The Kovai Power Driven Pumps and Spares Manufacturers Association has urged the district administration to request the Centre to reduce the GST rates on pumps, its spare parts and borewell compressors.

The association members, on Monday, called on District Collector T.N. Hariharan and requested him to bring it to notice of the Central Government the high tax rates levied on their products.

“The same product has different tax rates. Pump sets are taxed at 12 per cent, raw materials 18 p.c. and 28 p.c. And there is also an 18 per cent tax on salary of daily wage workers producing spare parts,” the Association said in its petition.

“Earlier, small and medium scale industries were given almost Rs.1.5 crore tax exemption under Central Excise Tax. But, now Rs. 20 lakhs exemption doesn’t help us in any way,” Association President K. Maniraj said.

The association also alleged that the Central Government taxed small and medium scale industries and large scale industries in the same way and appealed to the Government to reduce the tax rates to 5 per cent and to remove borewell compressors from luxury products list.