Ports, steel scrap benefit from India’s latest budget

Ports, steel scrap benefit from India’s latest budget India' recently released national budget has some good news for those wanted more technological advancements in the country’s ports.
   Companies involved in port development will receive a 5 percent to 7.5 percent customs duty cut on project imports, the Times of India reported over the weekend.
   “Equipment accounts for nearly half the cost of a container terminal,” Rajeev Ranjan Sinha, director, Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone, told the newspaper. “The duty slash will reduce the cost of setting up ports and container terminals.”
   While the ports sector should be happy, shipping lines are less so.
   “Shipping firms are disappointed that the budget failed to address their demand for a simpler tax regime,” the story said. “They face a cost disadvantage of 4 percent to 5 percent in comparison with foreign players, due to multiple taxes. A.R. Ramakrishnan, chief executive officer of Essar Shipping said, ‘We are disappointed that there has been no exemption on minimum alternate tax levied on profits from sale of ships or service tax on several inputs.'”
   In other India budget news, the government eliminated the 5 percent import duty on steel scrap, Steel Business Briefing reported Friday.
   “The government has resisted calls from the steel industry to curb exports of iron ore, leaving the present export duties unchanged,” the report said. “However, it has raised the export duty on chrome ore by 50 percent in a move designed to conserve the mineral and make it available for value-added manufacture in India. Steel sector sources welcomed the move to restrict chrome ore exports, saying this is a long-standing demand of the industry.
   “But a news agency report quoted Sajjan Jindal of steel producer JSW as expressing ‘a little disappointment’ that no action was taken to curb iron ore exports. The steel industry has lobbied hard for greater controls on iron ore exports, and the absence of an announcement in the budget does not mean the export industry is safe. The budget also included a 2 percentage point reduction in excise duty on all goods; this is likely to stimulate manufacturing industry and hence steel consumption.”
   The budget, released in an election year here in India, was mostly aimed at pleasing the masses, as the amount of income exempt from taxes was raised. That’s expected to mildly increase consumer spending. But many business sectors were largely unmoved by the budget, which did little to tackle long-standing issues of excessive or complex duties. ' Eric Johnson