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Substantial Tidings on 2006 Office Products
Government has imposed 8% duty on all stationery products except on exercise books, which will definitely bring changes in the cost structure in the office products.
As we all know the stationery industry is a highly influential market it varies as per the national income, economic development and even it's effect are seen if there is a change in the ever-growing Indian population. It had seen a downfall because of it's highly unorganized nature but is seen slowly progressing towards growth. The only survival is it's product innovation and marketing strategy tool which it has to carry to sustain in the market. This industry is further bifurcated into office stationery, computer stationery, school stationery and paper products out of which the office stationery consumption is seen to be the most. The product it encompasses are a combination of writing Instruments, computer stationery, paper products, files and folders, PP stationery, desktop items like penholder, card holder and many more to fill it's treasure box. In India office products have come into more prominence from the last few years. 2005 was a challenging year for this sector as apart from the foreign and Chinese goods threat it faces, in 2005 it has also seen the invasion of VAT, which had brought a downfall and chaos to the sector in the mid-year. There were tremendous change seen in the prices in the office stationery products as the manufacturers and suppliers had to adjust their price as per the government rules and regulations. Though in the later half the industry has seem to be subsiding from it's VAT fever and also the corporate buyer who was reluctant to buy bulk goods before due to changes in prices of goods is now once again loosening his pockets.Although the demand of office stationery has overall remain in the same graph, the another drawback of this industry is the counterfeit goods or the copied cheap goods as said in lay man's language which steals away the market from the branded office goods. Manufacturers and suppliers who try their level best to produce the best quality products at the most competitive prices under government restrictions. Like any industry the figures of counterfeit goods in the office products industry is equally disturbing. Though legal care and monitoring is taken by the companies that their products are not copied, even then there seems to be loopholes. But one can always keep their fingers crossed and hope that this barrier is removed in the near future.
Slowly the market is maturing, the offices purchasing such stationery are now becoming price and quality conscious now they are ready to spend more if a durable product is offered to them. Indian manufacturers have learnt that innovation, flexibility, performance and versatility are the key area of focus in the design and development of any product. This year a lot of innovative products were seen in office stationery which were favouring both the extreme angles i.e either towards total technology which is booming fast or towards the environment preventive measures sector.
The current 2006 budget is said to be reducing the duty on specified printing, writing and packing paper from 16% to 12% but have also imposed duty of 8% on all stationery products except on exercise books which will definitely bring changes in the cost structure of all office stationery products. But some favorable government policies on taxation and other promotional aspects will definitely prove to be a stepping stone to further growth of the office stationery industry. One can only hope that the 2006-year will bring more prosperity and growth to the industry.
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