The Union government Thursday withdrew the 10 per cent excise duty levied on jute products in March this year.

"The ministry in a corrigendum to the March 24, 2011 notification maintained the exemption of excise duty on the jute products except laminated jute bags," an official source said in Kolkata, as reported by a news agency.

"We are happy as the corrigendum from the ministry has brought relief to the Rs 6,000 crore industry," Ex-Indian Jute Mills Association Chairman and an industry veteran Sanjay Kajaria is quoted by the report.

In March, the Union government had slapped an excise duty of 10 per cent on jute products that constitute about 80 per cent of the Rs 6,000 crore industry and threatened to cripple the fate of 2.5 lakh workers.

There was no mention in the Union Budget about any such step, but a government notification dated March 24 had levied 10 percent excise duty on branded and non-branded jute products meant for domestic consumption or export under the HS code 6305 including hessian, sacking and jute soil savers.