FICO Demands GST @ 5% on Bicycles, Bicycle Parts and Steel Raw Materials
Gurmeet Singh Kular, President of the Federation of Industrial & Commercial Organization (FICO), met the Finance Minister of Punjab and strongly urged that the GST on bicycles, bicycle parts, and steel raw materials be reduced to 5% in order to make bicycles more affordable for the common man and to support the domestic cycle industry.
City Air News
Sep 1, 2025 07:37
0
Ludhiana, September 1, 2025: Gurmeet Singh Kular, President of the Federation of Industrial & Commercial Organization (FICO), met the Finance Minister of Punjab and strongly urged that the GST on bicycles, bicycle parts, and steel raw materials be reduced to 5% in order to make bicycles more affordable for the common man and to support the domestic cycle industry.
Kular raised the issue of the inverted duty structure under GST, noting that the working capital of industries remains blocked as refunds with the GST Department. He emphasized that refunds are not grants or subsidies but the industry’s own money, and the cumbersome process of securing them creates liquidity problems. This, he said, compels industries to over-utilize bank credit limits and pay higher interest costs, thereby hampering the growth and competitiveness of the bicycle sector.
He further highlighted that while most finished products fall under the 5% and 12% GST slabs, raw materials such as steel are taxed at much higher rates of 18% and 28%. This disparity leads to significant refund amounts getting stuck with the government.
“With the Central Government announcing plans to reform GST and streamline it into two slabs of 5% and 18%, it is strongly requested that bicycles, bicycle parts, and raw materials including steel be brought under the 5% slab,” Kular said. He added that this measure would ease the financial stress on the industry and enable it to contribute more effectively to employment generation and economic growth.
