5% Duty On Imported Books: Worried Publishers To Meet HRD Officials

New Delhi: Upset over the five percent customs duty proposed on imported books, an association of Indian publishers and booksellers is planning to meet government officials to highlight their problem areas and also stress that books are part of free flow of knowledge and culture and should be made more accessible.

Most of the books imported into India are sought by students or those in the engineering, medicine and technology areas and are anyway expensive. A five per cent customs duty will make them costlier, they feel. “The upfront customs duty on imported books will deter importers from procuring expensive and high level research books sought by top research institutions. Till now, these books were coming in large numbers — catering mainly to IITs, premier central and state universities, and highly respected research laboratories, particularly those set up by the Central government, like CSIR, ICAR, DST, Dept of Atomic Energy, etc, where libraries are an important resource centre for accessing high level research material from all over the world,” Raj Mirchandani, Managing Director, Capital Books Delhi, told IANS.

Well-known feminist writer, publisher and author Urvashi Butalia, who is co-founder of Zubaan publishing house, said the government needs to think of the domestic publishing industry “holistically” in order to help it grow. She felt if the government wants to help the publishing industry then there are other ways to help — like making paper cheaper. “The cost of paper has gone up so many times in the last 10 years that it is getting more and more expensive to print books,” she said. Butalia also said that helping publishers participate in book fairs, assistance in book distribution and providing library grants would be important measures. (IANS)

Also Read: UAE-Indian publishers discuss cross-border collabs