Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI)

India is the fourth largest automobile market and the auto sector accounts for a large part of the manufacturing activity in India. Figures from the automotive industry point to the steepest fall in overall vehicle sales in 19 years. Passenger car sales dropped 30% year-on-year in July this year according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers – SIAM and for the first time in over a decade, the downfall in the passenger wheel segment has continued for over a year. This indicates that the downturn is beyond the cyclical aspects of the economy. Automakers are struggling to comply with a host of new environmental and safety policies, liquidity crunch, complying with Bharat VI emission standards, uncertainty in the market regarding electric vehicles. Add to this the weakening economic growth and lack of demand!

Automobile manufacturers have reportedly been forced to cut down their production by more than 30%. This has also adversely affected the OEM suppliers and more than 10 lakh people are at the risk of facing unemployment unless the slowdown is reversed. The situation in Goa is similar to the one prevalent in the rest of the country. All the 2 and 4 wheeler-dealers are reporting a decline of more than 24% in vehicle sales in the first four months of the year as compared to the last two years. With this prolonged slump in sales, the State government is also losing its share in GST as well as road tax. GCCI has therefore requested the Hon’ble Chief Minister to temporarily cut down the road tax by 50% from 1st September’19 to 15^th Jan 2020. This will boost vehicle sales, protect jobs and earn a higher net collection of taxes to the government.

After a lot of struggle, the industry associations had managed to bring in a lot of transparency in the Goa IDC Plot Allotment, Transfer & Sublease Regulations and make them more industry-friendly. Recently, Goa IDC has sought to bring in some changes in these Regulations. While most changes are an improvement on the existing regulations, we have to ensure that transparency is not compromised.

A decisive leader who protects the needs of the state is much desired but seldom found. Troubled times especially, define a leader’s ability to steer through. Successive governments have succumbed to the pressures of the taxi mafia and some politicians with vested interests. CM Pramod Sawant was the first CM to take a principled stand and supported the government-promoted app-based ‘Goa Miles’ which in a very short span has proved to be a reliable and reasonable taxi service. By making excellent alternate arrangements, he ensured that the tourists visiting the state were not put to any inconvenience. The Chamber’s Managing Committee commended him for his courage to resolve a long-festering tourist taxi issue.

GCCI assures the government its support on all its initiatives for the betterment of Goa, Goans, and the industry.

May Ganapati Bappa bless us abundantly to tide over the current times!