Penmaker says increasing GST on ink is bad news for students and manufacturers
Penmaker says increasing GST on ink is bad news for students and manufacturers
Fountain pens manufacturers, dealers and lovers across the country have criticized the hike in GST on ink from 12% to 18% from this month, saying the hike will be a blow not only to the students but also to the eco-friendly mode. . Writing.
“Fountain pens are the most sustainable form of writing instrument. Encouraging its use will significantly reduce plastic pollution caused by single-use pens,” said Kaushik Maitra, managing director of the once popular Kolkata-based Sulekha Inc. It only resumed production – to an encouraging response – after a hiatus of nearly three decades.
“With the increase in the GST rate, ink is bound to become more expensive, but we are not going to increase the prices as of now because of the tough economic situation people are already facing, even though this increase is due to a significant increase in raw prices. be together Ingredients and packaging materials, over the past few months, will majorly impact our bottom line and sustainability,” said Mr Maitra.
Chennai-based Aditya Bhansali, who runs Pen World, an online stationery mart, and is a distributor of Krishna brand ink, said the hike has dealt a blow to “our nascent and small industry”. “Ink is something that helps students to write and not something the government should be profiting from. The increase in prices has already resulted in failure of planning by many companies and this hike will only increase the burden of people trying to use eco-friendly and sustainable equipment,” Mr. Bhansali said.
Kolkata-based brand strategist Suvobrata Ganguly, fond of fountain pens and popularly known as Chom Ganguly in the community of users, said the need of the hour was to reintroduce fountain pens and ink in every school. “The use-and-throw pens deplete our drainages, our river systems, eventually end up in our ocean floor, in our landfills. Add to that the carbon footprint that these plastic pens have and you understand that monster What we are fighting against. While many advanced countries are adopting fountain pens once again, we seem to be moving in the opposite direction,” said Mr. Ganguly, who calls himself a ‘fountain pen evangelist’.
Chennai-based penmaker L. Subramaniam, who manufactures the popular ASA brand of fountain pens, also called the GST amendment “bad news” for the student community and local ink makers. “Most of our local ink makers mainly cater to students. Even a small change in pricing can have a big impact as these inks are used by students across income groups.”
He continued: “I’m not overly concerned about imported inks or premium brands being more expensive, as they serve a different segment. But among students, especially those in the lower-income group, Even a ₹20 ink bottle is seen as cheap. So this hike could be the last nail in the ink coffin for the students.”