Vimal Sumbly, Managing Director, Triumph Motorcycles India says India has an aspiring and vivacious consumer base with a zeal to explore new experiences and avenues. The country is a destination where every brand should be present in, and desperately seeks a more conducive business environment.
Akin to prevalent current pre-budget sentiment, he advocates the upcoming budget should look at lowering excise duty. Lower excise will not only boost overall business environment sentiment, but will foster the ‘Make in India’ campaign. Indian government could also look to reduce repo rate by RBI. The move would favour investment in the economy and and aid company operations by positively stimulating demand. This would also also increase market liquidity.
Since the government withdrew auto industry excise concessions in 2014 end, passenger car and two-wheeler manufacturers have increased prices by 1-5 pct across their product portfolio. Lower excise will help bolster sales and revive the Indian auto industry. Consumer loans would also get cheaper. To fuel ‘Make in India’ campaign, Union Budget should look into relaxation of clearance procedures for infrastructural projects to support manufacturing. Import duty has already being a debated area, with no relief whatsoever being offered despite growing demand for imports.
Sumbly suggests the Indian government can effectively boost the premium motorcycle industry in India by reducing import duty on products that don’t conflict with already existing offerings from Indian manufacturers. For instance, duty on motorcycles that are 800 cc and above can be reduced as no Indian mass market bike manufacturer offers products in that range as of now. No Indian manufacturer sells in that segment and quite obviously, import duty reduction on such products will not adversely affect Indian grown businesses. In the same breath, such a development will support foreign luxury manufacturers. No doubt, manufacturers expect Union Budget announcements conducive to a more encouraging environment, and also trims on extremely high duties allowing manufacturers to be relevant to a larger section of people.
