Budget 2022 Expectations: MSMEs hope for GST, TDS reductions, relaxation in compliances

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the union budget on February 1, 2022. Micro, Small, and Mid-size enterprises (MSMEs) are requesting the government to provide special focus to recover the sector, reduce GST, relaxing in compliance, addressing the issue of delayed payments, and ease of access to capital, among others.

Rahul Raj, Founder & CEO FloBiz, said: "We expect a special focus from the government to help the MSME sector recover and accelerate overall economic growth. This can come in the form of funding support to NBFCs to maintain liquidity and improve financial inclusion with a focus In addition, lowering GST rates and easing the compliance burden for MSMEs in terms of taxes, audits and loans will go a long way to helping the sector recover.

Dr. Arun Singh, Dun & Bradstreet's Chief Global Economist, has also listed many of the demands of the MSME industry. Speaking on the issue of late payments, he said: "Since the launch of MSME Samadhaan in October 2017, only 22% of requests have been deleted or mutually settled. While 21% of requests are rejected, 57% of applications are currently under consideration or have not yet been considered by the council."

Singh also urged for ease of access to capital, saying that the government should take measures to operationalize the Fund of Funds scheme on a fast-track mode. He also suggested strengthening export infrastructure. He added: "Exporters should be incentivized to use the business information portal because the probability of a company exporting to new markets increases by about 0.1% with each additional day spent on these portals."

Meanwhile, Gunish Jain, CEO of BlueKaktus, said: "TDS has been a point of interest throughout the industry. Currently, a TDS of 10% assumes profitability of 40%, which is generally not the case for companies. Money is held in the form of TDS, maintaining significant cash flow becomes a challenge Small and medium-sized businesses find it difficult to obtain loans as most of their money is locked up in the form of TDS by the government for small and medium-sized companies should drop to 2.5%".

He further adds: " Amongst exporters too, the cash flow issue persists when it comes to GST refund. The current process of collecting and then refunding leads to big cash flow problems in the industry. I think the government should review the current timeline for GST Refunds and implement a mechanism for automatic refunds within 45 days of application submission. Additionally, setting a date on refunds can help businesses align their business goals accordingly."

Furthermore, Avneet Singh Marwa, CEO of SPPL, the exclusive licensee of the Blaupunkt brand in India, noted: "As we go through another wave, it is an indication of how important Atma Nirbhar Bharat is to boosting Indian manufacturing and MSMEs.",  "We need a tax stable GST. No product should be above 18% and consumerism should now be encouraged to improve market confidence". Also Read: Budget 2022: Wage Class Expects Rs 50,000 Bonus From WFH; Board Of Taxes, Tax Changes standard deduction

"In doing so, India could become the third-largest TV market in the world. The size of the market could grow by 15% each year, reaching 16 million units. We urge the government not to change any tariffs at this time, as the industry is moving towards stable conditions.

Also Read: Nazara Technologies acquires majority stake in Datawrkz for Rs 124 cr