Pre-Budget deliberations with Govt
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 25: As a part of Pre-Budget deliberations with the Government, various trade bodies including Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jammu gave their suggestions to the officers and also submitted memorandum to the Additional Chief Secretary Atal Duloo.
With high expectations from the upcoming Budget, the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry submitted a memorandum of demands pertaining to trading community to Atal Duloo, Financial Commissioner (Addl Chief Secy), Finance Department, J&K, as a part of Pre-Budget deliberations.
During the meeting, Jammu Chamber headed by its president Arun Gupta suggested to initiate requisite measures to create a new Jammu City under Smart City project so that the people of Old Jammu city do not suffer due to execution of the project under which the JMC claims to demarcate with yellow lines even areas of shutters of shopkeepers besides causing unnecessary hardships and loss to traders in the garb of Smart City Project. It is request to the government to emulate the new Raipur Project that provided for the creation of new city without disturbing the already existing city in Chattisgarh.
Jammu Chamber suggested measures including policy for rehabilitation, creation of commercial / residential sites; examine and find some modality to review the Excise Policy to accommodate the old licensees; execution of lease deeds; ownership rights for Industry/ Warehouse; revival of The Citizens Cooperative Bank Ltd. Jammu; VAT Amnesty Scheme; Power Amnesty Scheme; `no negative’ list for Industrial sector, give last one chance to the Industrial Units for filling of GST returns who could not file the same during the lockdown period of Covid-19, preference to locals in New Industrial Policy, GST reimbursement, enhancing limit of e-way bill, give benefit of power bills to Hotel Tourism at par with Industries; incentives to old units, give one chance to the industrial units to claim SGST incentives who had not applied it, special incentives to Transport Sector, implementation of Polythene bags order in real sense, etc.
Arun Gupta said Tourism industry has suffered a loss of crores during Covid period. The traders of Jammu region have been facing severe hardships. This Industry be provided some relief.
Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir led by its president, Shahid Kamli during Pre-Budget discussion with Government team led by Atal Duloo projected various demands to rejuvenate the beleaguered economy and put it on track.
Kamli put forth various demands which includes Marketing support to the local industry which is heading towards sickness. He said that 25% of the allocated budget of the department should be kept for purchase from local MSME’s.
Kamili said payments to the enterprises are not being made in time, resulting in huge losses incurred by them besides undermining there reputation with creditors and bankers. Further, the payment of works done by units previously without Adminstartive/Technical sanction should be disbursed. He said the enterprises have dried up their working capital by paying off towards their establishment cost during the lockdowns and therefore requires support from the government to overcome their liquidity crunch.
Further, Kamili said that the clean slate for VAT regime should be provided as the benefits of this tax exemption was being extended by the industry and no tax collected from them.
FCIK secretary general Ovees Qadir Jamie said the previous budget for financial year 2021-22 of Rs 1,08, 621 crores has a gap in actual disbursement to the departments. Till October, as many as 25 departments of the Union Territory received just Rs 1,809 crore, which is less than 10 per cent of the CSS allocation of Rs 18,527 crore for 2021-22.
Jamie said mechanism for the reimbursement of GST should be made, so the reimbursement tax amount need not be deposited in cash rather should be set off to the tune of reimbursement amount as there is procedural wrangling in getting reimbursement. He added that the allocation of funds to the existing industry should be made on same pattern as provided in Central Industrial Scheme to new units. He said the compensation of business losses accrued in last few years should be provided, Interest subvention of 5% for five years should also be provided, and Repo Linked Interest rates should be implied to all accounts and infusing liquidity by rolling out ECLGS 3.0.
Vice ppesident Ghulam Jelani said that in Pre GST period industry was on 0% tax as Tax remission was provided in VAT regime, now GST has been levied on the industry. We demand that 100% SGST reimbursement to the industries so as to make them competitive with outside market.
Meanwhile, Rahul Sahai , Chairman, PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry Jammu led a delegation to submit Pre Budget Memorandum to Atal Duloo at Excise and Taxation Bhawan Jammu today and projected various issues.
Sahai Submitted a Pre- Budget memorandum of suggestions on measures for revival of J&K economy, keeping budget provisions for industry refunds on time, installments for long pending dues of industrialists in SICO , SIDCO , JDA and in other Govt departments, Revenue generation by solving matters of Gair Mumkin Khads, agriculture land, solving land classification problems , sensitized about effects of lifting toll tax on steel, brick kilns, cement industries , royalty on brick kilns at par with neighbouring states (Punjab), Rs 40 cr budgetary allocation for development of Transport Nagar roads, lights etc., the problems faced by Beer manufacturing units , to make existing Liquor bar license renewal simple and smooth with less formalities according to old liquor policy, bidding amount of 2 months of Corona period to be compensated out of 11 months amount paid by liquor vends , industrial power tariffs for hotel industry, pending payments of hotels by GMC, DM for corona period to be released at the earliest.
Financial Commissioner was accompanied by PK Bhat from Finance department, Showkat Ajaz Bhat Commissioner State Taxes J&K, Nitu Gupta Addl Commissioner State Taxes Jammu, Kishore Singh Chib Excise Commissioner J&K and others.
Others present in delegation were Vikrant Kuthiala, MC Member, Kuldeep Gupta Co-Chairman, Jugal Mengi, Ashish Jain and Shantnu Gupta.
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