The
Union Minister of finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley asked
business leaders for making investments in Infrastructure Sector to build a
stronger India. The Finance Minister said that private investment along with
public and foreign investment are the key to boost growth and create job
opportunities. The
Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley was making his Opening Remarks during his
third Pre-Budget Consultation Meeting with the Business Leaders and representatives
of the various Chambers of Indian trade and industry here today. Highlighting the importance of
investment in Infrastructure sector, the Finance Minister said the Government
has taken various steps and has also set-up National Investment and Infrastructure
Fund (NIIF) among others in order to boost investment in this sector.
Along
with the Union Finance Minister Shri Jaitley, the Pre-Budget Consultative
Meeting with the business
leaders and representatives of various chambers of Indian Trade and Industry was also attended by Dr. Hasmukh
Adhia, Finance Secretary, Shri A.N. Jha, Secretary, Expenditure, Shri Subhash
Chandra Garg, Secretary (Economic Affairs), Shri Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary, DIPP, Dr. Arvind
Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA), Shri Sushil Kumar Chandra, Chairman,
CBDT, Ms. Vanaja N. Sarna, Chairperson, CBEC and Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Director
General, Directorate of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce among
others.
The representatives of the Indian
Trade and Industry Associations/Chambers present during the aforesaid Meeting
included Ms Shobana Kamineni, President, CII, Shri Sandeep Jajodia, President,
ASSOCHAM, Shri Pankaj Patel, President, FICCI, Shri B.N. Kalyani, Bharat Forge
Ltd., Shri Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President, Federation of Indian Exports
Organisation (FIEO), Shri B.V.N. Rao, Business Chairman, GMR Group, Shri Raja
M. Shanmugham, Tripur Exporters’ Association, Shri Mukesh Mohan Gupta,
President, Chamber of Indian Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Shri Govind
Lele, National General Secretary, Laghu Udyog Bharti, Shri Anoop Mehta, Sr.
Member, Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Shri M. Rafeeque Ahmed,
President, South India Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SICCI), Shri G.
Venkatesh Babu, MD, LANCO ANPARA Power Ltd., Shri Dinesh Chandra Tripathy,
President, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises
(FISME), Shri P.K. Shah, former Chairman, EEPC India, Shri Sunil R. Zode,
Chairman, ICCAA, Shri Harish Ahuja, MD, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd., Shri Rahul
Sharma, Aluminum Association of India, Shri R.K. Sharma, Secretary General,
Federation of India Mineral Industries (FIMI), V. Kalyana Rama, Chairman &
MD, Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), Shri Rahul Nair, MD, Real State,
Indospace, Shri R.S. Subramanian, SVP & Country Director, DHL Express, Shri
Ashish Gupta, Consulting CEO, Federation of Associations in Indian tourism
& Hospitality (FAITH), Shri Shailendra Chouksey, President, Cement
Manufacturers’ Association, Shri Akshay Verma, CEO, Fitpass, Shri Panaruna
Aqeel Ahmed, Vice Chairman, Council for Leather Exports, Shri Lalit Kanodia,
President, IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Shri D.B.Sabharwal,
Secretary General, All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association among
others.
Various suggestions were made by
the business leaders and the representatives of different Chambers of Indian Trade
and Industry among others. The major suggestions/demands included permitting the
purchase of Banks’ Recapitalization Bonds by the Institutes and the public at
large, reducing Government stakes in Public sector Banks(PSBs), allowing banks
to securitize their loans and sell the same, setting-up of Land Bank
Corporation for monetization of Government lands including the land belonging
to Army, Railways and Public Authorities among others.
Other suggestions include setting-up of National Power
Generation Corporation and creation of National Innovation Fund with initial
corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore to promote innovation and Out of Box Ideas; setting-up
of Empowered Group of State Agricultural Ministers to implement Agricultural
Reforms.
Other suggestions include
reduction in Dividends Distribution Tax and to bring down the maximum rate of Income
Tax to 20% to encourage investment, at par with other development countries. It
was also suggested to create Regulations Free Export Zone for setting-up 100%
Export Oriented Units both by domestic and foreign investors which in turn
would help not only in creating employment opportunities but also in earning
foreign exchange for the country.
Another suggestion was made to
bring a ‘Scrapes Scheme’ to take more than 15 year old heavy commercial
vehicles off the road since demand in this sector is at its peak today. This
will help in generating lot of employment opportunities as it will bring about
large scale private investment in this sector.
Another suggestion was made for
introduction of system of e-wallet with effect from 1st April, 2018
under GST, extension of Duty Draw Back System for GST for a year, GST on
freight for carrying fruits and vegetables among others.
Another suggestion was made for
incentivizing the industry for larger women participation in industrial jobs
including subsidy to industry for providing transportation facilities for women
and incentives for running women dormitories among others.
Various other suggestions
relating to various tax benefits for industry and trade were also made. The
highlights of some of the suggestions are:
·
There is a need to consider
across the board, tax rate cuts for businesses and individuals in India to spur
domestic investment and demand, and to retain India’s overall competitive
environment globally.
·
GST has been a landmark
reform. Going forward, there is a need for convergence to 3 – 4 rates and to
include all excluded items till date. Efforts should also continue to simplify
compliance related to GST. Benefit of filing Quarterly return under GST be
extended to all rather than limiting to those with a turnover of Rs.1.5 crore.
·
Remove the applicability of
GST on Intra-entity transfer of services within the same legal entity.
·
There is a need for clarity
on Anti-profiteering provisions under GST, specifically related to its
applicability at product or entity level, examination at State or Central
level, applicability on products/ stocks prior to GST, etc.
·
There is a need to exempt
levy of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on write back of notional income pursuant
to approved plan of IBC.
·
To boost Research and
Innovation, there is a need to improvise the Patent Box regime that was
introduced in the previous Budget. Government should also restore weighted
deduction on Scientific Research Expenditure. Alternatively, provision of Research
Tax credit may be introduced.
·
Consider establishing 2-3
Regulation Free Zones, wherein all regulatory requirements can be relaxed,
especially for new-age, high-technology and innovative industries.
·
Government should consider
further consolidation and even privatisation of some of the Public Sector Banks
(PSBs), having at the most 5-6 Large Public Sector Banks.
·
Continue focus on Productive
Expenditure (Infrastructure Capex) and if this requires relaxation of fiscal
deficit target, it should be considered.
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DSM/SBS/KA
