Impact of GST on Manufacturers and FMCG Industry

GST is expected to boost competitiveness and performance in India’s manufacturing sector. Declining exports and high infrastructure spending are just some of the concerns of this sector. Multiple indirect taxes have also increased the administrative costs for manufacturers and distributors and it is being hoped that with GST in place, the compliance burden will ease and this sector will grow more strongly.
The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market size in excess of US$ 13.1 billion. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) goods are popularly named as consumer packaged goods. Items in this category include all consumables (other than groceries/pulses) people buy at regular intervals. FMCG is also one of the most fastest growing sectors among all the sectors in the Indian economy.

As per the current tax regime, FMCG sector has to pay many taxes like VAT, Service Tax, Excise duty, Central Sales Tax. Once the GST law will be implemented it will cover all the above taxes under one single point of tax in form of GST. The current tax rate for the FMCG industry including all the taxes is around 22-24%. GST might be implemented with the expected rate of 18-20 %. It would be welcomed by all the major players in the FMCG industry. No input credit was available for certain taxes like CST, CVD and SAD under the current tax regime. Whereas under GST, there would be input credit available for all the GST payments made in the course of business.