MUMBAI: The Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT) has just one expectation from the forthcoming Budget - a reduction in excise duty to eight per cent (or six, if the government adopts the excise duty structure as recommended by the Kelkar committee) from the current 16 per cent, till the government introduces a composite value-added tax.

The government needs to urgently address the challenges of the inverted tariff structure arising out of the implications of the IT Agreement of the World Trade Organisation, says MAIT. The government must ensure a customs duty waiver on all capital goods for infotech, electronics, telecommunications manufacturing and raw materials, including dual usage items, as the finished products hit zero duty.

MAIT executive director Vinnie Mehta says it is important to reduce duty to be globally competitive. The domestic infotech market is back on the growth track, which has bolstered the confidence of the hardware industry. However, there is still a long way to go before we become a globally competitive industry, says Mehta. To ensure that infotech reaches the grassroots level in India, there is a need to bring down the price of its products, adds Mehta.