|
The Union Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram met representatives of industries, their associations and chambers of commerce as part of his pre-budget consultations with various interest groups and experts, here today. The Finance Minister opened the discussion by requesting the participants to give their views on important issues concerning their sectors.
Some of the important suggestions made by the participants during the meeting are as follows:-
· Reduction in import duty on crude oil to give a boost to the energy sector.
· Targetting subsidies, particularly for LPG and Kerosene.
· A new life science policy on the lines of the IT policy of mid nineties.
· The Annual Budget should be part of a medium-term economic strategy.
· Need to set up an Infrastructure Development Board, with public-private participation.
· Removing the disincentives in the telecom sector where there are a large number of taxes and levies, like license fee, service tax, and sales tax, and need to levy a single tax with an appropriate rate.
· Removing mobile phones from one-by-six category for filing income tax returns.
· Need to link the domestic agriculture sector to the world markets by providing infrastructure facilities like transportation and cold chains.
· Fixing targets for capital formation for financing infrastructure and making it accountable.
· Need for FDI in real estate and IT hardware sector.
· A definite time-frame for GST (Goods & Services Tax).
· Accelerated depreciation allowance for R&D.
· Need to simplify procedures and give tax concession on Mergers and Acquisitions, specially in the case of M&A through strategic sales.
· A time-bound programme for integrating all taxes such as octroi into VAT.
· Need to monitor the progress of implementation of infrastructural projects along with proper audit of allocation and expenditure on such projects.
· Reduction of corporate tax.
· Dividends received from overseas companies should be free of dividend distribution tax.
· Need for attitudinal change in Government departments having larger public interface like revenue, excise and municipal bodies.
· The programme of downsizing of Government on a priority basis.
· Widening the tax base on services by covering all the services under the tax net.
· The inverted duty structure should be streamlined to remove the disincentive on domestic production vis-à-vis imports.
· Exporters should be refunded all the taxes paid by them at various points like sales tax, mandi tax, octroi etc. in order to make exports competitive.
· Need to lower high transactions costs to facilitate exports.
· Public private partnerships in the area of defense production.
· An appropriate vehicle retirement policy to reduce pollution.
· In the case of SSI, the cut off point of turnover for imposition of excise duties should be increased from Rs.1 crore to 2 crores.
· Suitable excise exemption in the case of branded products of SSI.
· Suitable service tax exemptions on the services provided by tiny units.
· Government should help in setting up SEZs.
· In case of cement industry, there should be added emphasis on concrete roads, particularly rural roads.
· In order to provide long-term funds for infrastructure projects, the debt markets should be developed and NBFCs should be allowed to issue bonds in domestic as well as foreign markets.
· Simplification of procedures related to mining and environmental clearance.
The meeting was attended by captains of industry, representatives of industry associations and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
The Finance Minister will meet the representatives of trade unions and economists tomorrow.
BSC/BY/GN-10/5
|
