement.

People in the know-how of the ongoing GST tax re-adjustments believe manufacturers of products for common man would be putting up their views on GST reduction strongly especially in the interest of the large Indian market.

The manufacturers would want to be kept out of the 28% bracket which, for the transportation sector, would be for cars.

Such a call from industry leader also send a goodwill message to comfort the intended manufacturer under the “Make in India” initiative who would want to set up a manufacturing plant for both the Indian and export markets, they said

The reduced GST tax rate on two wheelers would not only help millions of customers but also the entire value chain dependent on the sector, Munjal stressed.

“It is absolutely imperative to ensure growth in the auto sector to create and sustain inclusive economic growth,” the Press Trust of India reported Munjal as saying on 2 Jan 2019.

He pointed out that the higher 28% GST tax will put “severe stress on the extremely cost-sensitive commuters, for whom the two-wheeler is a lifeline”.

Hero MotoCorp sold 8,039,472 bikes and scooters in 2018, up an impressive 11% increase on the year.

The Hero two-wheelers are most common transport modes in India. fiinews.com