Budget 2018: Duty-free imports, funds for job-intensive units, what exporters want from Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget 2018 on February 1. From duty-free imports to more funds for job-intensive units, here's what exporters want from the Finance Minister.

Written by FE News Desk

Updated: January 19, 2018 23:40 IST

arun jaitley, infrastructure, lok sabha, winter session, parliament, parliament winter session, infrastructure project cost overturn, cost overturn of infrastructure projects, statistics ministry data on cost overturn

Jaitley said the government has taken a number of steps to mobilise funds from various sources for development of infrastructure. (PTI)

As the date for the Union Budget 2018 nears, various sectors are putting forward their expectations from Arun Jaitley in the last full Budget of the government in the post-GST era. Arun Jaitley will present the Budget 2018 on February 1, keeping up the tradition started last year to ensure policies announced in the Budget get implemented from April 1, when the new fiscal year begins. The budget 2018 will be different from all previous Budgets as it is the first Budget after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Since the country is still adapting to the new indirect tax regime, there are a lot of expectations from country’s exporters in the Budget 2018. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has called for a slew of reforms from duty-free imports to financial support to job-intensive units in the upcoming Budget.

The export organisations urged the Finance Minister to provide customs duty-free imports both on inputs and capital goods, saying the other countries, too, have lower rates of interest. In the pre-Budget 2018 meeting with the Finance Minister on December 6, exporters also called for a quicker GST refunds. According to a exporters’ body, refunds of exporters to the tune of at least Rs 60,000-70,000 crore are stuck post-GST rollout in July.

“29 members — Europen Union (EU), Australia, Canada, Malaysia etc have provided an exemption from VAT/GST on inputs required for export production. These countries have a very low rate of interest, extremely efficient online refund mechanism and much-educated exporters. I would, therefore, urge to provide an exemption from IGST on all instruments providing basic customs duty-free imports both of inputs and capital goods,” Ganesh Kumar Gupta, President, FIEO said.

He further emphasised on the financial support to the job-intensive units to create employment and formalisation of the economy in the Budget 2018. “Creation of employment is the biggest challenge faced by the country. If we have to reap demographic dividends, we have to provide jobs to millions who are seeking jobs on month on month basis.”

Watch Video:

“We would urge the Government to provide fiscal support to units who provide additional employment in the export sector. Such a Scheme will also help the workers to move from informal employment to formal employment, Ganesh Kumar Gupta added. He said that incentives may be provided based on twin criteria of growth in exports and growth in workers in the Budget 2018.

This article was first uploaded on January fifteen, twenty eighteen, at eight minutes past six in the evening.