The synthetic textile industry in India wants the excise duty on synthetic yarn to be reduced from 12.36 to four per cent. It also wants a two per cent excise duty to be imposed on cotton yarn. At present this is zero. The Indian synthetic textile industry is valued at Rs 1, 20,000 crores. Growth is driven largely by value added segments. However the share of synthetic textiles in total textiles in India is just 35 per cent as against the global average of 65 per cent. This is due to the high burden of taxes like excise duty and customs duty. So the industry wants the duty structure rationalized.

India is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of manmade textiles. Due to heavy investments in world-class manufacturing plants, continuous innovation, new product mix and strategic market expansion, Indian manmade fibers are set to take centre stage in the global arena. Export of manmade fiber yarns in June 2016 registered a year-on-year growth of 35.9 per cent. Polyester is the largest segment of the Indian manmade fiber and rayon textile industry.

Indian exports manmade fiber textiles to more than 146 countries. Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Brazil, and Germany are major importers of Indian manmade fiber yarns.