Growth-supportive sops, including tax incentives, should be given to exploit the huge potential of the country's technical textiles industry, which is in a nascent stage, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) says.

Technical textiles, used for various applications like, geotextiles, hygiene, medical, protective clothing, automotive, industrial, agrotech and fire retardants, should be kept out of the ambit of goods and services tax (GST) for at least two years, FICCI said in its recommendation to the ministry of textiles.

The industry lobby proposed inclusion of the industry under Special Product Focus Scheme for exports, correction of inverted duty structure, fixing drawback and DEPB rates for new products.

In its recommendations to the textiles ministry for taking up the issues with the finance ministry, FICCI also proposed duty free import of speciality fibres and yarns not produced in India in addition to reduction in excise duty on man-made fibres and yarns from 10 percent to four percent.

"Technical textiles have high potential for exports and there is a need to incentivise such products and sectors under the Special Focus Product Scheme of foreign trade policy, which would make them eligible for the grant of duty credit scrips equivalent to five percent of free on board (FOB) value of exports," FICCI said in a statement Sunday.

Currently, these items are included under the focus products scheme only which entitles them for a duty scrip of two percent, it said.