THOOTHUKUDI: The safety match industry protection committee staged a demonstration in front of the old bus stand in Kovilpatti on Saturday demanding a ban on plastic gas lighters, a reduction of tax and a hike in export incentives.
Committee convenor K Seenivasan, who led the demonstration, said that the supply of plastic lighters has been a tough challenge for the safety matchbox business.
"One lighter equals 20 matchboxes. Its production and sale must be prohibited on grounds of single-use plastics. Though the import of cigarette lighters costing less than Rs 20 has been banned by the director general of foreign trade (DGFT), it continues to be available widely," he said.
National Small Safety Match Manufacturers Association secretary Sethurathnam appealed to the state and central governments to reduce the GST tax on matchboxes from the existing 12 % slab to 6 % and increase export incentives, which were reduced from 8 % to 1.5 %. The committee further urged to provide subsidies for raw materials and electricity and grant credit benefits of interest subvention immediately.
Former MLA Noor Mohammad, National Small Safety Match Manufacturers Association president Paramasivan, CPM district secretary KP Arumugam, Kovilpatti Safety Match Producers Association president Suresh, and others took part in the demonstration.