Powerloom weavers in Salem, Erode, and Namakkal will down shutters for a day on February 28, 2024, as they fear that the recent amendment to the Income Tax rules will deny orders to micro and small-scale weavers.
The Tamil Nadu Federation of Powerloom Associations, in a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, said that the amended rules will come into effect from April 1 and that fabric buyers were already not sourcing products from micro and small-scale weavers.
According to the amendment, if a buyer has not paid his/her dues to micro or small-scale weaver for more than 45 days by March 31, 2024, the outstanding amount will be disallowed as an expenditure. This means that it will be treated as the income of the buyer and will be a burden on the tax payer. “Though the Act says that it may be disallowed in the next year if the payment is made, this will not create any impact on the Income Tax payments,” the Federation said.
