Taxing Dreams: Why 18% GST on Apparel Hurts Every Indian Family 🇮🇳 India runs on emotion and devotion. A wedding here is not a luxury; it is the culmination of lifelong savings and cherished dreams—moments families wait decades to celebrate. We appreciate and acknowledge the government’s efforts to simplify and streamline India’s GST regime, which has brought greater transparency and ease of compliance. Yet the recent GST hike on garments above ₹2,500—from 12% to 18% (a near 50 % jump)—risks taxing those very dreams. Consider the reality behind every handcrafted garment: Only 20–25 % of its cost is fabric. The remaining value comes from hundreds of man-hours of painstaking work—karigars in small homes and village workshops carrying forward India’s centuries-old embroidery and weaving traditions. This artistry is a generational legacy, lovingly passed from one generation to the next. An 18 % tax slab threatens this living art form with extinction, undermining the very skills that make India’s fashion admired worldwide. Input tax credit on the small fabric portion is just 5 %, yet the finished creation is now taxed at 18 %, squeezing already fragile livelihoods. This is more than a tax policy. It is a direct challenge to the continuity of India’s artisanal wealth and heritage, which is both cultural heritage and economic strength. 📷 We humbly request the Government of India and the GST Council to reconsider this 18 % slab and bring textiles and apparel under one simplified, standardised GST rate across the board. Because dreams and emotions cannot—and should not—be taxed.
Taxing Dreams: Why 18% GST on Apparel Hurts Every Indian Family
🇮🇳 India runs on emotion and devotion.
A wedding here is not a luxury; it is the culmination of lifelong savings and cherished dreams—moments families wait decades to celebrate.
We appreciate and acknowledge the government’s efforts to simplify and streamline India’s GST regime, which has brought greater transparency and ease of compliance.
Yet the recent GST hike on garments above ₹2,500—from 12% to 18% (a near 50 % jump)—risks taxing those very dreams.
Consider the reality behind every handcrafted garment:
Only 20–25 % of its cost is fabric.
The remaining value comes from hundreds of man-hours of painstaking work—karigars in small homes and village workshops carrying forward India’s centuries-old embroidery and weaving traditions.
This artistry is a generational legacy, lovingly passed from one generation to the next.
An 18 % tax slab threatens this living art form with extinction, undermining the very skills that make India’s fashion admired worldwide.
Input tax credit on the small fabric portion is just 5 %, yet the finished creation is now taxed at 18 %, squeezing already fragile livelihoods.
This is more than a tax policy.
It is a direct challenge to the continuity of India’s artisanal wealth and heritage, which is both cultural heritage and economic strength.
🙏 We humbly request the Government of India and the GST Council to reconsider this 18 % slab and bring textiles and apparel under one simplified, standardised GST rate across the board.
Because dreams and emotions cannot—and should not—be taxed.
#GST #TextileIndustry #HandmadeInIndia #Karigar #MakeInIndia #IndianWedding #ArtisanalHeritage #GenerationalArt #TaxingDreams #SupportArtisans
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