Related Keywords: duty on imported readymade wear, no tax on cloth, protect local tailoring industry, readymade shirts, shippped into Kerala in parts, textile and knitwear hub, VACB
Recently, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) probed why readymade shirts were shipped into Kerala in parts. There is a 10 percent duty on imported readymade wear, but no tax on cloth. The levy is to protect the local tailoring industry, which employs thousands of people.
It said that it stumbled on a racket that involved major corruption at the border check-posts.
In order to squeeze profits by evading tax, law breakers in the cloth retail sector regularly bribe check-post officials to “fraudulently assess” imported readymade wear as cloth on which there is no levy.
