'Govt should look at high tariffs on footwear imports'

By Dharmender Khanna

The footwear and retail industry is very competitive. Some of the challenges we face are maintaining multiple warehouses, streamlining multi channels of online and offline retail, high tariffs on imports among others. We are hoping that the Union Budget acknowledges some of these challenges and provides solutions for these. Currently 18% GST rate is applicable for footwear having a retail sale price exceeding Rs.1000 per pair. Since there is a growing demand for branded shoes in India, most pairs of branded shoes start from Rs.4000. This should be accommodated for the new generation who want the best that is to offer.

Also the current import duty on footwear is 25% which is anyways on higher side any further increase in this will make India an unviable market for an international brand like ours.

(The writer is the Brand Head of Lotto)