Union Budget 2019: Here’s a list of India Inc’s expectations

Budget 2019: Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal will unveil the interim budget tomorrow. It is the last budget of the incumbent government before the country goes to Lok Sabha polls in May.

Though it is an Interim Budget, the BJP government could throw several surprises to please the biggest drivers of the economy, including farmers, middle class, and corporate sector. The heavily taxed corporate sector which also hit by government’s several structural reforms like GST, Demonetisation, insolvency and bankruptcy code is expecting relief in terms of lower taxes and better policies for smooth business now.

Here are what various industry players are expecting from union budget 2019.

Mr. Harish Sheth, Chairman & MD, Setco Automotive Ltd.

The economy is on a firm footing and we expect the growth to continue in the MHCV segment which directly reflects the strength of the economy. With the budget around the corner we would be keen to see GST reduced from the current 28% as the benefit would be there for the end-customers. Further we hope that the budget spells out some incentives towards phasing out the old trucks and a seamless implementation of BSVI as this has a strong and positive impact of environment and road safety. India’s challenge is not growth but sustainability of our ecology and a drastic improvement in our air quality – we need to think about the future generations and their safety

Mr. Rajesh Mittal, Managing Director, Greenply Industries Limited.

Continuing with the thrust on make in India the govt should also incentivise capacity expansion in existing industries which can go a long way in boosting capital investment and generating employment. Similarly in the Middle-East plywood is the second most imported item but Indian players are not able to compete with China, Vietnam in this market. Incentivising plywood exports can go a long way in establishing a much needed export market for Indian plywood.

2. Most of our dealers are partnership firms with a tax rate of 30% whereas corporate tax for companies with turnover of upto 250 crores is 25% only this anomaly needs to be corrected and will benefit a majority of plywood dealers and go a long way in making the sector more organised. The reduction of GST from 28% to 18% has been a great booster

Mr. Sujit Jain, CEO and managing director, Netsurf communications Pvt.Ltd

“The introduction of direct selling guidelines and the roll out of Gst by the govt has led to a better than expected growth for organized and legitimate direct selling companies including Netsurf network. We expect the guidelines to be converted into a national law so that companies don’t have to go to individual states to get permission for every state which leads to increase in expenditures and delays”

Ms. Sanjana Desai, Chief Strategy Officer, Desai Brothers Ltd. (Food Division – Mother’s Recipe)

In the upcoming budget we anticipate many populist changes keeping in mind the Indian consumer and their expectations. The government has always been supporting rural growth in the past and we expect this to be enhanced further this year along with greater thrust on the food processing sector which can bring in large efficiencies in the agri value chains. It will be a critical step to achieving the vision of doubling farmer incomes. We also need a bigger boost for Exports in the food processing space to compete with products from China & Thailand.

We expect the GST rates on food categories like pickle and Condiment paste to be brought down from the existing 12% to 5% bracket considering both are staples in households and consumed by all strata of population in India.

Given government’s earlier commitment towards lowering corporate tax to 25%, the industry expects government to rationalize corporate tax rates including Dividend Distribution Taxes.

Government should focus to drive an increase in the populations disposable income and enhance spending power.

Mr. Saumil Majmudar, Co-Founder & CEO, EduSports

“Sports has been an integral part of education and the best way for all-round physical and social-emotional development of children. GST rates for services that enable children to play and provide them holistic education should undergo a much-needed revision as they are currently clubbed with luxury items. Getting more children to play in India is not a luxury. It is a crying need of the hour and basis for developing a healthier and fitter next generation of Indians.”