Mrityunjay Shahi, Founder & CEO, SalaryDost commented “The year 2020 was unexceptional for every sector. Though the Fintech sector seemed to be profitable, it faced a lot of challenges in the Financial year. We are expecting a few key steps that should be taken by the Ministry of Finance in this financial year. First of all, there must be a regulatory authority assigned by RBI & Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY) to keep an eye on the fresh industry players. There should be a pre-defined set of rules & regulations for the startups to manage their businesses ethically; respecting the customer’s entity. Also, talking from the customer’s POV the Government should set up subsidiary bodies dealing with the Fintech startups concerning underprivileged customers who are failing to repay their dues. Last year the Finance ministry took some of the beneficiary decisions including tax relief on ESOPs and the reduction on corporate tax to 22% which is the lowest in the world. We are seeking simplified GST rules to smoothen the process for both the customers’ and company’s end”.
Mr. Ashok Mohanani
President – NAREDCO Maharashtra
The much-awaited budget 2021-22 is expected to bring a ray of hope as industry looks forward to a favourable budget this year. Although the Central and State Government has rolled out several reforms and incentives during the past quarters to restore the economy of Indian real estate, many more reforms are expected by real estate players in Budget 2021-22 that shall provide further respite in the market.
Both the developers and buyers hope that the upcoming Union Budget will introduce reforms like tax sops and correction in prices which will further benefit and stabilise the industry. The industry expects if 1% GST for affordable housing can be extended for another fiscal year along with the removal of 45 lakh cap will surely be a great deal for Affordable Housing segment; from the perspective of first-time homebuyers, we expect the full benefit of interest to taxpayers should be provided; look forward to re-introduce GST with input tax credit on under-construction properties which will generate the demand among homebuyers; there is a specific need of tax relief to spur in significant real estate growth; along with single window clearance and lowering of home loan interest rates that will definitely go a long way in improving the market sentiments. Also, the ‘industry status’ for real estate has been the long-standing demand by the sector; we anticipate that the Government can address the concern.
Overall, the industry expects that the Government will take substantial measures to further strengthen not only the real estate sector but the entire economy.
Mr. Vikas Bajaj – President, AIFI (Association of Indian Forging Industry) said “The current budget is expected to be balanced for both consumers and manufacturers. The budget for this year should be outlined in ‘RECOVERY & GROWTH.’ The Government needs to invest more funds in major industries, including infrastructure, real estate, manufacturing, tourism, so that they can emerge from the COVID 19 pandemic and increase employment. There is a need to increase the existing incentives to increase exports. There is also a need to speed up the process of refunding the GST to provide the industry with liquidity. In addition, the highest tax rate under the GST legislation must also be minimised by up to 18% in order to boost demand. The industry is also awaiting some news on the scrappage policy”.
