The Indian leather and footwear sector has urged the government to provide import duty exemptions on critical raw materials and machinery after input costs rose by 40-60% due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, an official told PTI.
The industry has approached the commerce and industry ministry requesting duty relief on essential inputs, including footwear components, metal accessories, leather and footwear machinery, threads, moulds, toe puffs, eyelets, certain leather chemicals and packaging materials.
“The industry is facing a sharp increase in raw material and input costs rising by 40-60% due to the West Asia crisis”
– An official told PTI
Industry representatives have also recommended early execution of the proposed FLOAT (Footwear and Leather Oriented Transformation) scheme, with coverage extending across the full leather and footwear product chain including raw materials, machinery and inputs.
The sector has additionally pressed for duty-free imports of crust and finished leather.
Since products such as PU leather, certain rubber chemicals, adhesives, plastics and shoe soles are petroleum based, supply disruptions have pushed costs significantly higher.
The leather and footwear industry’s request for import duty relief and accelerated implementation of the FLOAT scheme reflects broader challenges facing Indian manufacturers dependent on imported raw materials and petroleum-based inputs amid ongoing geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East.
The proposed FLOAT scheme aims to support transformation across the footwear and leather value chain, though implementation timelines have not been officially confirmed by the government.
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