New Delhi; News Agency: Newspaper business is being adversely affected by other factors including cost and availability of newspaper paper. Therefore, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has requested the central government to abolish the five percent customs duty on newspaper paper (newsprint).
The newspaper business is constantly facing challenges. The state of conflict in West Asia, as a result of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, has significantly affected the global supply chain, including newsprint, INS said in the statement. Abolition of customs duties will make it easier for newspaper publishers to effectively manage their production costs and deliver reliable news and information consistently to readers, the statement said.
Also results in cargo ships being targeted
Another current crisis facing the newspaper business is the constant targeting of cargo ships in the Red Sea. So the situation has become more serious. As a result, paper supplier publishers are also canceling earlier demand registrations, while many newspaper manufacturing mills have either suspended or closed their production. Hence, there is concern about newsprint supply in India, the statement said. In the face of all these challenging circumstances, the survival of the newspaper business is crucial for the world's largest democracy. Because, newspaper business is making a significant contribution in imparting knowledge and information to common readers at very low cost. Therefore, the government should cancel the customs duty, the statement said.
A major challenge facing the newspaper business
Availability of paper, its cost, devaluation of the rupee and customs duties etc. have created many challenges for publishers in the country. Therefore, five per cent customs duty on newsprint should be abolished so that the publishers can effectively manage the production costs, if the customs duty is withdrawn, the print media will get a big relief, Rakesh Sharma, President of 'INS' has explained.
