apparel export promotion council magazine i august …

APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2021 100

ITALYFOCUS COUNTRY

YR 21 ISSUE 08

FIEO PRESIDENT AND AEPC CHAIRMAN DR A SAKTHIVEL CALLS UPON HON’BLE VICE PRESIDENT SHRI M VENKAIAH NAIDU

HON’BLE COMMERCE AND TEXTILES MINISTER SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL ON

BOOSTING EXPORTS

MEETING HON’BLE CHIEF MINISTER THIRU MK STALIN

RoSCTL ROAD TO AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT

APPAREL | CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Indian exports registered a historic monthly record of $35.17 billion in July 2021. The apparel exports, too, crossed the pre-pandemic levels just as we said it

would. RMG of all textiles grew 30.52% yoy in July 2021, surpassing that of the same month in 2019.

To further accelerate the recovery and rise of Indian exports, I had the opportunity to meet Hon’ble Vice President Shri M Venkaiah Naidu and Hon’ble Commerce and Textiles Minister Shri Piyush Goyal. I apprised the Hon’ble Vice President about AEPC’s initiatives during the pandemic and issues facing Indian exports.

The meeting with Shri Goyal, who recently took charge of the Textiles Ministry, lasted a good 75 minutes. Discussing at length the present status of the Indian apparel industry, its position in the global market, opportunities, constraints and our recommendations, I submitted a ‘Concept Note on India’s Apparel Exports’ and a note on ‘Issues of Apparel Exporters & Recommendations’. Shri Goyal assured full government support saying that the textile sector has a huge impact on job generation and economy.

I sincerely thank Hon’ble Minister Smt Smriti Zubin Irani who, during her tenure as the Textiles Minister, provided unstinted support that helped us sail through one of the most difficult periods of our lives. I am delighted to share that the government has removed the anti-dumping duty on viscose staple fibre. She was kind enough to initiate a probe in the matter on our request.

Another major development is the extension of RoSCTL scheme till March 2024. We are extremely grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Ministers of Commerce & Industry, Textiles and Finance. The scheme will refund all embedded taxes and make our products globally competitive, a necessary step for achieving ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

While we bring to you an in-depth story on RoSCTL in the current edition, I met Joint Secretary (Drawback) Mr Nitish K Sinha in the Ministry of Finance on 29 July 2021 to discuss the timelines and modalities for continuation of the scheme. He advised exporters to register to ICEGATE to ensure that RoSCTL claims can be made as soon as the scheme reopens.

Textiles Secretary Mr Upendra Prasad Singh, who

Dear Friends,

APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2021 / 1

visited our Apparel House on 14 July 2021, released the Compendium on MMF Garments. He appreciated the compendium that covers details of all 90 MMF garment HS lines. It has the details of fabrics used to produce the 90 HS lines and their supplier details.

I also met our new Commerce Secretary Mr BVR Subrahmanyam, Revenue Secretary Mr Tarun Bajaj, Financial Services Secretary Mr Debasish Panda, apart from other senior officials to discuss various export related issues.

I have requested Hon’ble Commerce and Textiles Minister Shri Piyush Goyal to hold an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee meeting under ATUFS and include AEPC in the meeting to help resolve cases of pending subsidies.

The Council remains committed to work round the clock in the interest of the apparel exporters. We held a webinar on ‘Sourcing of Polyester Fabric’ in association with Reliance Industries Ltd and an online B2B meeting with Israeli fashion company Fox Group with support from the Embassy of India in Tel Aviv.

As Indian exports break all old records, I call upon every member to grab a larger share in the global apparel trade. Please drop in your suggestions at [email protected].

Dr A Sakthivel Chairman, AEPC

APPAREL | EVENTS CALENDAR

2 / APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2021

EVENTS CALENDAR

INTERNATIONAL SOURCING EXPO AUSTRALIA (ISEA)

INDIA TEX TREND FAIR(ITTF), TOKYO, JAPAN

Sept 2021

APPAREL TEXTILE SOURCING, CANADA

Oct 2021

SOURCING AT MAGIC, LAS VEGAS, USA

WHO’S NEXT PARIS, FRANCE

3-6 Sept, 2021

SOURCING AT MAGIC, LAS VEGAS, USA(DIGITAL TRADE SHOW)

1 Aug - 30th Sept 2021

23-25 November, 2021

PURE LONDON (PURE ORIGIN), UK

7-9 Sept, 2021

Feb 2022

APPAREL | CONTENTS


APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2021 100

ITALYFOCUS COUNTRY

YR 21 ISSUE 08

FIEO PRESIDENT AND AEPC CHAIRMAN DR A SAKTHIVEL CALLS UPON HON’BLE VICE PRESIDENT SHRI M VENKAIAH NAIDU

HON’BLE COMMERCE AND TEXTILES MINISTER SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL ON

BOOSTING EXPORTS

MEETING HON’BLE CHIEF MINISTER THIRU MK STALIN


YR 21 | ISSUE 08 | AUGUST 2021 | Pages 60

01| CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE02 | EVENTS CALENDAR04 | KEY STATISTICS

• RMG exports grow 24.7% in June • Textile manufacturing jumps 165%

in May

06 | UPFRONT• 15 more startups join unicorn club

in first half of 2021

08 | GLIMPSES OF KEY EVENTS

10 | COVER STORY• RoSCTL road to Aatmanirbhar

Bharat

14 | SPECIAL FEATURE• Fashioning a sustainable world

16 | FOCUS COUNTRY• Italian economy headed for sharp

recovery

22 | COUNCIL AFFAIRS • AEPC appreciates “enterprising exporters’ for historic feat • AEPC Chairman meets Revenue Secretary on export issues • AEPC meets Tamil Nadu Textile Minister for support • AEPC requests for commercial tax division in Tirupur • AEPC seeks clarifications on ATUFS issues • AEPC seeks separate export policy for Tamil Nadu • AEPC, RIL hold webinar on sourcing of polyester fabric • Retirement ceremony of Mr KS Bisht • B2B meeting with Israeli fashion chain Fox Group • Extension of IES export credit to benefit apparel exporters: AEPC • New Commerce Secretary meets EPCs in Bengaluru • Textiles secretary releases compendium on MMF garments

33 | CIRCULAR

34 | ATDC DIGEST • ATDC partners with HCL Foundation for

CSR activities

36 | INDIA NEWS • Developing roadmap for growth of

Indo-Pacific • Khadi secures trademark registrations

in Bhutan, UAE, Mexico • Logistics division drafts roadmap for

freight smart cities • Shri Piyush Goyal takes charge of

Ministry of Textiles • Advisory panel for open network for

digital commerce • FM hails CBIC for fight against

pandemic • Govt includes retail, wholesale trades

as MSMEs • IFSCA issues framework for setting up

ITFS platform • Shri Goyal pushes for innovations in

textiles sector • Shri Narayan Tatu Rane assumes

charge of MSME ministry

44 | GLOBAL NEWS • GUCCI announces 2021 class of

changemakers scholars • LVMH partners Weturn for textile

recycling process • GUCCI ties up with Intesa Sanpaolo

for sustainable supply chain • LVMH sponsors ‘Cultures and

Creation’ fashion show • Ralph Lauren unveils wearable cooling

technology for team USA • HanesBrands appoints Latonya

Groom as VP • Jaypore forays into menswear • Louis Philippe launches double

defence mask • Prada, Zegna acquire Filati Biagioli

Modesto • Burberry ties up with Naomi for TB

summer collection • Puma, Goop unveil limited-edition

collection • UNDP, BGMEA to continue

collaboration in SDGs reporting • Uniqlo collaborates with Tate Modern for

T-shirt collection

54 | ADVANTAGES OF AEPC MEMBERSHIP

56 | GST UPDATE58 | NOTIFICATIONS60 | MEDIA COVERAGE

Printing Press Royal Press, New DelhiEmail: [email protected]

Content & Design Vanman Communications Pvt LtdEmail: [email protected]

CHAIRMAN AEPCDr A Sakthivel

CHAIRMAN EPMr Sudhir Sekhri

Secretary General, AEPCDr LB Singhal

ADVISOR AEPCMrs Chandrima Chatterjee

PUBLISHERApparel Export Promotion CouncilApparel House, Sector-44,Institutional Area, Gurugram,HARYANA – 122003.Phone: 0124-2708000www.aepcindia.com

RMG EXPORTS GROW 24.7% IN JUNE


APPAREL | KEY STATISTICS

India’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Export Update for FY June, 2021-22RMG exports were to the tune of USD 1001.6 million in June, 2021 showing a positive growth of 24.7 per cent against the corresponding month of June, 2020 and decline of 18.8 percent against June, 2019. Cumulative RMG exports for the period Apr-June, 2021-22 is USD 3405.6 mn. show-ing a positive growth of 135.5% against the period Apr-June, 2020-21 and a decline of 18.4% against the period Apr-June, 2019-20.

In rupee terms, RMG exports were to the tune of INR 7367.33 crore in June, 2021 showing a positive growth of 21.10 per cent against the corresponding month of June, 2020 and decline of 13.9 percent against June, 2019.

India’s RMG Export to World

Month

(In US$ Mn.) MoM Growth (%)

2019-20 2020-21 2021-222020-21 2021-22 2021-22

Over Over Over2019-20 2019-20 2020-21

April 1408.8 126.3 1297.3 -91.0 -7.9 927.1May 1530.1 516.6 1106.7 -66.2 -27.7 114.2June 1233.5 803.4 1001.6 -34.8 -18.8 24.7July 1365.8 1065.7 -22.0

August 1261.9 1085.6 -14.0 September 1080.6 1192.9 10.4

October 1108.9 1180.0 6.4 November 1058.5 1047.0 -1.1 December 1409.5 1196.9 -15.1 January 1453.5 1296.2 -10.8 February 1477.9 1349.1 -8.7

March 1120.5 1425.6 27.2 Total 15509.4 12286.3 3405.6 -20.8 -18.4 135.5

Source: DGCI&S, Kolkata, 2021

Note- Sum of Apr-June, 2019-20 is USD 4172.4 mn. and Apr-June, 2020-21 is USD 1446.3 mn.

For more Details on India’s RMG Exports data, please visit AEPC’s website>Resource Section>Export Statistics

India’s Textile & Ready-Made Garment (RMG) Update for Index for Industrial Production (IIP) for FY May, 2021-22

TEXTILE MANUFACTURING JUMPS 165% IN MAY

Manufacturing of Textiles Index for the month of May, 2021 is 106.6 which has shown a positive growth of 165.2% as compared to May, 2020.

Manufacturing of Textiles Index for the financial year Apr-May, 2021-22 is 110.7 which has shown a positive growth of 332.4 % as compared to the financial year Apr-May, 2020-21.

Manufacturing of Wearing Apparel Index for the month of May, 2021 is 120.4 which has shown a positive growth of 92.3% as compared to May, 2020.

Manufacturing of Wearing Apparel Index for the financial year Apr-May, 2021-22 is 127.3 which has shown a positive growth of 251.7% as compared to the financial year Apr-May, 2020-21.


APPAREL | KEY STATISTICS

Manufacture of Textiles

MoM Growth Rate

(In %)Manufacture of

Wearing ApparelMoM Growth

Rate (In %)

Month 2020-21 2021-22 2021-22/2020-21 2020-21 2021-22 2021-22/2020-21

April 11.0 113.2 # 9.7 136.1 #May 40.2 106.6 165.2 62.6 120.4 92.3

Cumulative Index (Apr-May) 25.6 110.7 332.4 36.2 127.3 251.7

Source: CSO,2021 * Figures for May 2021 are Quick Estimates # The growth rates over corresponding period of previous year are to be interpreted considering the unusual circumstances on account of COVID 19 pandemic since March 2020

APPAREL | UPFRONT

India’s 15 more startups made it to unicorn club, val-ued at more than $1 billion, in first six months of the current year concretizing the roadmap for ‘Aatman-

irbhar Bharat’, a recipe for rebuilding, revitalizing and strengthening resilience in the economy.

“There is a new energy in our startups space. In just first six months of 2021, India has seen 15 more uni-corns,” said Hon’ble Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal, while addressing a Plenary Session of CII-Horasis India meeting on 24 July 2021.

Indian startups are scripting commercial success stories due to hordes of initiatives and reforms initiated by the Government of India. Some key initiatives and changes, helping India’s transformation, include Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, Make in India and large scale digitization, modernization, simplification and facilitation.

Shri Goyal said that vaccines, pharma products, ICT-related goods and services are good possible areas of opportunities for immediate and short-term need exist. In long-term, areas like digitization, clean energy and GVCs (Global Value Chains) remain great areas of growth.

“Sectors like agriculture, textiles, engineering goods, electronics, marine products and shipping services also offer great opportunities for the nation,” said Shri Goyal. He recently took charge as Minister of Textiles as well.

Speaking about the progress and opportunities in tex-tile sector, the Minister said that the sector is one of the largest employers in India and is now poised to become the largest exporter as well.

India sees a great growth potential in the textile sector, which contributes 2.3% to India’s GDP, 7% of the

15 MORE STARTUPS JOIN UNICORN CLUB IN

FIRST HALF OF 2021


OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANUFACTURER OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS, AGRICULTURE AND TEXTILE SECTOR

APPAREL | UPFRONT

industrial output, 12% to the export earnings of India and employs more than 45 million people, which is 21% of the total employment.

In a bid to give boost to the textile sector, the Govern-ment of India has initiated hordes of schemes such as PLI and Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA).

The Centre approved the PLI scheme worth $26 billion covering 13 sectors including textiles in five years. The Centre has set up a corpus of Rs 10,683 crore under the scheme for man-made fibre (MMF) and technical textiles to boost manufacturing, increase exports and attract investments into the sector.

Government has also launched MITRA scheme in ad-dition to the PLI scheme to enable the textile industry to become globally competitive, attract large investments, boost employment generation and exports.

Shri Goyal said that Indian growth story is now being reflected across all sectors from EoDB to exports and from startups to services, India is taking giant leaps in each sector.

India is the preferred destination for industry, invest-ment and innovation. This situation has arisen as a result of consistent efforts to bring structural changes in last seven years, he said.

“Growth centric reforms have enabled India to embark on a holistic economic transformation and as a result, the country is growing with SPEED - Stability, Productivity, Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and De-mand,” Shri Goyal said.

He said that despite Covid-19 disruptions, there are clear indications of economic revival in India. Ex-

ports are going up and FDI inflows are highest. Indian industry is indeed on a growth path. The Minister said that highest ever quarterly merchandise exports of $95 billion have been logged in Q1 of 2021-22, which is 18% higher than Q1 of 2019-20.

The Minister said that India endorses the concept of working towards ensuring a transparent, dependable and reliable supply chain and there is natural inclina-tion among countries to partner with India. He said that India was expediting Foreign Trade Agreements (FTAs) with major world economies.

Shri Goyal said, “Reciprocity and fairness is our mantra in negotiations by taking trade facilitation mea-sures. Today, India is changing Non-Tariff Barriers to No Trade Barriers and Indian trade is shifting from ‘Goods only’ to ‘Goods, Services & Investments’ along with job creation.”

The Minister added that the Government of India is standing strong with a resolve for ‘Building a strong India of Tomorrow’.

• Despite Covid-19, economy is on a revival path in India

• India expediting FTAs with major world economies• Opportunities for textile sector that contributes

12% to India’s export earnings• PLI scheme worth $26 billion covering 13 sectors

including textiles• Rs 10,683 crore under PLI for MMF segment and

technical textiles


APPAREL | GLIMPSES OF KEY EVENTS

GLIMPSES OF KEY EVENTS


FIEO President and AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel calls upon Hon’ble Vice President of India Shri M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on 28 July 2021 to apprise him of the export scenario of the country.

{ Please use the tweet by Piyush Goyal and retweeted by us as pasted below and also given in this link:

(Crop the above pic properly; just take the middle column)

Dr A Sakthivel discussing ways to boost Indian exports with Hon’ble Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on 29 July 2021.

Chairman Dr Sakthivel submitting suggestions for drafting separate state export promotion policy to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru MK Stalin on 27 July 2021 in Chennai.

APPAREL | GLIMPSES OF KEY EVENTS


Sharing thoughts with Mr BVR Subrahmanyam, the new Commerce Secretary, Government of India, in New Delhi on 16 July 2021.

Dr Sakthivel with Hon’ble Industries Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru Thangam Thennarasu in Chennai on 27 July 2021.

Discussing key banking issues related to exporters with Mr Debasish Panda, Secretary (Financial Services), Ministry of Finance, in New Delhi on 29 July 2021.

In discussion with Mr Pawan Kumar Agarwal, Special Secretary (Logistics), Department of Commerce, on issues related to logistics facing the exports sector in New Delhi on 29 July 2021.

In a meeting with Dr L Murugan, Hon’ble Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Information & Broadcasting in New Delhi on 28 July 2021. Discussion was on challenges faced by marine sector including shortage of reefer containers, hike in freight rates and increase in anti-dumping duty by the US. The Hon’ble Minister has assured to take up each of the issues.

AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel with Textiles Secretary Mr Upendra Prasad Singh during his visit to Apparel House in Gurugram on 14 July 2021.

APPAREL | COVER STORY


10 / APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL MAGAZINE | AUGUST2021

Textile sector brims with confidence as apparel exports likely to grow

It can be termed as angelic intervention. On 14 July 2021, the Union Cabinet approved continuation of Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL)

scheme till March 2024, thanks to the continuous efforts by apparel export industry, particularly Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Dr A Sakthivel.

At a time when exporters are facing tough competi-tion from neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, besides dealing with Covid-19 pandemic, the decision came as a golden ray of hope to boost appar-el exports from India. The rebate scheme will help enhance competitiveness of the labour-intensive textiles sector.

Immediately after the announcement by the govern-ment, Dr A Sakthivel thanked Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and Commerce and Textiles Min-ister Shri Piyush Goyal, stating that the continuation of the scheme was the need of the hour and that it will play a major role in achieving the objective of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

According to a central government statement, contin-uation of RoSCTL for apparel/ garments and made-ups is expected to make these products globally competitive by rebating all embedded taxes/ levies which are cur-rently not being rebated under any other mechanism.

It will ensure a stable and predictable policy regime and provide a level playing field to Indian textile export-ers. Further, it will promote start-ups and entrepreneurs to export and ensure creation of lakhs of jobs. Continua-tion of the scheme will not only help boost exports from India but also help generate additional investment and give direct and indirect employment to lakhs of workers especially women.

In 2020, India exported knitted apparel, woven apparel and made-ups worth $6.1 billion, $6 billion and $4.8 billion respectively. Bangladesh’s exports of these three products stood at $19 billion, $16.8 billion and $1.1 billion in 2020. Similarly, Vietnam exported knitted ap-parel, woven apparel and made-ups worth $13.7 billion, $13.3 billion and $3.2 billion, respectively.

WHAT IS THE SCHEME ALL ABOUTIndia always believes in supporting exports without em-bedded burdens and it is a globally accepted principle that taxes and duties should not be exported, to enable a level playing field in the international market for the exporters.

In addition, to import duties and GST (Goods and Services Tax) which are generally refunded, there are various other taxes/ duties that are levied by Central, State and Local Governments which are not refunded to the exporters. These taxes and levies get embedded in





the price of the ultimate product being exported. Such embedded taxes and levies increase the price of

Indian apparels and made-ups and make it difficult for them to compete in the international markets, particu-larly when you have competitors like Bangladesh, which gets huge duty concessions in rich markets of the US and the Europe.

Some of the cess, duties for which taxes and levies are not refunded and are part of embedded taxes direct-ly and indirectly, are:

1. Central and state taxes, duties and cesses on fuel used for transportation of goods, generation of power and for the farm sector2. Mandi tax3. Duty on electricity charges at all levels of the produc-tion chain4. Stamp duty5. GST paid on inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, etc.6. GST paid on purchases from unregistered dealers, etc.7. Cess on coal or any other products

Realizing the importance of refund of embedded

taxes, cesses and duties, the Ministry of Textiles first launched a scheme by the name of Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) in 2016. In this scheme the exporters of apparels, garments and made-ups were refunded embedded taxes and levies through the budget of the Ministry of Textiles.

In 2019, the Ministry notified a new scheme by the name Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL). Under this scheme, the exporters are issued a Duty Credit Scrip for the value of embedded taxes and levies contained in the exported product. Exporters can use this scrip to pay basic Customs duty for the import of equipment, machinery or any other input.

The Ministry, in a statement, has said, “Just one year after the launch of RoSCTL, the pandemic set in and it has been felt that there is a need to provide some stable policy regime for the exporters.”

In the textiles industry, buyers place long term orders and exporters have to chalk out their activities well in advance, it is important that the policy regime regarding export of these products should be stable. Keeping in view the same, the Ministry has decided to continue the scheme of RoSCTL up to 31 March 2024 independently as a separate scheme.

PRODUCTS COVERED UNDER RoSCTL Exports of apparels/ garments (Chapters 61 and

62) and Made-ups (Chapter 63) are covered under this scheme. However, the other textiles products (excluding Chapters 61, 62 and 63) which are not covered under the RoSCTL will be eligible to avail the benefits under

Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP).

The Department of Commerce and the Department of

Revenue are finalising the rates for the RoDTEP scheme and it is expected to be notified soon. The government had announced that it has decided to extend the benefit of RoDTEP scheme to all goods, with effect from 1 Jan-uary 2021.

WHAT ARE THE RATES The Union Cabinet chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for continu-ation of RoSCTL with the same rates as notified by the Ministry of Textiles through a notification dated 8 March 2019.

According to a government official, the government will issue a notification after which the continuation of the scheme would come into effect. He said that the procedure to claim the benefits under the RoSCTL scheme will be same as RoDTEP scheme, as exporters are exporting their goods since 1 January 2021 under RoDTEP scheme.

Rates will be same, only the procedure will be changed slightly.



INDUSTRY EXUBERANT ABOUT EXPORTSExporters and industry welcomed the announcement. AEPC Chairman Dr Sakthivel said, “The scheme will go a long way in bringing back positive sentiments and helping the Indian textile value chain attain $100 billion annual exports in next three years.”

India’s apparel exports have been losing market share to competitors. It fell 20.8 per cent in one year from $15.6 billion in 2019-20 to $12.3 billion in 2020-21. “This declining trend in apparel exports is a matter of concern for the nation, given its huge socio-economic importance. RoSCTL is all set to reverse this trend,” he added.

FICCI President Mr Uday Shankar said, “We are confident that this would ensure higher share for India in global trade of textiles and clothing in coming years. Garments and made-ups are high employment and ex-port intensive sectors. Cabinet decision for extension of

RoSCTL scheme shall also help in promoting start-ups and employment at a large scale.”

Chairman of The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) Mr Manoj Patodia said, “In the textile sector, overseas buyers place orders and export-ers have to chalk out their activities well in advance and, therefore, it is important that the policy regime regarding export of textile products should be stable. Exporters can now take a long-term perspective while negotiating export orders.”

Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chair-man Mr T Rajkumar said that the RoSCTL scheme will help improve the global competitiveness of the textile sector while the key economies of the world are in a re-viving mode. The announcement will also give a boost to the objective of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, provide a level playing field to the Indian textile exporters and enhance further employment opportunities especially to down-trodden and illiterate women in rural areas.

For individual items, an exporter or industry can access the exact rates both in Hindi and English by visiting the below link: https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/199526.pdf

Range of Rates of RoSCTL

S. No. Product (Apparel Made)

Rate of ROSCTL (State & Cen-tral)

1 Of cotton 3.89% - 6.05%

2Of blend containing cotton and MMF fibre 3.80% - 5.41%

3 Of MMF fibre 3.80% - 4.75%

4 Of Silk (other than containing Noil silk) 3.80% - 4.75%

5 Of Wool 3.80% - 4.75%

6

Of Blend containing Wool and Man Made Fibre 3.80% - 4.75%

7 Of Others 3.80% - 4.75%

8 Of Cotton containing 1% or more by weight of spandex/ lycra/ elastane 3.89% - 6.05%

9 Protective industrial wear 3.80% - 4.90%

APPAREL | SPECIAL FEATURE

FASHIONING A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

Several global brands have taken a series of initiatives to safeguard the environment and contribute towards sustainability of the fashion industry. Most of the measures revolve around

recycling, efficient energy use and waste management.Decisive steps are being taken to repair the environ-

ment that has been impacted due to increased explora-tion, industrialisation and urbanisation. Big brands like Louis Vuitton, Levi’s, Lee Jeans and Under Armour are working towards sustainability with commitment.

LVMH is learnt to have reduced its energy consump-tion by more than 30% per square meter of retail space. It further aims to reduce its energy use to 50%. Under Armour is reducing the impact of their packaging on environment. Indian apparel giant Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) is also marching ahead.

COMMITMENTS TO SAVE WATERLevi’s claim to have saved more than 1.8 billion litres water and recycled more than 129 million litres. It also runs an initiative called ‘The Better Cotton Initiative’ training farmers to minimise the use of water, pesti-cides, insecticides and synthetic fertilizers while grow-ing cotton plants.

American denim brand Lee has saved more than one billion litres of water till year 2019 and is continu-ing. Lee also has a signature denim collection named Indigood Denim that eliminates water from the dying process.

Indian giant ABFRL is also working with commitment to save water. The company has reportedly reached to a point where 82% is recycled water out of the total water consumption. The company is contributing in the field of


APPAREL | SPECIAL FEATURE

rainwater harvesting as well.

BEING ENERGY EFFICIENTLee is committed to switch over to solar power. The company has set the target of switching over to using renewable energy at all its units by 2025. The company has also embarked upon utilizing more than 50% sus-tainable synthetics in its manufacturing.

Global sportswear brand Under Armour is also working towards reducing the impact on environment. Since 2008, the company is working with Environmental Defense Fund to implement best practices of energy use and sustainability.

ABFRL is working ambitiously to meet its renewable energy targets, besides reducing carbon emission and improving waste management. Working on sustainabili-ty since 2012-13, the company now uses 25% renewable energy and 82% recycled water.

WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLINGLVMH claims that several of their maisons and suppli-ers are members of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals program. The program promotes responsible management of chemicals and deployment of waste wa-ter besides regular audits of relevant LVMH sites. The company has pledged to eliminate fossil fuel-derived plastics from their packaging by year 2026.

The ‘Better Cotton Initiative’ of Levi’s, too, is aimed at reducing inputs and maximizing cotton production that is beneficial for the farmers. Also, this practice ensures minimal use of harmful substances leading to decrease

in environmental impact.Similarly, Lee focuses immensely on recycling,

compositing and reuse. The company has reportedly reached zero-waste designation for all of their owned distribution centres in North America.

Under Armour has been working on reducing the use of plastic bags for packaging and labelling by replacing it with corrugated boxes. The company makes sure that the carton boxes used in packaging process are made of 100% recycled content. By taking such small initiatives, Under Armour is significantly contributing towards sustainability.

The LMVH’s ‘Living Soils, Living Together’ program has been launched to comply with the much required en-vironmental certifications in France. LVMH is planting hedges, trees and bushes alongside non-profit organisa-tion Reforest’Action.

ABFRL, too, is seen taking steps towards environmen-tal healing. In a recent publication, ABFRL talked about its successful sustainable journey mentioning how reli-giously it is working towards environment and sustain-ability that helped them stand on firm ground globally.

With big brands taking the initiative to clean up the industry and becoming accountable for the impact of their activities on environment, the entire value chain is encouraged to follow the footprints. Collective measures of the clothing industry have the potential to play a key role in the global efforts for sustainable development and environment protection.


APPAREL | FOCUS COUNTRY



ITALIAN ECONOMY HEADED FOR SHARP RECOVERYItaly is likely to grow 5.1% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022 after a fall of 8.9% last year, as per the projections of Bank of Italy. The turnaround in the Eurozone’s third largest economy has been possible due to its massive vaccination campaign and growth-oriented fiscal and monetary policies. Relaxation in travel restrictions and social contacts is further boosting the recovery.




ECONOMIC INDICATORS-

Indicators ValueReal GDP (Purchasing Power Pari-

ty), 2019 est.$2,562,135,000,000

GDP (official exchange rate), 2019 est.

$2,002,763,000,000

Real GDP (Per Capita), 2019 est. $42,492Real GDP Growth Rate,2019 est. 0.34%

Inflation Rate, 2019 est. 0.6%Exchange Rate- euros (EUR) per US dollar, 2020 est.

0.82771

Industriestourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, cloth-ing, footwear, ceramics

Source: The World Factbook-CIA

LOCATION- Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia

CLIMATE- predominantly Mediterranean; alpine in far north; hot, dry in south

AGE STRUCTURE-0-14 years: 13.45% (male 4,292,431/female 4,097,732)15-24 years: 9.61% (male 3,005,402/female 2,989,764)25-54 years: 40.86% (male 12,577,764/female 12,921,614)55-64 years: 14% (male 4,243,735/female 4,493,581)65 years and over: 22.08% (male 5,949,560/female 7,831,076) (2020 est.)



ITALY’S APPAREL TRADE-

Italy’s RMG Import from World and India

2018 2019 2020 % Change 2020/2019

Italy’s RMG Import from World, (USD Mn.) 16836.2 16409.0 14440.6 -12.0

Italy’s RMG Import from India, (USD Mn.) 389.8 376.2 281.7 -25.1

India’s Share in Italy’s RMG import from world, % 2.3 2.3 2.0 -14.9

Source: UN Comtrade, 2021

The above table shows that Italy’s RMG import from world were to the tune of USD 14440.6 mn. in 2020 showing a decline of 12.0% as compared to 2019. RMG import from India has remained USD 281.7 mn. registering a decline of 25.1%. as compared to 2019. India’s % share in Italy’s RMG im-port from world has remained 2.0% in 2020.

TOP RMG SUPPLIER TO ITALY-

Top RMG Supplier to Italy and India’s Position (Values in USD mn.)

S. No.Exporters 2020 % Share

World 14440.6 100.01 China 2658.0 18.42 Bangladesh 1299.6 9.03 France 1268.0 8.84 Spain 1199.0 8.35 Romania 713.8 4.96 Germany 659.0 4.67 Netherlands 618.9 4.38 Turkey 540.5 3.79 Tunisia 492.7 3.410 Belgium 476.4 3.313 India 281.7 2.0


The above table shows that China has remained a top supplier of RMG to Italy with a % share of 18.4% in 2020. India is the 13th largest supplier of RMG to Italy with a % share of 2.0%. Bangla-desh has a % share of 9.0%.



ITALY’S TOP 10 RMG PRODUCTS IMPORT FROM WORLD

VS INDIA’S SHARE

Italy’s Top 10 RMG Import from World vs India’s share

S. No. Product code

Product label

Italy imports from world, Val-ue in 2020,USD

mn.

Italy imports from India, Val-ue in 2020,USD

mn.

India’s share in

%

RMG 14440.625 281.716 2.0Sum 6301.1 76.0 1.2

1 610910 T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton 1146.5 33.3 2.9

2 611020Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans,

waistcoats and similar articles, of cotton

951.7 14.0 1.5

3 620342Men’s or boys’ trousers, bib and

brace overalls, breeches and shorts, of cotton

808.5 10.7 1.3


waistcoats and similar articles, of man-made fibres

666.9 1.2 0.2

5 620193Men’s or boys’ anoraks, wind-

cheaters, wind jackets and simi-lar articles, of man-made fibres

609.0 0.2 0.0

6 621010Garments made up of felt or nonwovens, whether or not

impregnated, coated, covered or laminated

576.9 0.4 0.1

7 620462Women’s or girls’ trousers, bib

and brace overalls, breeches and shorts of cotton

516.8 4.1 0.8

8 620293Women’s or girls’ anoraks,

windcheaters, wind jackets and similar articles, of man-made

fibres418.4 0.5 0.1

9 610990 T-shirts, singlets and other vests of textile materials 304.4 1.2 0.4

10 620520 Men’s or boys’ shirts of cotton 302.2 10.3 3.4

Source: UN Comtrade,2021

The above table shows Italy’s top 10 RMG products imported from world vis-à-vis from India and India’s % share in those top 10 products. The top 10 products imported from world were to the tune of USD 6301.1 mn. in 2020 and import from India of these top 10 products were to the tune of USD 76.0 mn. India has a % share of 1.2 % in Italy’s top 10 products import from world.



Italy’s Top 10 RMG Products Import from India

S. No. Product code Product labelItaly’s Import from

India, USD mn. 2020

% Share in 2020

Tariff applied by Italy (In %)

RMG 281.7 100.0

Sum of Top 10 165.4 58.7

1 610910 T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton 33.3 11.8 9.6

2 610831 Women’s or girls’ nightdresses and pyjamas of cotton 27.6 9.8 9.6

3 610721 Men’s or boys’ nightshirts and pyjamas of cotton 26.9 9.6 9.6

4 611120 Babies’ garments and clothing accessories of cotton 14.3 5.1

7.10 (Gloves, mittens & mitts) /

9.6 (Garments & clothing accessories)


waistcoats and similar articles, of cotton

14.0 5.0 9.6

6 620342Men’s or boys’ trousers, bib and

brace overalls, breeches and shorts, of cotton

10.7 3.8 9.6

7 620520 Men’s or boys’ shirts of cotton 10.3 3.7 9.6

8 620443 Women’s or girls’ dresses of syn-thetic 10.2 3.6 9.6

9 620442 Women’s or girls’ dresses of cotton 9.8 3.5 9.6

10 620630 Women’s or girls’ blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses of cotton 8.3 2.9 9.6


The above table shows Italy’s top 10 RMG products imported from India. Italy’s top 10 products imported from India were to the tune of USD 165.4 mn with a % share of 58.7 % in Italy’s total RMG import from India. The top products imported by Italy from India includes T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton, Women’s or girls’ night-dresses and pyjamas of cotton, Men’s or boys’ nightshirts and pyjamas of cotton, Babies’ garments and clothing accessories of cotton and Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles, of cotton. The tariff applied by Italy on most of the top 10 products imported from India is 9.6%.

The top products imported by Italy from world includes T-shirts, singlets and other vests of cotton, Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles, of cotton, Men’s or boys’ trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts, of cotton, Jerseys, pullovers, cardigans, waistcoats and similar articles, of man-made fibres and Men’s or boys’ anoraks, windcheaters, wind jackets and similar articles, of man-made fibres.

ITALY’S TOP 10 RMG PRODUCTS IMPORT FROM INDIA

AEPC APPRECIATES “ENTERPRISING

EXPORTERS” FOR HISTORIC FEAT

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel lauded the government and Indian exporters for achieving the highest

ever merchandise exports of $95 billion in Q1 (April-June quarter) FY 2021-22.

“This is a historic moment for us. Despite all odds, the enterprising Indian exporters have brought laurels to the country. A big thanks goes to the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his Cabinet colleagues particularly Hon’ble Ministers of Finance, Commerce and Textiles,” Dr Sakthivel said, adding that the $400 billion merchandise export target of FY22 is doable.

Export of cotton yarn/ fabrics/ made-ups grew by 50.86% in June 2021 over June 2019. However, apparel exports could not benefit much from the resurgence in global demand despite a good order book due to lockdowns in many important states, he said. With the reopening of the economy, apparel exports are likely to catch up fast and surpass the pre-Covid levels soon, he added.

The Chairman said that while the overall global

demand has remained buoyant, the lockdowns in different parts of the country had kept factories in partial shutdown. With decline in daily cases of infection and resumption of economic activities, India is now set to achieve unprecedented export figures this year, he said.

“India’s economic recovery is likely to be led by exports till domestic demand picks up. And, leading the pack of exporters will be the MSMEs, as exports need personalized management,” Dr Sakthivel said.

He thanked the government for extending the Interest Equalization Scheme (IES) for pre and post shipment rupee credit for another three months till 30 September 2021.

Dr Sakthivel also welcomed the government’s decision of extension of Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) till 31 March 2024. The extension will help exporters get back all embedded taxes and make their products globally competitive.

He requested the government for early clearance of RoSCTL cases pending since January 2021.

APPAREL | COUNCIL AFFAIRS


AEPC CHAIRMAN MEETS REVENUE SECRETARY ON

EXPORT ISSUES

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel recently met Mr Tarun Bajaj, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of

Finance, and discussed an array of export related issues including duty free import of trimmings and embellishments for textiles.

The major issues took up by the AEPC Chairman include extension in time limit of exports on procurement of goods and export by merchant exporter, refund of CVD (Countervailing Duty) and SAD (Special Additional Duty) paid post on regularization of Advance Licenses and EPCG licenses, exports through land customs and duty drawback against exports to Nepal in freely convertible currency.

He also raised issues related to amendment in Rule 96

(10) of CGST Rules, restoration of facility of payment of IGST on exports and subsequent refund, scroll rejection in PFMS and capital blockage of exporters tagged as ‘Risky’.

On 28 July 2021, Dr Sakthivel wrote a letter to the Revenue Secretary for restoration of facility for duty free import of trimmings and embellishments, tags, labels, packing bags needed for export.

He requested that the facility of Serial No 311 (Trimmings and Embellishments) under Principal

Notification No 50/2017-Customs dated 30 June 2017 should be restored as the smaller exporters source most of the raw material from the domestic market and import only small lots of trimmings and embellishments under the EPC scheme.

The normal import period from destinations like China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan is 20 days by sea shipments while smaller lots of trimmings and embellishments are normally imported via courier under the EPC Scheme and reach in 5 days. This helps in meeting the 30 to 40 days order period. Most of the exporters import these items because of the buyer’s nomination. Hence, the need to be sourced from defined sources and within sharp timelines.

It may also be noted that exporters have already booked orders for FY 2021-22 based on the imports requirement under EPC for the items coming under S. No. 311 and the value of import have been factored based on Export Performance of FY 2020-21.

Dr Sakthivel sought Revenue Secretary’s intervention for continuation of the facility of duty free import of trimmings and embellishments as it does not have any serious impact on the domestic industry or revenue foregone. It provides the much needed facility of export facilitation to smaller exporters.





AEPC MEETS TAMIL NADU

TEXTILE MINISTER FOR SUPPORT

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) sought Hon’ble Minister of Handloom and Textiles of Tamil Nadu Shri R Gandhi’s intervention for

speedy execution of certain measures for betterment of apparel industry and workers in Tirupur and Tamil Nadu.

On behalf of AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel, Council’s Executive Committee Member Mr R Ramu and Joint Director Mr C Eswarasundar submitted the recommendation at a meeting of the Minister with knitwear trade organizations and associations held at Tirupur District Collectorate on 29 June 2021.

Hon’ble Minister of Information & Publicity of Tamil Nadu Shri MB Saminathan and Hon’ble Minister of Adi Dravidar Welfare Mrs N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj were also present in the meeting.

The AEPC representatives requested the Minister to allocate more vaccinations to Tirupur garment workers in a bid to fight Covid-19 pandemic and help the apparel industry grow.

Shri Gandhi’s intervention was also sought to

expedite the opening of a fully equipped ESI hospital for the benefit of the workers.

Emphasizing on the safety of the workers, AEPC officials urged the Minister to set up adequate hostel facilities for working men and women separately in Tirupur, as many apparel workers have migrated from other districts and states to Tirupur.

AEPC also made a request to set up separate textile parks for the production of man-made, synthetic fiber garments and accessories in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu.

The Minister heard the recommendations and assured that they would be considered on priority. “This government is fully supportive for the growth of all industries in Tamil Nadu,” Shri Gandhi said.

The meeting was held in presence of Tirupur District Collector Dr S Vineet. Principal Secretary of Handloom Commissioner and officials from the department of Handloom and Textiles were also present in the meeting.



AEPC REQUESTS FOR COMMERCIAL TAX DIVISION IN

TIRUPURThe Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has

requested for setting up a separate Commercial Tax Division, exclusively for Tirupur district with

Headquarters at Tirupur.

AEPC Joint Director Mr C Eswarasundar placed the request before Tamil Nadu’s Hon’ble Commercial Taxes and Registration Minister Shri P Moorthy in a meeting held on 12 July 2021 at Coimbatore.

Members of Parliament and Legislative Assembly, commercial tax representatives, officials and various organizations from Coimbatore and Erode Commercial Tax Division also attended the meeting.

AEPC raised its long awaited demand of creating a new Commercial Tax Division for Tirupur district, as there are around 65,000 traders/ assessees in Tirupur but they have to shuttle between different districts for

their assessment purposes.

Highlighting the problem of traders, the Council representative said there are around 8,000 traders from Kangayam and Dharampuram area of Tirupur district who visit CTO offices at Karur district.

Similarly, about 6,000 dealers from Udumalpet area visit Pollachi in Coimbatore, while around 5,000 dealers from Avinashi near Tirupur visit Coimbatore district for assessment purposes.

In a bid to avoid moving from one district to another and saving cost and time, a new Commercial Tax Division should be set up at Tirupur, AEPC requested.

The Hon’ble Minister assured to consider the proposal positively and said he will take it up with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.



AEPC SEEKS CLARIFICATIONS ON

ATUFS ISSUES

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel requested for reducing compliance burden and matters relating to

streamlining the processes under Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) at a virtual meeting called on 6 July 2021 under the chairpersonship of the then Hon’ble Textiles Minister.

Later, Dr Sakhtivel wrote a letter to Textile Secretary Mr Upendra Prasad Singh looking forward to an early resolution of the pending cases that were discussed during the meeting. He also thanked the then Hon’ble Minister of Textiles Smt Smriti Zubin Irani for consideration of the issues highlighted by him at the stakeholder consultation meeting.

The Chairman raised hordes of cases pertaining to apparel sector awaiting clarification on compliance to policy or procedures. AEPC had shared a list of 203 pending TUFS cases with office of the Textile Commissioner as well with Ministry of Textiles. Out of

203 pending cases, around 170 cases are of procedural nature but awaiting further communication.

Besides these, 32 cases are of the nature wherein policy clarification or interpretation from Ministry of Textile will help early resolution of these cases, the letter said.

AEPC sought clarification on issues of in-principal sanction letter or invoice date/ purchase of machines before the sanction of term loan, and clarification on indicating date of manufacturing on the machine.

Clarification was also sought on the applicability of a period of three years of term loan repayment period for existing cases, requirement of ‘year of manufacture’ appearing on the machineries for physical verification under RR-TUFS and record of willingness and exercise option for release of subsidy against bank guarantee.

The Council also requested fast-tracking joint inspection teams (JIT).


Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel met Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Shri MK Stalin on 27 July

2021 and submitted a memorandum seeking a separate export policy for Tamil Nadu state.

Dr Sakthivel recommended several proposals for the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in his memorandum to accelerate state’s exports by three folds from the present $30 billion in a period of five years.

Of the country’s total export of around Rs 2.10 lakh crore in 2019-2020, Tamil Nadu alone accounted for 10 per cent.

“As of date there is no separate export policy for our state. In order to achieve further growth in exports, we need a separate Export Policy exclusively for our domicile along with formation of a new Export Promotion Board, comprising government officials, leaders and representatives of respective export councils as board members,” Dr Sakthivel suggested.

The AEPC Chairman also urged for setting up manmade fiber (MMF) and synthetic apparel manufacturing parks.

Tamil Nadu’s exports are mostly limited to cotton fiber only, which fulfills the needs of overseas buyers for three months. In order to acquire a perennial business throughout the year, production of synthetic fiber garments and apparels needs to be maximized.

“The world market of synthetic garments is around Rs 15 lakh crores whereas our exports merely sum up to Rs 12,000 crores, which is less than 2% of world requirements. If we set up an exclusive park for developing such fabrics and garments, we could increase our exports and generate more employment that would boost our state economy,” he said.

The Chairman suggested the Tamil Nadu government to set up a Sewing Machinery Park and Heavy Machinery Textile Park in Coimbatore and Hosur cities respectively by luring foreign investments in these categories.

He also urged for establishing textile garment accessories park, developing improved infrastructure in ports, constructing new infrastructure for operating direct international flights to Coimbatore airport and expansion of metro rail project up to Tirupur city.

AEPC SEEKS SEPARATE EXPORT POLICY FOR

TAMIL NADU




AEPC, RIL HOLD

WEBINAR ON SOURCING OF

POLYESTER FABRIC

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) held a webinar on ‘Sourcing of Polyester Fabric’ in association with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)

on 15 July 2021.

Speaking at the webinar attended by about 50 key players in the segment of manmade fibre (MMF) based garments, AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said, “From day one, we felt that we have enough MMF fibre and yarn but we do not have the proper fabric. I thank Reliance for coming forward to fill the gap.”

Mr Ritesh Sharma, Head, Brand & Retail at RIL, said, “Our company runs the Hub Excellence Program (HEP) to support the value chain. There are more than 55 high-quality, value chain players across spinning, weaving, knitting and processing. More partners are being added.”

The company has a presence across all textile hubs and end-applications, he said. “Through this program, the entire value chain, including brands, will be able to take advantage of manufacturing and technical support, quality and supply assurance, access to innovative products, manufacturing support, and one-stop solution for all requirements,” Mr Sharma added.

The webinar was organized to promote import substitution of polyester fabric and to explore new sources. Reliance Industries partners shared their fabric supply chain to India and updated on new fabric

sourcing at the webinar.

Mr Roshan Baid of Paragon Apparels said, “MMF fibre textiles all over the world are increasing as a substitute for cotton amid changes in global fashion trends. World trade in MMF fibre garments is estimated at $500 billion.”

MMF dominates global textile fibre consumption with 72:28 ratio i.e. MMF 72% and 28% is natural fibre. The share of MMF garment in India’s total apparel export is $1.6 billion, which is only 10% of India’s apparel export, MrBaid added.

Mr Harvinder Singh of Saachi Processors informed that their company uses Fukuhara, Mayer & CIE, and Jiunn Long machines for fabricating knit fabrics. “These are all brand new machines. The fabrics produced from these machines have no cloud or line formation. Even oil stains on the greige fabric are controlled,” he said.

Mr Raj Kumar Agarwal of SVG Fashions said, “SVG is a rare textile company which has in-house every possible form of fabric formation.”

Mr Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Export Promotion Sub Committee, AEPC, said, “I appeal to people at Reliance to look at the production of high-end fabrics very holistically and not just concentrate on fibre production.”



B2B MEETING WITH ISRAELI FASHION CHAIN FOX GROUP

RETIREMENT CEREMONY OF MR KS BISHTAEPC Joint Director Mr KS Bisht on attaining the age of superannuation and after putting in almost 39 years of service with the Council, retired and relieved on 30 July 2021. At the time of his retirement he was handling the job responsibility of Export Promotion Department at the Head Office.

A B2B meeting between Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Fox Group was held with the help of Embassy of India in Israel on 8 July 2021. Deputy Chief of Mission Ms Anitha Nandhini briefed about the attendees and business opportunities during the meeting. Mr Elad Vered, Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Fox Group, presented a detailed deliberation.



EXTENSION OF IES EXPORT CREDIT TO BENEFIT APPAREL EXPORTERS: AEPC

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) welcomed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to extend the Interest Equalisation

Scheme (IES) for Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit for another three months up to 30 September 2021.

Commenting on the RBI’s decision, AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said, “I thank the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Hon’ble Commerce Minister and RBI Governor for accepting our request to further extend the interest subvention scheme as the MSME sector is still struggling from lack of affordable working capital.”

“It is a good move by the government. The interest subvention scheme will help apparel exporters to reduce their cost of capital in these difficult times and thereby make them more competitive in international markets,” the Chairman added.

The Council has been updating the government about the needs and concerns of the apparel exporters, maximum of which are in the MSME segment, and extension of the IES export credit was one of the recommendations.

The RBI, on 1 July 2021, issued a circular communicating about the three-month extension of the IES on Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit. The extension comes into effect from 1 July 2021 and ends on 30 September 2021. The move will be beneficial for those exporters who have rupee account for pre and post shipment credit.

The interest equalisation rate was increased from 3% to 5% in November 2018 in respect of exports by the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector manufacturers under the IES. Later, the government also included other merchant exporters under the scheme and allowed them interest equalisation at the rate of 3% on credit of export of certain products.

The Union Budget has made a provision of Rs 1,900 crore for the IES for 2021-22 against Rs 1,600 crore for 2020-21. The scheme is available to all exports under 416 tariff lines and exports made by MSMEs.



Union Commerce Secretary Mr BVR Subrahmanayam held an interaction with the Export Promotion Councils and other agencies at

Coffee Board during his Bengaluru visit on 17 July 2021.

The Secretary spoke in detail about the recent announcement of extension of Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) for garment and made-ups sectors. The Union Cabinet has recently approved the extension of RoSCTL till 31 March 2024.

Around 40 participants including members from Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Basic Chemicals, Cosmetics & Dyes Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXCIL), Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and central and state government officials took part in the meeting.

AEPC members, on behalf of the Chairman Dr A Sakthivel, welcomed the secretary on his visit to Bengaluru and extended thanks for restoring RoSCTL. They informed him about Karnataka being a major cluster of garments in India with 20 per cent contribution to the country’s exports.

“We brought to his notice that industry will remain uncompetitive in the international market till the time we have a zero-zero duty structure under FTA (Free Trade Agreement)/ PTA (Preferential Trade Agreement). Till that time Bangladesh and other LDCs (Least Developed Countries) will have an edge over India in receiving orders,” the Council members said.

Responding to the issue, the Secretary said he is taking up six FTAs with the EU, the UK, Canada, Australia, the UAE and Israel on a fast track.

NEW COMMERCE SECRETARY MEETS

EPCs IN BENGALURU



Textiles Secretary Mr Upendra Prasad Singh released Compendium on MMF (Man Made Fibre) Garments during the Executive Committee

meeting of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) at the Apparel House in Gurugram on 14 July 2021.

Interacting with the Executive Committee members, Mr Singh appreciated the efforts of the Council in bringing out the compendium that covers details of all 90 MMF garment HS lines, including the top 10 high potential MMF garments for the USA market. It has the details of fabrics used to produce the 90 HS lines and their supplier details.

The Textiles Secretary said that the apparel sector is very important for the economy as it provides livelihood to a large segment of population and has a major contribution towards exports and GDP. He also assured the members of addressing the issues faced by the apparel exporters in increasing their share in the global apparel trade.

Mr Singh further said that the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme, along

with the proposed Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and Mega Investment Textile Parks (MITRA), would help apparel manufacturers see their exports registering a quantum jump.

AEPC Chairman Dr A Sakthivel said, “We apparel exporters thank the government and the Ministry of Textiles for accepting our request for the PLI scheme for the MMF segment. Accordingly, AEPC has also taken a number of initiatives to promote MMF garments and create awareness amongst our member exporters about availability of opportunities for exports in MMF garments sector.

“The aim of the compendium, which has details of HS codes, pictures, fabric suppliers and prices, is to ensure better preparedness by the industry. Presently MMF garments contribute to around $165 billion in total RMG exports of $470 billion globally. India’s mill fibre consumption ratio of Cotton Vs MMF is 60:34. On the contrary, the global mill fibre consumption ratio of Cotton Vs MMF is 30:70. It gives a huge opportunity for Indian apparel manufacturers to diversify in MMF garments.”

TEXTILES SECRETARY RELEASES

COMPENDIUM ON MMF GARMENTS


APPAREL | CIRCULAR

APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL(Sponsored by Ministry of Textiles, Government of India)

Apparel House, Institutional Area, Sector-44,GURUGRAM –122 003 (HARYANA)

Phone - 0124-2708000 to 003

Application for Export Performance Certificate 2021-22

Reference is invited to the Notification No.2/2021-Customs dated 01.02.2021 of Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) thereby making further amendments in the Principal Notification No. 50/2017-Customs dated 30.06.2017. AEPC invites applications from its members who are registered as manufacturer exporter & merchant exporter (tied up with supporting manufacturer of textile garments) having valid membership of the Council to avail the benefit of Export Performance Certificate (EPC) for import of items, permitted under S.No.288 (lining and inter-lining materials) for a value equivalent to 2% of the FOB value realized in Indian Rupees in the Financial Year 2020-2021. For Complete Details, may please download the circular along with relevant documents from the Council’s website i.e. www.aepcindia.com in the notification corner.


Taking a cue from the encouragement of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel, Apparel Training and Design

Centre (ATDC) has partnered with various corporates for implementing their philanthropic activities under Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR).

As India is committed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the role of ATDC towards bringing improvement in communities becomes important. The ATDC and its CSR Vertical have been exploring new areas and opportunities to implement the CSR activities. Under the guidance of ATDC Vice Chairman Mr Rakesh Vaid, a comprehensive framework and institutional base has been founded through this vertical.

Taking this mission forward, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between ATDC and HCL Foundation to train unemployed and underprivileged youth mainly from weaker section of the society.

HCL Foundation was established in 2011 as the CSR arm of HCL, a diversified global enterprise active across

varied sectors including technology, healthcare and talent management.

The Foundation under its CSR investment and reach has expanded its footprints that help the marginalized to contribute in India’s growth curve. HCL Foundation is in the league of champions who have kept human potential at the heart of their growth for socio-economic development.

The Foundation was looking for an institution for CSR funding under the thematic areas of Skill Development.

ATDC was selected for the MoU following a rigorous screening process for selection of training partner. The process includes desk research, field level due-diligence, recommendation to sub-jury, governance check through field visits and finalization of partner. Finally, three partners have been shortlisted by the Foundation out of around 5,000 applicants.

HCL Foundation picked ATDC as a training partner under Skill Development and Livelihood Theme. ATDC’s Chief Technical Officer and General Manager (CSR) Ms Neera Chandra had conceptualized a proposal for

ATDC PARTNERS WITH HCL FOUNDATION FOR CSR ACTIVITIES

APPAREL | ATDC DIGEST


the tie-up keeping in mind ATDC’s capacity to deliver inclusiveness, scalability and innovation through a democratic process, which is key to such a mission.

The Foundation has sponsored the project of vocational training to the unemployed and underprivileged youths especially from the weaker section of the society with minimum qualification of 12 standard pass for one year (1,040 hours) programme by the name of Apparel Manufacturing Technology (AMT) diploma course.

Youths having qualifications from standard 5 to 8 would be provided training for three months under Sewing Machine Operator (SMO) certificate course for implementation at five ATDC centres at Noida, Lucknow, Guindy, Tambaram and Kilpauk under Skill and Livelihood theme. These centres are named as HCL-ATDC Yuvakendras.

During the online training activities of previous project, which ended on 31 March 2021, HCLF sponsored candidates were taught to make masks with the help of items available in homes by hand as well as on domestic sewing machines wherever available. They were encouraged to help other family members as well as other needy people by distributing masks to needy.

On commencement of physical classroom training, each candidate had been given a tool kit including special hygiene kit. ATDC provided self-care hygiene kit along with job role kit to students to ensure that they keep safe and healthy, and do not discontinue due to pecuniary reasons.

APPAREL | ATDC DIGEST

Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal called upon the business community in the Indo-Pacific region to take part in efforts for bolstering development, trade

and growth in the region. Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII)

Special Plenary with the trade ministers in Indo-Pacific region on ‘Developing a Road Map for Shared Prosperity’ on 7 July 2021, the Minister said that India endorses the concept of working towards ensuring a transparent, trustworthy, dependable and reliable supply chain.

“India’s track record should give confidence to our friends that it will be their natural and most reliable ally in years to come,” the Minister said.

Describing Indo-Pacific region as the new economic centre of gravity of the globalised world, Shri Goyal said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in 2015, had articulated his vision for the Indo-Pacific in one word ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth of All in the Region).

Mentioning about India’ strengths, the Minister said that even during the initial months of the pandemic, when the country was in lockdown, no supply chain was allowed to be disrupted.

Shri Goyal said that PLI schemes worth $26 billion covering 13 sectors have been announced to create and nurture global manufacturing champions. He invited companies from the region to utilize these incentives.

He also said that many existing rules and regulations have been simplified and rationalized to ease trade. The Doing Business 2020 report, acknowledges India as one of the top 10 improvers, for the third time in a row, with an improvement of 67 ranks in three years.

The Minister said that the single window clearance system would also be launched soon.

Talking about macro-economic scenario in India, he said that the country received its highest ever Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) despite Covid-19, while investments worldwide fell down. There is a new energy in start-ups ecosystem. India has witnessed the highest ever merchandise exports in the first quarter, 18% higher than the exports of Q1 of 2019-20.

Inviting the companies to set up their manufacturing base, Shri Goyal said, “We can expand our export-import collaboration in areas of clean tech, tourism, logistics, sustainable agriculture, startups, healthcare, education and life sciences.”

DEVELOPING ROADMAP FOR GROWTH OF INDO-PACIFIC

APPAREL | INDIA NEWS



In a major stride towards protecting the identity of brand ‘Khadi’ globally, Khadi and Villages Industries Commission (KVIC) recently secured trademark

registrations in three countries – Bhutan, UAE and Mexico.

Besides these countries, KVIC’s trademark applications are pending in 40 countries across the world that include USA, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Japan, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Brazil.

With recent trademark registrations, the number of such countries has gone up to nine. Earlier, KVIC was having trademark registrations in certain classes in six countries namely Germany, UK, Australia, Russia, China and EU.

KVIC has got the registrations in various classes that pertain to Khadi fabric, readymade garments and village industry products like Khadi soaps, cosmetics and incense sticks.

KVIC Chairman Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said, “These trademark registrations will prevent any misuse of the brand name ‘Khadi’ globally. In recent years, Khadi’s popularity has seen a massive growth in India and abroad due to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s appeal to adopt Khadi.”

It has become very important for KVIC to protect the identity of Khadi and safeguard the interest of consumers and lakhs of Khadi artisans, who are manufacturing genuine Khadi products, he added.

The registrations assume significance, as there have been instances of some private local entities in countries like Mexico and Germany seeking trademark registration for brand name Khadi in their respective countries, according to a press release of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

In Mexico, KVIC challenged the trademark application of ‘One Foundation Oaxaca Ac’, which had applied for the ‘Khadi’ logo. However, the firm did not challenge KVIC’s objection and trademark registration for the word Khadi and its logo was granted in favour of KVIC, the release said.

Similarly, in Germany, KVIC challenged a local company – Best Natural Products GmbH (BNP), which in 2011 got prior rights in the mark ‘Khadi’ and related marks in the EU and other countries in different classes. After a long legal battle and negotiations through the diplomatic channel with the help of the Ministry of External Affairs, BNP has expressed its willingness to settle the trademark disputes amicably with KVIC, the release added.

KHADI SECURES TRADEMARK REGISTRATIONS IN BHUTAN, UAE, MEXICO




Logistics Division under Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working on a roadmap envisaging the concept of Freight Smart Cities to improve efficiency of urban freight and create an

opportunity for reduction in logistics costs.

The division has decided to work in a planned manner to improve the city freight movement, as demand for urban freight is expected to grow by 140 per cent over the next 10 years.

Final-mile freight movement in Indian cities is currently responsible for 50% of total logistics costs. The city logistics improvement is expected to allow efficient freight movement, help bring down logistics costs and boost all sectors of the economy, the ministry said.

The then Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Shri Hardeep Singh Puri on 2 July 2021 launched a website on Freight Smart Cities and released a handbook outlining 14 measures that can be taken to improve urban freight.

Puri stated that India is undergoing robust, vibrant and autonomous urbanisation. He urged the state governments to identify 10 cities, to begin with, to be developed as Freight Smart Cities and also to set up institutional

mechanism for the same involving the government as well as private stakeholders like logistics service providers, users and citizens.

He said, “States and city governments should focus on quick-wins like developing peri-urban freight centres, night-time deliveries, developing truck routes, using intelligent transportation system and modern technologies, promoting electrification of urban freight, parcel delivery terminals, etc.”

Under the Freight Smart Cities initiative, city-level logistic committees would be formed. These committees would have related government departments and agencies at the local level, state and from the respective central ministries and agencies. These would also include private sector from and users of logistics services. These committees would co-create city logistics plans to implement performance improvement measures locally.

Logistics Division Special Secretary Mr Pawan Agarwal, said, “The 14 measures presented in the handbook represent high-leverage areas for cities to improve their economic competitiveness and reduce congestion and pollution. Several of these measures are low-cost, low effort initiatives that can be quickly taken up by working with the related public and private stakeholders.”

LOGISTICS DIVISION DRAFTS ROADMAP FOR FREIGHT SMART CITIES



Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal took charge of the Ministry of Textiles on 8 July 2021, while Smt Darshana

Vikram Jardosh assumed office as the Minister of State for Textiles.

Praising the works of former Textiles Minister Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Shri Goyal said that she has done a lot of good work during her tenure and as a result, the Ministry’s profile has increased manifold in recent years.

The Minister said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants this sector to be strong and become an even bigger support for the economy. The Prime Minister envisions a synergy between Commerce and Industry, and Textiles sectors.”

Shri Goyal said that textiles is a big sector for employment, and the government would extend all support to the people employed in this sector, especially women.

After assuming the charge, the Minister visited the office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai, on 10 July 2021 in a bid to review the progress of textile sector schemes.

Shri Goyal emphasized the need for close liasioning and co-ordination between the government agencies and

the local elected representatives for making a congenial atmosphere in implementing the various government initiatives.

He suggested special focus on MSMEs and the need for developing special models to support small players. Shri Goyal emphasized the issue of elimination of child labour in the textiles sector and suggested to convene a meeting with stakeholders for making a strategic plan.

Reviewing the activities of Export Promotion Councils, the Minister recommended broad based industry interaction for developing country oriented comprehensive trade agreement.

The Minister also highlighted the need for stepping up the productivity of cotton and necessary initiatives to be taken up with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

“The Cotton Corporation of India needs to work out possibilities for providing kapas plucking machines to the cotton farmers through start-ups established by way of availing Mudra Loan and special models to be developed for supporting small players,” he said.

He viewed the need for developing technical textiles for use of wagon covers and optimal utilization of national technical textiles mission to leverage strengths and address market requirements.

SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL TAKES CHARGE OF MINISTRY

OF TEXTILES


FM HAILS CBIC FOR FIGHT AGAINST PANDEMIC

Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman hailed the efforts of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in fighting Covid-19 pandemic on the

occasion of four years of GST implementation.CBIC organized a national level virtual programme to

mark the GST Day on 1 July 2021.“It is a matter of great satisfaction that we have

overcome most challenges, including two waves of unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, in providing stability

to this new tax regime. Tax collections have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for eight months in a row with record GST

collection of Rs 1.41 lakh crore in April 2021. The enhanced revenue collection in recent months should now be the new normal,” the Minister said.

Smt Sitharaman appreciated CBIC efforts in recognising more than 54,000 GST taxpayers for their contribution to nation building.

In a bid to provide relief to taxpayers during the pandemic, two relief packages were announced covering late fee waiver, interest rate reduction, relaxation of timelines and conducting refund drives to enhance liquidity in the hands of taxpayers, according to an official statement.

The Centre has set up a nine-member advisory council for Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which will advise the government on measures needed

to design and accelerate adoption of the ONDC initiative.

The Council, including Mr RS Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of National Health Authority, and Mr Nandan M Nilekani, non-executive chairman of Infosys, would suggest steps to make e-commerce processes open source.

ONDC, a project of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has been assigned to Quality Council of India (QCI).

ONDC aims at promoting open networks developed on open sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform.

The initiative is expected to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.

Other members in the advisory panel are Mr Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman of QCI and Capacity Building Commission, Ms Anjali Bansal, Founder & Chairperson of

Avaana Capital, Mr Arvind Gupta, Co-founder & Head of Digital India Foundation, Mr Dilip Asbe, Managing Director & CEO of NPCI, Mr Suresh Sethi, Managing Director & CEO of NSDL, Mr Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of CAIT, and Mr Kumar

ADVISORY PANEL FOR OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERCE



Revising the guidelines for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the Centre recently included retail and wholesale trades as MSMEs in a bid to

benefit the traders with priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.

Announcing the revised guidelines, the then Minister of MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari, in a tweet, said, “Retail and wholesale trade were left out of the ambit of MSME. Now, under the revised guidelines, retail and wholesale trade will also get benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.”

Shri Gadkari said that the revised guidelines will benefit 2.5 crore retail and wholesale traders. The traders will now be allowed to register on Udyam Registration portal.

“Under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji, we are committed to strengthening of MSMEs and making them engines for economic growth,” the Minister said.

The retail and wholesale trade association have welcomed the government’s move and said that it would enable them to get access to much needed capital having been impacted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

IFSCA ISSUES FRAMEWORK FOR SETTING UP ITFS PLATFORMThe International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) issued a framework for setting up and operating International Trade Finance Services (ITFS) platform, which will provide trade finance services at International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs)

The IFSCA has been set up through IFSCA Act, 2019 to develop and regulate the financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the IFSCs.

The IFSCA’s framework will enable exporters and importers to avail various types of trade finance facilities at competitive terms for their international trade transactions through a dedicated electronic platform – ITFS.

“This will help in their ability to convert their trade receivables into liquid funds and to obtain short term funding,” according to a press release by Ministry of Finance.

The framework will provide an opportunity to the participants to avail trade finance facilities such as export invoice trade financing, reverse trade financing, bill discounting under letter of credit, supply chain finance for exporters, export credit (packing credit), insurance/ credit guarantee, factoring and any other eligible product, on the ITFS platform.GOVT INCLUDES

RETAIL, WHOLESALE TRADES AS MSMEs


Union Minister of Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal, on 15 July 2021, held an in-depth review of initiatives undertaken by the ministry to give a boost to the

textiles sector. Shri Goyal said that textiles sector has great potential and it

should be realised by using innovations, latest technology and facilitations.

“By enhancing productivity of local artisans and domestic industry, we will realise the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,” he said.

He asked the officials to undertake necessary measures for increasing income of people employed in textiles and put efforts to bring consistency in quality of handloom.

Additional Secretary, Mr VK Singh, shared a detailed presentation giving an overview of the textiles sector on the occasion. He said that the sector contributes 2.3% to Indian GDP, 7% of the industrial output, 12% to the export earnings of India and employs more than 45 million people, which is 21% of the total employment.

India is the sixth largest producer of technical textiles with 6% global share (12% CAGR), and largest producer of cotton and jute in the world.

SHRI NARAYAN TATU RANE ASSUMES CHARGE OF MSME MINISTRYHon’ble Minister Shri Narayan Tatu Rane assumed charge of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). He succeeded Shri Nitin Gadkari in the ministry. Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma took charge of the ministry as the Minister of State.

Former Chief Minister of Maharasthra Shri Rane also served as a cabinet minister for industry, port, employment and self-employment in the Government of Maharashtra.

After assuming the office, the Minister said, “MSMEs are amongst the strongest drivers of economic development, innovation and employment.”

Shri Rane envisages working on the vision to unshackle the MSMEs and unleash their full potential to double their contribution towards a five trillion dollar economy and transform the lives of aspiring millions through jobs, exports and inclusive growth.

Shri Verma has been five-time Parliamentarian and was a member of the committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

“Constant efforts are being made towards upliftment of MSMEs under ‘Self-Reliant India’ through various schemes for infrastructure development, credit and financial assistance, technology up-gradation and skill development along with interventions like upward revision of MSME definition to include large number of business units and exporters,” the Minister said.

SHRI GOYAL PUSHES FOR INNOVATIONS IN TEXTILES SECTOR



KNOWMORE...

Apparel | Fabric | Yarn

6-19 Sept 2021

The Virtual Trade Show forTextile & Apparel

APPAREL | GLOBAL NEWS

Italy’s luxury fashion house Gucci announced its 2021 class of Changemakers North America Scholars as part of its commitment to bring positive change

within the fashion industry and empowering the next generation of creative talent.

This year’s 22 scholarship recipients were selected from over 450 students who applied for the scholarship funding. The recipients come from diverse backgrounds and are pursuing various careers within fashion industry at community colleges, undergraduate colleges and universities. They will receive an academic scholarship for up to $20,000, according to the company press communiqué.

Antoine Phillips, Vice President of Brand and Culture Engagement at Gucci, said, “We are honored to announce the selection of these talented and creative students from all backgrounds and regions in North America. They represent HBCUs, community colleges, fashion schools, and non-fashion schools alike. Their diverse points of views embody the future of not only fashion, but creative industries as a whole. We look forward to engaging with all of our scholars over the coming months ahead.”

About the program, Miles Richards, a 2020 and 2021 Gucci Changemakers Scholar, said, “After being granted the opportunity to be one of the recipients of the Gucci Changemakers Scholars award, I found an unbelievable amount of stress taken off my shoulders. And without

a shadow of doubt, the program provided me with the creative freedom to express myself without the burden of tuition during my first year as an art major.”

All awardees will have the opportunity to participate in the Gucci Program for Scholars, a 6-week long virtual summer program that helps to educate students on the various career paths available within the fashion industry. The program includes fashion industry education, engagement with all departments across Gucci North America, Gucci corporate mentor assignment and skill building workshops, the company said.

Under the Changemakers umbrella, Gucci also announced the recipient of Gucci North America Changemakers x CFDA Scholars by Design program. The $20,000 one-year award supports a person of color, who identifies as a female, and is starting final year of a fashion design program at an accredited four-year undergraduate college or university. D’on Lauren Edwards of Savannah College of Art and Design has been announced as the recipient of the award.

GUCCI ANNOUNCES 2021 CLASS OF

CHANGEMAKERS SCHOLARS



French conglomerate LVMH forged partnership with Weturn, a company that offers an innovative recycling chain dedicated to unsold textiles from

major fashion houses, in a bid to complete its range of creative circularity solution and continuing its commitment to the circular economy.

Founded in 2020, the start-up Weturn has created the first recycling chain dedicated to unsold textiles, rolls of fabric and offcuts from major fashion houses by transforming them into new quality yarns and fabrics that are 100% traceable and European-made.

Weturn works with several LVMH Group Maisons to support them in recycling their textiles and to help them reuse these recycled materials in future products such as packaging, accessories, fabrics for workshops, uniforms for teams or research projects for integration into ready-to-wear products.

The LVMH group is perfecting its commitment to environmental excellence in terms of products and packaging, as well as their traceability. It has set hordes of objectives through its LIFE 360 environmental program, the company said in a statement.

The company has set target to amplify the main advantage of luxury products and their durability by relying on sophisticated repair services and upcycling

or reuse of precious materials such as leather and fur by 2023. Besides, all new products will be equipped with dedicated information system by 2026, the Group’s all new products will follow an eco-design approach while the group’s strategic supply chains will have a dedicated traceability system.

Hélène Valade, Environment Development Group Director of LVMH, said, “We are delighted that the LVMH group is partnering with Weturn, which offers innovative solutions in the field of textile recycling. This partnership allows us to take a new step towards achieving our ambition in the field of creative circularity, which is one of the four strategic priorities of LIFE 360, our environmental policy for the next 10 years.”

According to Sophie Pignères, founder of Weturn, “After a year dedicated to creating a new recycling chain, we are proud to join the circular economy market by working to recycle unsold and protected products alongside prestigious Maisons such as those of the LVMH group, which contribute to the international reputation of France. Our ambition is to contribute to the revival of the European textile industry by demonstrating that a product’s value lies in its raw materials.”

LVMH PARTNERS WETURN FOR TEXTILE RECYCLING PROCESS



GUCCI TIES UP WITH INTESA SANPAOLO FOR SUSTAINABLE

SUPPLY CHAIN


Italian luxury brand Gucci has collaborated with Intesa Sanpaolo, a leading bank of its country, to focus on transition of the supply chain towards

sustainable and inclusive practices.The agreement is expected to help companies in Gucci

supply chain to embark upon a path to improve their social and environmental sustainability through the implementation of concrete actions and interventions, aligning with the guidelines of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

With the agreement, announced on 6 July 2021, the companies within the Gucci supply chain would gear towards the pursuit of objectives such as energy efficiency and saving that include increase in recycling, reduction of water usage, reduction in the use of hazardous chemical materials, single-use plastic packaging and recovery of raw materials, besides introducing green mobility/ logistics projects, development of facilities producing energy from renewable sources, adaptation of business models to facilitate the development of a circular economy, activation of initiatives to increase female employment in the company and adoption of a transparent system of certifying gender equality.

Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO of Gucci, said,

“We are proud to inaugurate the first supply chain agreement for the fashion sector with Intesa Sanpaolo in an initiative that will allow Gucci ecosystem to take yet another step in the industry’s sustainable revolution. This is an important step because the critical goals for society and for Italy advocated by the National Resilience and Resilience Plan can be achieved only through coming together of public and private sectors, large companies and SMEs. The social and environmental sustainability, carbon neutrality and equal opportunities are part of a single infrastructure, according to system-country logic.”

Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, stated, “The agreement with Gucci represents a new kind of relationship between bank, lead company and its chain of suppliers - a relationship based on sustainability - that we are the first to launch at this turning point for our country, marked by the allocation of the Next Generation EU Programme funds. Intesa Sanpaolo confirms its focus on green investments and the development of models based on circularity. Our Group believes that economic development has a healthy outlook when it focuses on environmental impact, social inclusion and the enhancement of human capital.”



French luxury goods group LVMH sponsored ‘Cultures and Creation’ fashion show on 3 July 2021 at the Domaine Formigé in Montfermeil. The

‘LVMH CSR Young Talent’ award was also presented during the event.

Initiated by the Montfermeil municipal government in 2005, the fashion show for non-professional designers and models celebrates the creativity and diversity of their talent. It also brings young people with a passion for fashion from outside the industry an opportunity for recognition.

This year’s show took place outdoors in view of public health measures at the Domaine Formigé. The runway featured 34 designers and 90 models decked up by makeup artists from Guerlain.

During the first part of the show, the public admired the rich fashion heritage of some 17 different countries, reflecting the diversity of the cities and the surrounding area. They also discovered creations around the theme of French archery traditions.

A jury comprising Alexandre Bocquel, Development

Director of LVMH Métiers d’Excellence, Véronique Courtois, CEO of Maison Guerlain, Maurizio Liotti, Manufacturing Director of Christian Dior Couture ready-to-wear, and Cécile Lochard, Director of Sustainable Development of Maison Guerlain presented the LVMH CSR Young Talent award to Quentin Polliot, a high school senior with a passion for design and contemporary art. Polliot will receive mentoring from the LVMH Group as he charts his future career.

The “Jeune Espoir” award went to Louison Demarsy, a high school student who hopes to one day launch her own lingerie brand.

Apart from supporting Cultures and Creation fashion show for 11 consecutive years, LVMH partners with the cities of Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil to promote vocational training for young people through a variety of initiatives.

They include “discovery internships” for 150 junior high school students each year, support for job searches and the Village de l’Institut des Métiers d’Excellence LVMH vocational trade fair in Clichy-sous-Bois.

LVMH SPONSORS ‘CULTURES AND

CREATION’ FASHION SHOW


RALPH LAUREN UNVEILS WEARABLE COOLING

TECHNOLOGY FOR TEAM USA

American fashion company Ralph Lauren introduced state-of-the-art ‘RL Cooling’, a self-regulating temperature cooling wearable

technology, and unveiled Team USA’s uniform for the opening parade ceremony of Tokyo Olympics.

The company developed the innovative RL cooling system exclusively for Team USA, which seamlessly integrated into the garment that disperses heat from the skin through a sophisticated device that monitors and optimizes temperatures, according to the company’s press release.

The USA flag bearers will wear self-cooling technology during the Olympic and Paralympic opening ceremony parades.

David Lauren, Chief Branding and Innovation Officer & Vice Chairman of the Board, Ralph Lauren Corporation, said, “Recognizing Tokyo’s summer heat, we sought to develop a solution for the Team USA that fuses fashion and function — allowing them to look and feel their best on one of the world’s biggest stages.”

“Ralph Lauren’s dedication to providing innovative, sustainable and functional outfits for Team USA athletes will help elevate their games time experience,” said Peter Zeytoonjian, Senior Vice President of Consumer Products at U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Properties (USOPP).

“As our Olympic and Paralympic athletes step out

on the global stage this summer, we’re proud to have the continued support of a brand whose thoughtful approach to how they can better serve our athletes uniquely benefits Team USA,” Zeytoonjian said.

In 2018, Ralph Lauren explored the temperature management system in clothing with the debut of the heated jacket at the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018.

Research conducted by Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, an agency of the United States Department of Energy, suggests that personal thermal management is a portable and localized solution that, if scaled, has the potential to reduce the reliance on mass energy-intensive cooling systems, like HVAC systems, for personal comfort.

Ralph Lauren’s commitment to pioneering innovative solutions to sustainability challenges served as the inspiration for the development of RL cooling, and the concept is on the leading-edge of the emerging field of personal thermal management systems, the company said.

Ralph Lauren has been an official outfitter of Team USA since 2008. Team USA’s opening ceremony parade uniform for Tokyo Olympics is a classic all-American look that incorporates sustainable materials within each piece.




HANESBRANDS APPOINTS LATONYA GROOM AS VPAmerican multinational clothing company HanesBrands has appointed LaTonya Groom as Vice President (Talent & Diversity). “This new role illustrates the importance of talent and diversity in unlocking our full potential,” said Kristin Oliver, Chief Human Resources Officer for the company.

“And we are thrilled to have a leader of LaTonya’s caliber join us, as we build the talent we need to meet the demands of consumers and create opportunities for our 61,000 associates around the world,” Oliver added.

The company said that Groom joins HBI from Northrop Grumman Corporation, where she served as Senior Director (talent management & development) and had global responsibility for establishing and implementing a talent development strategy and diversity programs for a 90,000-plus employee base.

Prior to Northrop Grumman, Groom spent more than a decade at IBM as a human capital leader supporting a variety of clients. Her consulting roles also included work for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, and Booz Allen Hamilton. Groom holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems management from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

JAYPORE FORAYS INTO MENSWEARJaypore, an e-commerce brand from the house of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), has forayed into the menswear category. The brand has introduced its first-ever range of exquisite kurtas, India-wear, elegant shirts and trousers made from natural sustainable fabrics.

The entire range carries the brand’s characteristic elements with its focus on authentic craft details, elegant silhouettes and rich fabrics. Each piece is accentuated with subtle craft details such as Kantha embroidery or pintucks, making it an elegant addition to the men’s ethnic wardrobe.

The colour palette for this collection borrows from the rich spectrum of Indian culture and its landscape with delightful shades and striking hues.

Rashmi Shukla, Business Head of Jaypore, said, “Jaypore is excited to enter the menswear category and bring to it a freshness of design, crafts and fabrics. Menswear by Jaypore is an amalgamation of the rich heritage of India and the modern elements of essential wear. This collection renders a picture of The Jaypore

ABFRL’s e-commerce brand `Jaypore’ forays into Menswear

Jaypore, India's finest craft-based designs platform, has diversified into the menswear category to expand its portfolio

Mumbai, 16th June 2021: Jaypore, from the house of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited, has forayed into the menswear category. The brand, after leading the market for handcrafted and artisanal womenswear and jewelry, has now entered the USD 28bn worth menswear market with its first-ever range of exquisite kurtas, indie-wear, elegant shirts and trousers made from natural and sustainable fabrics. With over 240 styles, Jaypore offers ethnic and everyday essentials in apparel, bags and footwear for men.

Jaypore is a prominent ethnic brand, renowned for making India’s most beautiful artisanal products accessible to customers across the globe. Menswear by Jaypore is an extensive collection of kurtas, shirts, muktasari sets, jackets, pants and more, in a wide range of elegant fabric stories including Mangalgiri, Tussar Silk, Linen, Cotton and more. The entire range carries the brand's characteristic elements with its focus on authentic craft details, elegant silhouettes, and rich fabrics. Each piece is accentuated with subtle craft details such as Kantha embroidery or pintucks, making it an elegant addition to the men's ethnic wardrobe. The colour palette for this collection borrows from the rich spectrum of Indian culture and its landscape, with delightful shades and striking hues.

Rashmi Shukla, Business Head, Jaypore says, “Jaypore is excited to enter the menswear category, and bring to it a freshness of design, crafts and fabrics. Menswear by Jaypore is an amalgamation of the rich heritage of India and the modern elements of essential wear. This collection renders a picture of The Jaypore Man, who is confident and self-assured, a new-age conscious consumer who believes in making responsible choices. He shares a heightened sense of rootedness with his intention to shop and support local as well as sustainable. The Jaypore Man wears his Indian-ness with élan and his confidence that makes traditional wear look sharp and stylish."

This collection will exclusively be available at Jaypore stores, and online at www.jaypore.com

Man, who is confident and self-assured. The Jaypore Man wears his Indian-ness with élan and his confidence that makes traditional wear look sharp and stylish.

Phot

o: B

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Wir

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PRADA, ZEGNA ACQUIRE FILATI BIAGIOLI MODESTO

Italian luxury fashion houses Prada Group and Ermenegildo Zegna Group announced acquisition of the majority shareholding in Filati Biagioli Modesto S.p.A.

based in Montale (Pistoia) that specializes in cashmere and other precious yarns.

The two companies acquired 40% shareholding each. While Biagioli family will retain 15% of the company, remaining 5% will be owned by Renato Cotto, a manager from Biella with a long career in the sector, who has been appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Gildo Zegna, CEO of the Zegna Group, has been appointed Chairman, while Franca Biagioli and Patrizio Bertelli, Chief Executive of the Prada Group, will join the Board of Directors.

Speaking on the deal, Bertelli said, “This acquisition is in line with the philosophy that the Prada Group has always pursued: direct control of the entire supply chain to ensure uncompromising quality at every stage of the production process.”

wZegna said, “The acquisition of historic Italian companies, each specialised in its own product sector, has

enabled Zegna over the years to establish a true luxury textile laboratory with the aim of producing the highest quality fabrics and at the same time safeguarding the uniqueness of the Italian supply chain.”

Louis Philippe, a premium menswear brand from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, has launched first-of-its-kind 10-layer anti-viral face masks, named Ultra

Protect Double Defence, to offer protection against viruses and bacteria.

The new range of face mask, which constitutes a 5-layer mask and 5-layer filter panel, has been created in India, using the Swiss anti-viral technology HeiQ Viroblock. The fabric used is treated with HeiQ Viroblock which results in destruction of the possible contamination by viruses and bacteria on fabric providing utmost protection.

Both the mask and filter are washable and recommended to be reused up to 30 gentle laundering.

Farida Kaliyadan, COO of Louis Philippe, said, “Double Masking is one of the key footsteps towards ensuring safety against the spread of the virus, thereby it is crucial to choose a right mask, which has now become an essential part of our attire. Louis Philippe Ultra Protect Double Defence masks are engineered with best of antiviral technology and design technique to ensure twice the safety, protection, and comfort.”

The masks are available to consumers across the country through exclusive Louis Philippe stores and online platforms.

LOUIS PHILIPPE LAUNCHES DOUBLE DEFENCE MASK




British fashion luxury house Burberry has teamed up with British model and actress Naomi Campbell for its latest TB Summer Monogram collection and campaign

to celebrate the spirit of summer.Designed by Chief Creative Officer of Burberry, Riccardo

Tisci, the collection is available to purchase online and in selected stores globally.

“It’s magical working with Riccardo. He always has such a unique vision and continually manages to bring another facet out of me, pushing me to do things I don’t think I can do.

Working with Burberry is also always such an honour,” said Naomi Campbell.

Tisci said, “For my third TB Summer Monogram collection, I wanted to celebrate the balance of our heritage with the importance of always evolving and looking forwards. The collection captures that optimistic feeling of summer and feeling of constant momentum. And so, for the campaign, I couldn’t think of anyone better to symbolise this enduring nature than my incredible friend Naomi Campbell. Naomi has this transcendental energy and beauty that embodies both a timeless classicism as well as the vitality of summer.”

PUMA, GOOP UNVEIL LIMITED-EDITION COLLECTIONGlobal sportswear brand Puma has collaborated with Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand goop on a limited edition collection of studio apparel and footwear.

Inspired by goop’s signature details and Puma’s rich heritage in sport culture and fashion, the exclusive offering of ten pieces features elevated fabric, feminine cutlines, soft pleating and clean zip storage. Besides, there are accompanying workout accessories, including a yoga mat and stainless-steel water bottle.

The activewear is made with performance fabrics, including highly functional drycell materials that draw moisture away from skin to help keep body dry and comfortable and silky-soft ellaVATE fabric offers four way stretch.

The limited collection launched on July 6 exclusively on goop.com and PUMA.com and in-store at goop Brentwood and goop’s permanent store in Los Angeles.

The collection includes styles such as track jacket, tank, pants, sports bra, high-waisted full tights, windbreaker jumpsuit, bodysuit, forever XT goop sneakers, water bottles and yoga mat.

The lifestyle brand, goop, has its roots in content across key pillars: wellness, beauty, food, style, and travel. Within those pillars, goop curates and sells a tightly edited array of products and makes its own goods in beauty, fashion, and wellness.

BURBERRY TIES UP WITH NAOMI FOR TB SUMMER COLLECTION



The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have agreed to continue their collaboration in the area of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reporting by the readymade garment sector.

A UNDP delegation headed by Khurshid Alam, Assistant Resident Representative, recently met with BGMEA President Faruque Hassan and they discussed the overall sustainability agendas of BGMEA.

The BGMEA President expressed his keen interest to continue the collaboration in terms of SDGs reporting in the RMG sector and scale up the initiative. They also had discussion on developing a strategy for disaster resilient supply chain under National Resilience Program (NRP).

NRP is a partnership between Bangladesh government, UNDP, UN Women and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) that will provide strategic support to develop national capacity to keep pace with the changing nature of disasters.

Earlier, UNDP and BGMEA in association with principal coordinator of SDG Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office and

UNIQLO COLLABORATES WITH TATE MODERN FOR T-SHIRT COLLECTION

Japanese casual wear manufacturer and retailer Uniqlo has announced a three-year global collaboration with Tate Modern as part of its commitment to make art accessible to all. The collaboration focuses on the joint development of the first UT (Uniqlo T-shirt) collection, which has been planned for launch worldwide next year.

“I am honored and proud to be partnering once again with the world-renowned Tate Modern especially from this year, as 2021 is the year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of UNIQLO in the U.K., the first market we launched our brand outside our home market, Japan,” said Tadashi Yanai, Chairman, President and CEO of Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo.

“The renewed collaboration with Tate Modern is based on a shared philosophy of Made for All, a concept reflected in LifeWear, which is clothing designed to help make everyone’s daily life better, and in giving everyone access to the joy of art. I hope many families will participate in the new Uniqlo Tate Play program,” he added.

Starting from July 24, the launch of Uniqlo Tate Play will see Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall transformed into a space where children and adults of all ages will appreciate art together.


UNDP, BGMEA TO CONTINUE COLLABORATION IN SDGs REPORTING

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) launched a report on Bangladesh National Priority Indicators and Sustainable Development Goals. The report highlights the sustainability initiatives of 47 BGMEA member factories which conducted sustainability self-reporting translating their impact into the language of NPIs and SDGs.

AEPC is doing its best for its members in these difficult times of pandemic by taking various initiatives with central and state governments. Our team of professionals is working hard to

provide all necessary support to the members in running their apparel export units smoothly and thereby enhancing apparel exports from India. AEPC is giving support in all verticals of apparel exports domain and we would like to inform you to understand about the advantages of taking / continuing AEPC’s membership. TRADE FACILITATION – AEPC actively takes up exporters issues, stuck up at customs, Icegate, DGFT, ECGC and other export related organisations and facilitates in resolving the exporters issues related to risky exporters tagging, pending ROSL & RoSCTL, pending drawback etc. AEPC’S FACILITATION FOR RISKY EXPORTERS: Since 2019, a lot of exporters were being put on Risky exporter’s tag, which led to stoppage of IGST, drawback and other refunds. To address the issue of long delays in resolution of these cases, AEPC has been working closely with DGARM to understand the concerns, advice exporters on the required protocols for resolution, follow up with DGARM and get the NoCs. A dedicated facilitation desk at HO & regional offices of AEPC have been working on compiling the cases, taking them up with DGARM and getting them resolved. As on 11 June, 2021 AEPC has taken 94 Risky exporters cases with DGARM out of which NOC for 67 cases have been received. AEPC’S FACILITATION FOR ATUFS: With the aim to facilitate faster resolution of the pending TUF cases, AEPC has been compiling the TUFS pendencies and is taking them up from time to time with the Textile Commissioner’s office and Ministry of Textiles with regard to changes in scheme guidelines, technical issues, documentation issues and other clarifications and about their resolutions. Some of the major issues like In-Principle Bank Sanction Letter, Year of Manufacture issue, revision in repayment period of non-MSME applicable for existing cases also and issuance

of Corrigendum for inclusion / modification of machines specification have been taken up by AEPC for resolution. During F.Y. 2020-21, 203 cases have been received and have been followed-up. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR PPE PRODUCTION AND EXPORTS: Badly hit by Covid-19, the Indian Apparel exporters found a good alternative in production of Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) to help fight the pandemic and also make India a hub for sourcing PPE kits over the next few years. Since April 2020, Council has been constantly working with the Government at all levels on how to ramp up the production and supplies of PPE & Medical Textiles, interaction with the testing Laboratories and the certification agencies towards export promotion of these products. Council conducted several seminars, webinars for awareness creation on technology, inputs needed for PPE production, standards and accreditation. As a result of the above, India is today the second largest supplier of PPE from not having a single manufacturing unit for PPE in March. 2020. APPAREL INDIA MAGAZINE – AEPC publishes Apparel India magazine along with e-copy of it, which is uploaded on AEPC’s website in which details of latest updates (national and global) related to textile & apparel industry, government notifications / circulars, GST updates and the important activities performed by AEPC for the benefit of industry are published. AEPC’s Apparel India Magazine is widely circulated online as well as offline and is reachable to all the stakeholders such as exporters, buyers, buying agents, government officials and all other concerned. APPAREL DOSSIER – Updating the members through weekly Apparel dossier for weekly news, notifications and the issues that AEPC has taken up, for AEPC Members UPDATE ON NOTIFICATIONS – AEPC updates its members about the recent notifications/circulars/Public notices related to DGFT, CBIC, Textile Commissioner. GST, MSME etc. MARKET ACCESS INITIATIVE - The council gets


ADVANTAGES OF AEPC MEMBERSHIP

laws as and when required. He guides towards matters pending before the authorities under Industrial Disputes Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Payment of Bonus Act, and Minimum Wages Act or any other Authority or Labour Court, High Court., Supreme Court of India, if and whenever required. SKILL ASSESSMENT CELL - The Skill Assessment Cell (SAC) was established with the prime objective to drive the skill assessment initiatives in Apparel / Garment, Khadi and Carpet sectors for employment generation, economic growth and social development. The cell helps in boosting the morale, uplifting the social status of the candidates and makes the workforce a certified skill pool. Council has been associated with Director General of Employment and Training (DGE&T) under the SDI Scheme for MES Courses, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship assess in Apparel, Textile, Khadi and Carpet sectors, under the ISD Scheme of Ministry of Textiles for Non-MES courses to assess in Apparel & Textile sectors and then with the Resource Support Agency (RSA), Textiles Committee.

The current affiliations are with Apparel, Made-Ups & Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) for assessing the candidates under PMKVY and Non-PMKVY schemes under the Ministry of Skill Development &Entrepreneurship and with the Karnataka Commissionerate of Industrial Training & Employment (KVIT), Skill Mission at Karnataka state. Since its inception i.e. from September 2009 till date Council’s Skill Assessment Cell has assessed over 1.66 lakhs candidates.

MAN MADE FABRIC CELL - AEPC has set up a MMF Cell to enhance the export of MMF garments and to explore the possibilities for Joint Ventures or 100% investment / technology collaboration for manufacturing of man-made fabrics in India. The Council has come up with a Compendium on MMF garments which contains the details of HS codes identified for proposed PLI scheme of Govt., of India of Rs 10,683 crores to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities of MMF segment and Technical textiles. The compendium contains the product description, images of identified garments falling under PLI HS codes, factsheet and contact details of domestic as well as overseas fabric suppliers.

The Embassy of India (EOI), Washington, and AEPC has carried out a study on Market for Indian Apparel in the United States – Trends, Potential, and Expansion Strategy through M/s. KPMG services. AEPC also established contact with M/s SERAI, a business-to-business platform founded by HSBC on improving reach of AEPC members to overseas buyers. The membership of AEPC is surely helping our members to achieve their professional goals & having expert knowledge of the domain. The Membership Subscription costs just Rs 8,000+GST per year & can be paid online on our official Website https://www.aepcindia.com

ABHINANDAN RAJPALGeneral Manager (Membership)Email: [email protected]

MAI subsidy for organizing Mega shows, participation in international renowned apparel fairs and for organizing Buyer Seller Meets international. The subsidy is passed-on to the members of the council in subsidizing the cost of stall in Buyer Seller Meets and Mega shows / international fairs in overseas events. Guiding and facilitating Apparel exporters to showcase their best products at domestic fairs as well as international fairs. This also helps in Identifying opportunities for collaborations with overseas partners for up-scaling and technology upgradation with providing market intelligence for Textile and Apparel Industry VIRTUAL EXHIBITION PLATFORM- AEPC has recently launched a Virtual Platform for organizing Export Promotion activities, in order to bridge the gap between buyer & seller during these trying times due to the worst pandemic of the century. The platform is a virtual exhibition platform to showcase products of AEPC members on 24x7x365 days format. Key features include exhibitors booths in the virtual exhibition landscape, free-flowing two-way communication between attendees/buyers and exhibitors through video / audio call and Whatsapp chat facilities, live presentation auditorium, high security features and knowledge management. Buyers can navigate through options and ensure a near-physical fair experience through high resolution exhibitor’s avatars. DATA BANK – AEPC provides RMG export statistics regularly in the Apparel India magazine for the benefit of the members. Country-wise export statistics and top HS Codes selling in important countries along-with the description of the garments are also provided for the benefit of the exporters. GST FACILITATION - AEPC is facilitating GST related issues of the exporters. SEMINARS/WEBINARS & WORKSHOPS - AEPC Organizes seminars/webinars & workshops related to the apparel industry COMPILATION OF DBK / RODTEP DATA -Compilation and submission of datas/documents for fixation of DBK/RODTEP rates exercise is done by AEPC every year so that these benefits could be decided by the Govt., and these could be availed by the exporters. SUBMISSION OF SUGGESTIONS OF FTP POLICY AND OTHER POLICY RELATED MATTERS - Submission of suggestions for improvement in FTP Policy and other related policies are submitted by AEPC every year for the benefit of the exporters. ADVISORY ON LABOUR LAWS - Council has engaged a Legal Advisor on Labour laws who has helped the Council in preparing and compiling apparel industry’s observations and suggestions on draft codes and its subsequent rules. The Legal Advisor will also support our member/registered exporters by providing legal opinions, day to day advisory and clarifications on all applicable labour and employment


APPAREL | GST UPDATE

India marks the fourth anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Thursday, July 1, 2021. On

completing 4 years of GST, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated the success of GST and measures taken to give relief to taxpayers, especially at the time of Covid.India’s tax base has almost doubled from 66.25 lakhs to 1.28 crores in the last four years. GST revenue collection in India has been over the Rs 100,000 crore marks for eight consecutive months in a row. This is despite the fact that many states remain under strict Covid-19 disease-enforced lockdown, the government said. Any reform of this scale, in a country as large and diverse as India, can only be exceedingly challenging. The GST Council has shown great foresight and wisdom in redressing legitimate concerns of taxpayers and citizens by course correction whenever needed. This is manifested in measures to reduce the compliance burden not only on the taxpayers, especially MSMEs, but also to reduce the tax burden on the common man.

Various new functionalities have been notified on GSTN portal for

the benefit of ease and facilitation of the taxpayers Auto population of GSTR-3B liability from IFF and Form GSTR 1A taxpayer under QRMP Scheme can declare their liability through optional IFF for Month 1 and Month 2 of a quarter & Form GSTR-1 for Month 3 of that quarter. Declaration of liability in these forms would now be auto-populated in their Form GSTR-3B (Quarterly) for that quarter, based on their filed Form GSTR-1 and IFF. These fields are editable and in case their values are revised upwards or downwards, the edited field(s) would be highlighted in red colour and a warning message will be displayed to the taxpayer. However, the system would not prevent taxpayer from filing of Form GSTR-3B with edited values.

Nil filing of Form GSTR-1 (Quarterly) through SMSNil filing of Form GSTR-1 (Quarterly) through SMS has been enabled for taxpayers under QRMP Scheme. They can now file it by sending a message in specified format to 14409. The format of the message is < NIL > space < Return Type (R1) > space< GSTIN > space < Return Period (mmyyyy). Example: NIL R1

07XXXXX1234H8Z6 062020 (where return period must be last month of the quarter).However, NIL filing through SMS can’t be done in following scenarios:• If IFF for Month 1 or 2 of a quarter is in Submitted stage, but not filed.• If invoices are saved in IFF for Month 1 or 2 of a quarter, which was not submitted or filed by due date.

Impact of cancellation of registration on liability to file Form GSTR-1In case registration of a taxpayer under QRMP Scheme is cancelled, with effective date of cancellation being any date after 1st day of Month 1 of a quarter, they would be required to file Form GSTR-1 for the complete quarter, as the last applicable return. For example if the taxpayer’s registration is cancelled w.e.f. 1st of April, he/she is not required to file Form GSTR-1 for Apr-June quarter and Form GSTR-1 for Jan-Mar Quarter shall become the last applicable return. However, if the registration is cancelled on a later date during the quarter, the taxpayer would be required to file Form GSTR-1 for Apr-June quarter. In such cases the filing will become open on 1st of month following the month with cancellation date i.e. if


BY CA BALKISHAN CHHABRA

NEW FEATURES ON GSTN PORTAL AND OTHER LATEST CHANGES UNDER GST

APPAREL | GST UPDATE

cancellation has taken place on 20th May, Form GSTR-1 for Quarter Apr-June can be filed anytime on or after 1st of June.

OTHER IMPORTANT NOTIFICAIONSFiling of Annual returns by composition taxpayersNegative Liability in GSTR-4 Instances has come to notice where taxpayers are reporting negative liability appearing in their GSTR-4. Since FY 2019-20, composition taxpayers has to pay the liability through Form GST CMP-08 on quarterly basis while GSTR-4 Return is required to be filed on annual basis after end of a financial year.Reason of Negative Liability in GSTR4: The liability of the complete year is required to be declared in GSTR-4 under applicable tax rates. Taxpayers should fill up table 6 of GSTR-4 mandatorily. In case, there is no liability, the said table may be filled up with ‘0’ value. If no liability is declared in table 6, it is presumed that no liability is required to be paid, even though; taxpayer may have paid the liability through Form GST CMP-08. In such cases, liability paid through GST CMP-08 becomes excess tax paid and moves to Negative Liability Statement for utilization of same for subsequent tax period’s liability.Liability paid through Form GST CMP-08 is auto-populated in table 5 of the GSTR-4 for convenience of the taxpayers. Taxpayers who do not fill up table 6 of GSTR-4 i.e. no liability is declared, even though, taxpayer may have paid the liability through Form GST CMP-08; since the ‘Tax payable’ in GSTR-4 is computed after reducing the liability declared in GST CMP-08 and then auto-populated in table 5. Thus, if nothing is declared in table 6, then the negative liability entry appears in GSTR-4.How to proceed in case of negative liability: If table 6 of GSTR-4 has not been filled due to oversight, a ticket may be raised to nullify the amount available in negative liability statement. If there is no liability to be paid during the year, the liability paid through Form GST CMP-08 shall move to negative liability statement and the same excess amount can be

utilised to pay the liability of future tax periods.

Blocking of Input Tax Credit Taxpayers throughout the country are getting various notices which relate to blocking of input tax credit invoking rule 86(A) of the CGST rules 2017. In many cases notices are also not received by the taxpayers and the fact only comes to notice only when the input tax credits are blocked at the time of filing of returns. In many High courts, this Rule 86(A) and these notices are being challenged.

M/S Mili Enterprise Vs Union of India [2021 (7) TMI 303 – Gujarat High Court]The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court had previously in December 2020, put forward their concerns regarding the vide ambit of Rule 86A. The High Court again in the matter of M/s MILI ENTERPRISE vs UNION OF INDIA issued notices to the Government observing that the department should at least provide the reason for blocking the input tax credit and it should be specified in a notice under rule 86(A). Moreover, the rule itself has a provision stating that the department should have a reason to believe that there is an input tax credit that was availed fraudulently or there is an ineligible input tax credit that has been availed by the taxpayer before taking the step of blocking of an input tax credit.

M/s Aryan Tradelink Vs The Union of India [2021 (6) TMI 182 – Karnataka High Court]The Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka in the matter M/s ARYAN TRADE LINK vs THE UNION OF INDIA has quashed a notice and blocking of input tax credit under rule 86A whereby the credit was blocked for more than one year. Rule 86A does not empower the department to block the credit for more than one year and they are bound to unblock it even if the assessment has not taken place or got completed within one year.

No more physical visits for seeking adjournments of personal hearings or for seeking extensions to furnishing of reply to noticesA wonderful functionality has

been introduced by GSTN on the common portal through which both adjournment and extension of time for furnishing replies can be sought for.

Non-compliance of Dynamic Quick Response (QR) CodeThe Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) extended the waiver of penalty on non-implementation of dynamic quick response code which is mandatory for companies over Rs 500 crore turnovers, by three months till September 30, 2021.

[The author is Senior Partner in M/s. CHHABRA B K & ASSOCIATES (Delhi / NCR). He can be reached at [email protected] and # 9810380489 / 9871630858]


APPAREL | NOTIFICATIONS

Sub. - Acceptance, processing and issuance of claims under MEIS, SEIS, ROSL, ROSCTL in the DGFT IT modules

DGFT vide Trade Notice No. 08/2021-22 dated 8th July, 2021 has informed that issuance of benefits/scrips un-der MEIS, SEIS, RoSL and RoSCTL schemes would be on hold for a temporary period due to changes in the allocation procedure. During this period no fresh applications would be allowed to be submitted at the online IT module of DGFT for these schemes and all submitted applications pending for issuance of scrips would also be on hold.

Trade would be suitably informed, once issuance of scrips is opened again.

Sub. - Extension of Date for Mandatory electronic filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) through the Common Digital Platform to 01st Oct 2021DGFT vide Trade Notice No. 10/2021-22 dated 19.07.2021 has informed that the electronic platform for Certificate of Origin (CoO) (URL: https://coo.dgft.gov.in ) which was made live for issuing preferen-tial certificates under different FTAs has now been expanded to facilitate electronic application for Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin as well.

The objective of this platform is to provide an elec-tronic, contact-less single window for the CoO related processes.

However, on the request of certain Chambers/Associa-tions the existing system of submitting and processing

non-preferential CoO applications in manual/paper mode is being allowed for the time being and the on-line system is not being made mandatory. This option of submission and issuance of CoO (Non-Preferential) by the issuing agencies through their paper-based systems may continue further up to 30th September 2021.

Sub. - Amendments in Handbook of Procedures 2015-20

DGFT vide Public Notice No. 16/2015-2020 dated 22nd July, 2021 has made the following amendment to the Hand Book of Procedures, 2015-20-

• Para 4.41 of Handbook of Procedures 2015-20 is amended to allow only one revalidation for a period of 12 months to Advance Authorisations issued on or after 15.08.2020 (instead of 2 revalidation of 6 months each, provided earlier).

• Para 4.51 and 4.57 of Handbook of Procedures 2015-20 are amended to allow submission of record in on-line mode.

Sub.-Revision in Para 2.96 (b) of HBP, 2015-2020 and format of ANF-2C – reducing regulatory compliance burden

DGFT vide Trade Notice No. 12/2015-2021 dated 12th July, 2021 has notified that Para 2.96 (b) of Chapter-2 of Handbook of procedures, 2015-2020 stands deleted, and revised format of ANF-2C is notified as a step to-wards reducing regulatory compliance burden.

NOTIFICATIONS


APPAREL | NOTIFICATIONS


Sub. - Improvements in Faceless Assessment - Mea-sures for expediting Customs clearances

CBIC vide Circular No. 14/2021-Customs dated 7th July, 2021 has informed that the board has compre-hensively reviewed the implementation of Faceless Assessment and deliberated on the further measures required for expediting the pace of assessment and Customs clearance of imported goods.

Accordingly, Board has decided to implement the measures like Enhancement of facilitation levels, Ex-pediting assessment process, Re-organisation of FAGs - Optimisation of workload, Enhancing Direct Port De-livery (DPD), Automated generation of examination orders, Anonymised escalation in the Customs Face-less Assessment and clearance processes.

Sub. - Implementation of RMS for processing of Duty Drawback claims

CBIC vide its Circular No. 15/2021-Customs dated 15th July, 2021 has decided to implement second phase of Risk Management Systems (RMS) for processing of Duty Drawback Claims w.e.f from 26.07.2021.In the second phase which is now being taken up-

•RMS will process the shipping bill data after the Export General Manifest (EGM) is filed electronical-ly and will provide required output to ICES for selec-tion of shipping bills for risk based processing of duty drawback claims.

•Shipping bills with claim for duty drawback will be routed on the basis of risk evaluation through appro-priate selection criteria. For this purpose, after the fil-ing of correct and complete EGM, shipping bills will be sent by ICES to RMS.

• Subsequent to RMS treatment, ICES will be informed for each shipping bill whether for the processing of the drawback claim, a particular shipping bill will be fa-cilitated without intervention or will be routed to the

proper officer (i.e. Superintendent / Appraising Offi-cer or Assistant / Deputy Commissioner) for further action.

• For shipping bills routed to the said customs officers for drawback processing, all necessary checks shall continue to be undertaken by the customs officers as before.

• Certain documents that may be required to accom-pany the drawback claim can be attached to the ship-ping bill electronically on e-Sanchit with the required e-Sanchit documents codes.

• In the second phase of export, RMS also envisag-es post clearance audit (PCA) of the duty drawback shipping bills. The development of an electronic mod-ule for PCA is underway. Till such time, the electronic PCA module is implemented, current instructions for audit as stipulated in the manual for Customs Post Clearance Audit, 2018 shall continue to be followed.

Note-For complete and detailed information, please refer to the relevant Circular, Trade Notice, Public No-tice and Notifications etc.

Sub. - Interest Equalization Scheme on Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit – Extension

RBI vide its Notification No. RBI/2021-22/65 dated 01.07.2021 has notified about the extension of Interest Equalization Scheme for Pre and Post Shipment Ru-pee Export Credit, with the same scope and coverage, for a further period of three months, i.e., up to Sep-tember 30, 2021. The extension takes effect from July 01, 2021 and ends on September 30, 2021 covering a period of three months.

Consequently, the extant operational instructions issued by the Reserve Bank under the captioned Scheme shall continue to remain in force up to Sep-tember 30, 2021

APPAREL | MEDIA COVERAGE


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