Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2020-21 in the Lok Sabha on 1.2.2020. The members of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore examined the presentation and addressed the press to give their opinion.
V.Lakshminarayanaswamy, President, ICCIC said “ Seeing the budget announcement, there are some benefits. We expect the economy to spur up with the increase in fiscal deficit that is now 3.8% (which was 3.3.% earlier). Looking at the announcements made for Industry, the move to continue the reduced tax structure for new industries will be supportive. The boost given for start-ups, the announcement of projects for agriculture sector, water harvesting and storage is appreciated. The allocation for Industry Rs.27,300 crores is normal.”
“As far as MSME, they have brought Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS). This enables on-time payments from large companies to MSMEs. If all companies and Governments use TReDS, it will be a very big benefit for MSMEs.”
Talking about the announcements in the income tax structure, he said “There is an exemption given to Individual Income Tax, from Rs. 5 lakhs up to Rs. 20 lakhs however we requested to lower the surcharge like how they did for corporate taxes. Surcharge is higher for taxpayers who pay Individual Income Tax for Rs30 lakhs and above. They have not given any relaxation that we had requested”
“Compared with last year’s budget, this budget has really improved. We will have to see the budget in its entirety to say how it will help in industrial development.