Govt reviews duties on cement, metals and paper

New Delhi, Feb 15: The Government is reviewing duties on cement, metals and paper as part of efforts to bring down inflationary pressures.

Industry Secretary Ajay Dua, who heads the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, told newspersons here today that these were short term measures and in the medium to long term it was necessary to 'remove supply side constraints.'

The three sectors had been identified where imports could be made more flexible.

He said while taxes and duties were short-term steps, in the long run, the input costs would have to be looked at and new production capacity built.

As the rate of inflation, released today, soared to 6.73 per cent crossing 6.58 per cent recorded last week, the Government was feeling the heat to reduce prices.

One of the measures to bring down cement prices was to opt for fly-ash and slag instead of limestone. The resulting product was "environmentally-friendly and low-cost".

"We have asked the Finance Ministry to remove the excise duty on this as it is an environment-friendly material," Mr Dua added.

UNI