Union budget should focus on revitalising private investments, consumption, employment creation: PHD Chamber

New Delhi [India], November 23 (ANI): The Union Budget 2023-24 will be presented at a crucial juncture of geo-political uncertainties, high inflation and slowing world economic growth and calibrated steps to enhance domestic sources of growth would be crucial to maintain the steady economic growth trajectory, Saket Dalmia, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said.
In its interaction with Revenue Secretary, the industry body suggested measures related to direct taxes and indirect taxes for the growth and development of Indian economy.
Its suggestions on direct taxes, included taxing real income and not notional income, support to industries which suffered majorly because of Covid-19, measures to increase revenue and widen tax net, enhancing of presumptive tax, boost to infrastructure and suggestions for ease of business promoting compliance and boost to economy.
In the indirect taxes category, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested that GST, as envisaged as Good and Services Tax, needs continuous improvisation and broad policy changes from time to time to provide overall objective of ease of business to trade and industry.
Certain highlighted suggestions are rationalisation of multiple GST rates into 2-3 Tier GST rates, decriminalisation of offences in GST law by increasing threshold from Rs 5 crore to Rs 20 crore and should be prosecuted on the basis of fraud intent only, a release said.
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also suggested five-pronged strategy to revitalise the private investments which included enhancing consumption, increasing capacity utilisation in the factories, creating employment, enhancing the quality of social infrastructure and strengthening economic growth.
To enhance the momentum in private investments, there is a need to percolate of Ease of Doing Business at the factory level, rationalisation of cost of doing business, rationalisation of taxation, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and enhanced incomes in the agriculture sector would go a long way to revitalise the private investments in the country, Dalmia said.
He said for enhancing consumption in the economy, there is a need to increase the tax rebate benefits for consumption expenditure.
"This needs to be enhanced with the wider scope of consumption expenditure such as purchase of more than one house, purchase of a car, along with other durables. Consumption expenditure rebate must be enhanced to Rs 5 lakh per annum," Dalmia said.
This will not only enhance the aggregate demand in the economy but also attract private investments, increase capacity utilisation of the firms and create enormous employment opportunities in the economy, said Dalmia.
The industry body also suggested reducing the costs of doing business that includes costs of capital, costs of power, costs of logistics, costs of land and availability of land and costs of labour, availability of skilled labour and costs of compliances should not be more than the Top 3 manufacturing countries namely China, the US and Japan.
For employment creation, the industry body suggested further reforms in the agri and food processing sector with a great infusion of public investments in the agriculture infrastructure. Reforms in rural infrastructure logistics and a cold chain are required as it would help in increasing the level of food processing industry and rural entrepreneurship. This would lead to increased participation in the global agriculture and food exports, the release said.
Exports of agri and food processing products should be increased to the level of $100 billion in the next three years from the current level of around $50 billion (2021-22), it said.
"Tourism sector is providing employment to all sections of society. In India, the majority of the travel and tourism industry is composed of MSMEs (micro, small, medium enterprises). In this regard, development of tourism infrastructure is of paramount importance and should be supported with adequate resources for the development of tourism infrastructure in the country," Dalmia said. (ANI)