Budget can promote domestic industry and create jobs: FICCI

Chennai: The 2023 Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has the impetus to promote domestic industry and generate jobs in large numbers, said Mandalika Srinivas, Principal Chief Commissioner, O/o The Principal Chief Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry.

Speaking at the FICCI’s Post Budget Analysis 2023 event organised along with its knowledge partner BDO here today, he said that the Budget is really a growth oriented one in that it has covered all sections of the people in the country, taking care of their interests in so many ways. He noted the Budget has given scope to green projects in the form of green fuel, green farming, green mobility, green buildings and green equipment.

Mandalika Srinivas also said that several amendments have been proposed in the GST Law in the Finance Bill 2023, particularly in the filing of GST returns, availing of input tax credit, GST refund, GST registration, decriminalisation of offences, compounding offences, etc.

He spoke at length on the importance of PAN in all transactions as one single aspect for cash dealings and registration purposes, saying every digital trade is linked to PAN.

Gautam Dayaldasani, Partner, Financial Due Diligence, Chennai BDO India, lauded FICCI’s partnership with BDO, the world’s largest auditing and tax advisory body for propagating the ideas on Budget and other major industrial events.

Ms Gunjan Prabhakaran, Partner & Leader, Indirect Tax, BDO India, said the Budget can do lots of fiscal consolidation, besides stimulating long term growth and bringing in the elements of populist measures.

She said the Budget has propelled the idea of increased domestic manufacturing and import of raw materials to the industry, thereby giving a level playing field on that count.

Gunjan further said there are several measures in the Budget to stimulate the growth of startups apart from tax relief to citizens under the new tax regime. She also touched upon the initiatives of the government in areas like tourism, green energy, changes in GST, etc.

Krishna Murari, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, who lauded the FICCI for organising an event of significance on the Budget, said despite the conflict in Ukraine, right measures are under way for the benefit of the people in a country like India.

Noting that PAN is a single and common identifier, he wanted all enterprises to fall in line and make use of the provisions of PAN for their day-to-day money transactions in the digital world.

He said that 60 per cent of corporate tax is coming from the new tax regime and wanted the government to encourage more and more people to opt for it.

He wanted litigations over IT matters reduced as the new quasi-judicial authority has brought in measures to dispose of small cases immediately.

C A Amrith Lal, Convenor, FICCI Tamil Nadu Finance & Taxation Panel, said budgets of any nature have the tendency to keep the auditors on the edge always and pondered over the idea of how tax laws are different from one country to another.

He said the current Budget has all the policies in place in terms of helping the taxpayers and investors and in seeing India as a growing economy.

He was all praise for measures to help the green farmers and more particularly for making the tribals as entrepreneurs through the creation of the Tribal Fund.

Raghunahan Parthasarathy, Partner, Tax and Regulatory Services, DDO India, spoke on the various factors involving the benefits of corporate tax, personal and individual tax, insurance policy, reinvestment in house property, relief to startups and new manufacturing coop societies.He wanted the non-resident investors to come under the ambit of the section to eliminate the possibility of tax avoidance.

N Balachandar, Partner, Indirect Tax, BDO India, spoke on the issues related to contributions made to CSR activity and the major benefits of the Budget.

A Ganesan, Vice Chairman, Trivitron/Neuberg Group of Companies, in his welcome address, noted that the Budget has addressed all key issues like inflation and growth, all for helping the people across all spectrums despite the global recession.

Later, P Krishnan, Partner, Tax and Regulatory Services, BDO India. moderated a panel discussion on Implications of Budget on various sectors and heard the views of M Nandakumar, Convenor, FICCI Tamil Nadu Energy Panel, Rajaram Venkatraman, Convenor, FICCI Tamil Nadu Technology Panel, and others.