New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on February 1, 2022. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are calling on the government to pay special attention to reviving the sector, reduction of GST, relaxation of compliances, solving the problem of late payments and ease of access to capital, among others.

Rahul Raj, Founder and CEO of FloBiz, said, “We expect the government to pay particular attention to the recovery of the MSME sector and the acceleration of overall economic growth. This can take the form of financial support to NBFCs to maintain liquidity and promote financial inclusion with a focus on MSMEs as part of priority sector lending. In addition, the reduction in GST rates and the easing of the compliance burden for MSMEs on taxes, audits and loans will go a long way in helping this sector regain its lost momentum. »

Dr Arun Singh, Global Chief Economist, Dun & Bradstreet, also listed several demands from the MSME industry. Speaking on the issue of late payments, he said, “Since the launch of MSME Samadhaan in October 2017, only 22% of claims have either been cleared or mutually settled. While 21% of applications were rejected, 57% of applications are currently under consideration or have yet to be reviewed by the board.

Singh also called for ease of access to capital, saying the government should take steps to operationalize the fund-of-funds program in fast-track mode. He also suggested strengthening export infrastructure. “Exporters should be incentivized to use the trade information portal, as the likelihood of a company exporting to new markets increases by around 0.1% with each additional day spent on these portals,” he said. added.

Meanwhile, Gunish Jain, CEO of BlueKaktus, said, “TDS has been a concern across the industry. Currently, a TDS of 10% assumes a profitability of 40%, which is generally not the case for companies. With a significant portion of capital being held in the form of TDS, maintaining a strong cash flow becomes a challenge. SMEs find it difficult to get loans because most of their money is blocked by the government in the form of TDS. In my experience, the TDS should be reduced to 7.5% for all while for SMEs it should be further reduced to 2.5%.

He further adds: “Among exporters as well, the cash flow problem persists with regard to GST refunds. The current collection and then reimbursement process is causing huge cash flow problems in the industry. I believe the government should review the current GST refund schedule and design a mechanism to automatically refund the money within 45 days of filing a claim. Additionally, setting a date for refunds can help companies align their business goals accordingly. »

Moreover, Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO of SPPL, exclusive licensee of the Blaupunkt brand in India, pointed out that “As we go through another wave, this indicates how important Atma Nirbhar Bharat is. To boost Indian manufacturing and MSMEs, we need a stable GST tax bracket. No product should be above the 18% slab, and now they need to encourage consumerism to improve market sentiment. Also read: Budget 2022: salaried class expects bonus of Rs 50,000 WFH; tax slab, standard deduction changes

“In doing so, India could become the world’s third largest television market. The market size could grow by 15% every year, reaching 16 million units. We urge the government not to change any tariffs at this time as the industry moves towards stable conditions,” added Marwah. Also read: Digital payments see 40% annual growth at the end of September 2021: RBI data

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