The Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry Council hopes to see the reinstatement of the 50 per cent export rebate in the 2019-2020 national budget.

President of the Council Michael Towler said for an export driven industry, they need this rebate.

“The TCF (Textile, Clothing and Footwear) industry is made up of mainly exporters and the loss of this very important rebate has come as a shock to our industry at a time when we need to be incentivising members to invest in expansion. We would also like to see a duty exemption for equipment spare parts as this allows us to keep our current equipment in use longer negating the need to reequip more often,” he said.

Mr Towler the removal of VAT on imported raw material through a properly run zero-rated Duty/Vat scheme similar a previous scheme should also be considered.
Policy that should continue:

The continuation of the TCF Industry Marketing grant so that we can continue our marketing activities to attract more customers.
Biggest challenge the Industry faces right now:

The low productivity caused by absenteeism. The Family Care leave has been abused and has contributed to an increase in absenteeism and in turn low productivity. Flexibility in the Employment Relations Act (is needed).
Government’s input:

Put some boundaries (conditions) around the Family Care Leave. Give us the flexibility in the ERA mentioned above.

An affordable National Minimum Wage along the lines of the current recommendation.
What can be done:

Incentivise existing employers / manufacturers to grow their businesses, reinstate the 50 per cent Export Rebate and zero rate VAT on imported raw material for manufacturing items for export.
Final remarks:

We are looking forward to an export incentive budget that will grow the economy rather than a higher taxing budget.

The 2019-2020 national budget will be announced this Friday.

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