Expectations from Union Budget 2013-14

Following are few of the budget expectations that has been under discussion by different sectors of business and economic groups in the country. Most of these has been communicated to the Finance minister during the post budget interactions and Finance minister is expected to take some of these points in consideration while making his budget for 2013-14
Industry

• Power Sector Reforms.


• Encourage investments in power generation and transmission.


• Automobile industry demands cut in excise duty and policy stimulus


• Automobile industry wants that in the case of bigger cars, the distortion with smaller cars and the tax differentials to be narrowed, it wants duties to be reduced from 24%-27% to a uniform 22% irrespective of size of the vehicle and its engine displacement.


• Realty developers believe infrastructure or industry status for their sector will solve a number of the problems they currently face. It is expected to simplify procedures relating to approval of development plans and building plans, and ensuring compliance with fire, pollution control, electricity, environment, water and telephone norms. In addition the developer has to register with the commercial taxes department, employees state insurance and so on.


• Health Care sector expects that there should be no service tax on health services: The government needs to consider that health-care services are already expensive for the common man, and that further taxes would only make them inaccessible.


• Creating more medical colleges to have more trained doctors.


• Industry status for health-care sector: All heavy investment and long-gestation industries should get industry status so that we can get long-term loan at special rates.


• Lower duty on import of machinery: Hospitals and clinics depend on machinery to a large extent.


• Higher allocation is expected for infrastructure investment in roads, rail and power sectors


• Agriculture sector expects the government to renew its focus on irrigation and to give a thrust to micro irrigation that could be economical and workable for small and marginal farmers. This also could come in handy to focus on organic agriculture.


• Farm loan waver for the areas affected by drought


• Controlling the price rise specially on the segments useful for the common man


• Easy fund availablity for students of weaker economic background for further studies


• Increse in limit for tax deduction and bringing in wider segment in tax brackets


• Another economic reform like the one in 1991 to bring down the fiscal and trade deficit

Last Updated on 02/20/2013