The move could impact more aspirational middle-income consumers who are increasingly buying into branded clothing. Some retailers told Mint they will pass on higher GST rates to consumers, while others are holding on to lower prices until the festival season is over.Also Read | Why profiteering fears resurface as GST reforms enter second phase In revised GST slabs announced late Wednesday night, the government has increased GST on articles of apparel and clothing accessories with a sale value exceeding ₹2,500 per piece to the 18% tax slab from the earlier, lower 12%. This could impact the prices of denim, jackets, winter wear, and formal ethnic or wedding wear. However, in a positive move, the GST rate on apparel priced between ₹1,000 and ₹2,500 is cut from 12% to 5%. For the footwear industry, items priced up to ₹2,500 per pair have been placed in the 5% GST slab, down from 12% earlier. Earlier, the 5% GST was applicable to footwear priced up to ₹1,000. Footwear of a sale value exceeding ₹2,500 per pair continues to attract 18% GST. On Thursday, the Retailer’s Association of India (RAI) said that all garments and footwear should ideally be taxed at 5%. “Placing these in the 18% GST slab could hurt middle-class affordability, weaken the organized retail and garment sector, and impact categories such as wedding apparel, winter wear, artisan-made, festive, and traditional products,” RAI said in a statement released Thursday.Festive waitA retailer from an apparel chain, speaking to Mint on the condition of anonymity, said it plans to keep its existing prices until the festivities are over. It draws over 60% of its offline business from clothes over ₹2,500.Also Read | India’s economy to hurt if states not compensated for GST losses: Kerala FM “We don’t want to upset the price points before Diwali. Any changes or hikes in prices will now happen post the festive season. We will think of other ways of managing costs, such as lowering some of our in-store promotions in late September,” he said. However, he said that the market for clothes priced between ₹2,000 and ₹2,499 will now see a boost. “While offline, 60% of our business is over ₹2,500, which will be impacted by the hike in GST rates, we are already thinking about boosting our offerings in the sub-2,500 price point. Overall, we see this as positive for a bulk of the apparel market that operates at price points lower than ₹2,000,” said this person speaking to Mint. Apparel retailers have also been stressed on account of lower margins due to a high number of sales days and greater competition from online players. The largest segment in apparel is the mass market, accounting for 60% of sales, followed by premium and luxury. However, more consumers are trading up to branded clothing in large cities as well as small market in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.
The apparel sector is cautioning that increased taxes aimed at aspirational consumers may negatively affect growth under the new GST regulations.
