The Ministry of Finance decided to issue pending income tax refunds up to Rs. 5 lakh, immediately. The move is expected to benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers. In order to relief approximately 1 lakh business entities, including MSMEs, the Ministry also decided to issue all pending Goods and services tax (GST) and custom refunds.

Therefore, a full refund of Rs. 18,000 crore would thus be granted, the ministry said.

The move comes amid the ongoing lockdown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has hit businesses and financial institutions in India and around the world.

Meanwhile, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on April 8, in its letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, proposed several radical measures and a stimulus package of $ 200-300 billion to cushion the impact of the pandemic-led lockdown on the industry.

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced liquidity stimulus measures of Rs 3.7 lakh crore, including a 75 bps cut in repo rate and a 100 bps decrease in the cash reserve ratio.

Source: Money Control, Inc42

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