Will India’s 13-point polyester GST gap become a textile barrier?

India’s biggest indirect-tax reform in eight years has divided the country’s apparel economy and placed its strategically important man-made-fibre (MMF) segment at a tax disadvantage. Effective September **, ****, Goods and Services Tax (GST) *.* reduced tax on everyday clothing while increasing it on premium garments, supporting the mass-market segment.

The more significant development for the textile industry lies within the man-made-fibre value chain. The reform corrected the long-standing inverted duty structure on man-made fibre and yarn, but a deeper tax inversion persists at the polyester feedstock stage — and has, in some cases, widened. For manufacturers and exporters across the synthetic textile value chain, this unresolved gap could have significant implications for costs, working capital and competitiveness.

GST *.* brings relief to apparel but raises a new challenge for polyester