Surat: The deadline for the quality control order and mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification on five products involving polyester yarn, initially set for April 3, 2023, has been postponed by three months. This extension offers a respite to textile industrialists and traders, who now have until July 3, 2023, to obtain the necessary certification.

The decision follows a meeting between representatives of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI), the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other textile industry stakeholders with Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers, India. The meeting, held on March 13, 2023, in New Delhi, included a presentation requesting an extension for the implementation of the Quality Control Order and mandatory BIS certification for the textile sector's polyester yarn-related products.

Himanshu Bodawala, President of the Chamber of Commerce, explained that if the order had been implemented as planned on April 3, 2023, textile manufacturers and traders would have faced significant challenges in manufacturing, selling, importing, exporting, and storing polyester yarn without a BIS certificate. This situation could have severely impacted trade and industry.

The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, issued a notification announcing the three-month extension of the Quality Control Order and mandatory BIS certification for polyester yarn in the textile sector. Textile industrialists and traders expressed relief at the government's decision, which allows them additional time to complete the certification process.

Bodawala, on behalf of the entire textile industry, extended special thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State for Textiles and Railways Darshanaben Zardosh, and MP and Gujarat BJP State President C.R. Patil.

Bharat Gandhi, a veteran of the textile industry, has been reappointed as the chairman of the Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI) at the 45th Annual General Meeting held in Surat. The AGM had the participation of about 136 members of FIASWI from across the country, who joined both online and offline. Mihir Mehta has been appointed as the president of FIASWI, and Smita Yevle as the vice-chairman.

In his address to the annual general meeting, Gandhi highlighted that FIASWI, along with the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) and other associations, has made several presentations at the central and state level, and some submissions are yet to be resolved for the textile sector. He further mentioned that FIASWI proposed the reduction of customs duty on mulberry raw silk yarn to 10 percent, fixing the floor price on the weight of imported fabrics under HSN code 5007, imposition of fixed custom duty of at least Rs 100 per kg on the import of knitted fabrics covered in Chapter 60, and the extension of customs duty exemption on modern weaving machines until March 31, 2023, for five more years.

Gandhi also requested the reduction of customs duty on the import of synthetic yarn, removal of non-tariff barriers on the import of finished fabric, especially on fabric imported from Vietnam, and a new incentive scheme TTDS for machinery modernization in the textile sector, which was not announced or included in the budget.