Pre-budget expectation quotes by AIFI, Cooper Corporation, Magicbricks, Finolex Cables Ltd & Mother’s Recipe

Mr. Vikas Bajaj, President, AIFI  (Association of Indian Forging Industry) said “All MSMEs, including the forging industry are expecting a good, progressive and balanced budget this year. The industry also monitors significant announcements from this budget to promote investment in this space, as well as favourable regulatory actions to provide a suitable climate for manufacturing sector. Additionally, steel import duties should be reduced to compensate for the existing deficit and uncompetitive Indian steel pricing. Furthermore, the government should prioritise regulating inflation and reducing the cost of raw materials and fuel. Existing incentives must be enhanced to boost exports. There is also a need to expedite the GST refund system to give liquidity to the industries. As part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Indian companies should be eligible for a duty structure benefit. The government has made continued efforts to simplify and streamline Indian tax regulations, and the industry anticipates consistency in tax and regulatory policies, as well as their interpretation, this year. I believe that the government should fix industry income rates for at least five years so that industrialists can make long-term financial plans and suitable investment decisions in their industries”.

Mr. Farrokh Cooper, Chairman & Managing Director, Cooper Corporation said, “The upcoming Union Budget for 2023 should emphasise steps to support industry and employment, as well as to boost consumption-led demand. The industry anticipates relief from the Union Budget in a number of sectors. I feel it is critical that the government establishes several joint committees with either Chartered Accountants or Industry groups to listen to the issues that industry faces when interacting with various government departments, including the State Electricity Board. Also, to stimulate investment in the financial markets, dividend taxes should be eliminated because they are already double taxed. Business communities should be encouraged to invest more in industry and businesses in order to achieve long-term success. Furthermore, the 0.10% tax deduction at source on purchases of goods should be eliminated because the government already possesses a data base of such transactions through the GST process. This would simplify the compliance process. Exporters should be granted some type of relief by way of a tax exemption on their earnings since they have been dealing with a lot of inflationary trends in raw material prices, freight costs, and changes in demand that have negatively impacted their business. Lastly, to provide assistance to the middle class, the limit of Rs.1.5 lakhs for deduction under section 80C has not been enhanced in the last five years. Given the current inflationary environment, the middle class should get the benefit of deduction up to Rs.3.5 lakhs. Given the current market conditions, we anticipate considerable steps to revive growth and boost investor confidence in the forthcoming Union Budget”.

 

Mr. Sudhir Pai, CEO Magicbricks and Hitesh Uppal, Head of Finance, Magicbricks

According to our Research, India’s residential demand increased 19% YoY whereas supply increased only 2.8% YoY in 2022. Since residential demand remains high and unmet, the upcoming Budget presents a two fold opportunity. Firstly, to aid developers in delivering under-construction projects by providing access to affordable loans which would improve cash-flow. Secondly, since increasing construction costs have increased property rates by 14% across cities on an average, there is an opportunity to benefit homebuyers and developers alike, by increasing the price band for affordable housing. These provisions would unlock value for the residential sector and continue to fuel both demand and supply in the economy says- Mr. Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks

Although residential demand increased 19% YoY in 2022, macroeconomic dynamics such as rising inflation & interest rates on loans may create headwinds in the coming quarters. The budget can help sustain momentum and strengthen customer sentiment towards residential buying by considering provisions such as increasing the price band for affordable homes, especially in metros, which could benefit a larger segment of the society. Coupled with special additional tax relief for first time house buyers, these steps could create fresh demand and boost the vision of affordable housing for all. Relaxing the tax policy on long term capital gains from property sale can stimulate transactions in the sector and enabling set-off taxes on home loan interest payment would improve cash-flow with home buyers says- Hitesh Uppal, Head of Finance, Magicbricks

Mr. Deepak K Chhabria, Executive Chairman, Finolex Cables Ltd

“We need focused efforts on ease of doing business and making India self-reliant to keep up with the growing business endeavors. We are hoping that reforms like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme will showcase the government’s intent to provide domestic manufacturers with incentives while elevating India’s position as a manufacturing hub. There should be a focus on reforms to encourage consumption and increase consumer demand. Further, the efforts of the government to provide electricity to all and also to increase digitization with 5G, we are hopeful that the industry will have positive outcomes in the coming fiscal year. The small appliances industry hopes to have more product subsidies and reduction in taxes from this budget.”

Ms. Sanjana Desai, Executive Director Mother’s Recipe – Pre-Budget Expectation

“We anticipate many populist changes in the upcoming budget keeping in mind the Indian consumer and their expectations. The government has always been supporting rural growth in the past and we expect this to be enhanced further this year along. We are optimistic and hope for the rural market to bounce back in 2023. Last year many emerging channels like modern trade and e-commerce were seen driving urban demand, and this led to the rise in premium discretionary categories. The FMCG industry witnessed a seismic shift in omnichannel growth with sales significantly outpacing in-store growth across metro cities, we expect the trend to continue. This year the strategy will be to focus on new products and consumer experience innovation.”